After securing an 81-37 win over Verdugo Hills at home to start the season, Valencia girls’ basketball defeated Granada Hills Charter on Thursday and began the year with back-to-back wins. The Vikings defeated the Highlanders 69-26, with sophomore guard Kamila Basyrova leading all Valencia scorers with 21 points “I thought it was great to see our progress from game one to game two. I thought our defense was really standout today, especially in the first half,” Valencia head coach Jared Honig said. “I felt like we gave up a little but to many points in the first game, but tonight’s first-half defense was outstanding.” Basyrova and Cara Mckell had six steals combined in the win and were defensive anchors for their team as both players were playing full court press defense all four quarters despite the big lead Valencia held throughout the game. And junior Keira McLaughlin earned praise from her head coach after the game as not only was she tied for second in most points scored in the game with 13 but also had two blocks along with stops on defense that led to scoring possessions for Valencia. “I told her she has to be aggressive today because we knew they were going to try to implement a triangle in two, and she’s lethal out there,” Honig said. “They want to take away those two, well, now you’re leaving other people open. So, we just had to capitalize on that. And she’s outstanding. So, she mixed it up inside, hit the outside shot, get everyone involved.” During the first quarter, that aggressiveness that Honig stated was on display as McLaughlin blocked a Highlanders shot and in the following series, the Vikings capitalized off the turnover with a 3-pointer. In total, seven different Vikings scored in the win, and the ball was getting passed around to anyone that stepped on the court as the Basyrova and Mckell duo combined for eight assists. Freshman guard Sophia Sarkar also dished out three assists in the game as well as scored eight points in Thursday’s night win. With the win, Honig has his team right where the Vikings left off last season as Valencia won four out of their last five alongside an appearance in the Division 1 playoffs. And the competition is exactly where he wants his team as the competition is expected to get tougher for Valencia as the team wants to be ready for when the Foothill League season begins. “We have Brentwood next, and they’re one of the top teams in the state. We have Moorpark out in a Showcase than we have Redondo Union, who’s also supposed to be like D1 pushing for open division,” Honig said. “So, two out of the next three are against some of the top dogs. So, we’ll see how we measure up against those teams.” The Vikings play again on Saturday on the road against Brentwood with tip-off scheduled for 7 p. m.
https://signalscv.com/2025/11/valencia-girls-basketball-begins-season-with-back-to-back-wins/