Camarillo Stays in Control, 65-52

CAMARILLO — As was the case last season, every game is vital in the Pacific View League girls’ basketball standings.

In a game each team needed to win to stay in contention for the league title, Camarillo High used a late surge to upend Channel Islands, 65-52, Thursday night and move into second place.

“This is a huge win for us because we are at home and it gives us at least a chance to control our destiny,” Coach John Harbour of Camarillo said. “Oxnard is still in the driver’s seat because they beat their two biggest competitors on the road. But the good thing is we get to play them again.”

Camarillo, ranked No. 8 in the region by The Times, lost to No. 6 Oxnard, 54-47, on Tuesday. The Scorpions (12-6, 2-1 in league play) made 25 of 30 free throws--16 of 19 in the fourth quarter.

Lauren Ferreira had 22 points and 10 rebounds for Camarillo--doubling her season scoring average of 11.5.

“After losing to Oxnard, we really wanted to win this,” said Ferreira, a 5-11 senior forward. “This gives us a good start heading into the rest of our league games.”

Lindsay Clark added 11 points for Camarillo, including nine of 10 free throws. Tanya Wismann had 10 points and Gillian Lillich had nine points and seven assists.

Channel Islands (14-3, 0-2), ranked No. 7, has lost three consecutive games since coming back from holiday break.

Coach Pat Bell admitted the two-week vacation was detrimental to his team, which won the Nordhoff, Duarte and Palm Desert tournaments en route to a 14-0 start.

But the Raiders lost their league opener to Oxnard, 55-43, last week, and a nonleague game to Santa Barbara on Tuesday, causing Bell to shuffle his lineup against Camarillo.

“This was a must-win game for us,” Bell said. “When you start at 14-0, then lose, it’s a long drop because you were on such a high. We needed this game to get back in sync.”

Monique Taylor led the Raiders with 15 points, four below her season average. But she missed most of the fourth quarter when she was cut on the arm on a drive to the basket and forced to leave the game. She returned to the game and scored eight points in the quarter, but it was too little, too late.

Rosa Somoa finished with 12 points, all on three-point baskets, but fouled out with 2:40 remaining, and Taylor Lumas had 10 points for Channel Islands.