GIRLS’ BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : El Modena Beats Canyon to Take Century League Lead

El Modena High School took over first place in the Century League with a 58-46 victory over Canyon in a Century League girls’ basketball game Tuesday at El Modena.

The teams started the game tied at 7-1 in league. El Modena (14-4, 8-1 in league) can clinch the title outright with a victory over Orange on Thursday. Canyon is 13-8, 7-2.

Canyon led 33-24 midway in the third quarter but El Modena then started a comeback. El Modena silenced Canyon for the final 5 minutes 22 seconds of the third quarter, outscoring the Comanches 16-0 and led, 40-33, after three quarters.

Canyon was not able to score again until 5:48 in the fourth quarter, when El Modena was sitting on a 44-35 lead.

“All the kinds of things that make things happen, didn’t in the second half,” said Canyon Coach Bill Fitzgibbons. “In the first half we were making great passes, and in the second, we didn’t do it and we didn’t execute the offense. The bottom line is the score and tonight, they played better than we did.”

El Modena’s Collette Williams had a team-high 14 points and nine rebounds and teammate Melizza Benitez, a junior forward, had 13 points, seven rebounds and five steals.