No Juju, no problem for Skye Belker of Windward.
When Juju Watkins left for Sierra Canyon before last season, Skye Belker was left behind to pick up the pieces. She has gone from a pass-first point guard to one of the top scoring threats in Southern California girls’ basketball.
She kept delivering again and again Tuesday night, scoring a career-high 39 points to lift Windward to a 73-62 win over Brentwood in a game for first place in the Gold Coast League. Belker made only two threes, showing she can go to the hoop when needed.
“The lane just opened,” she said.
Averaging 23 points and headed to Princeton, Belker is doing whatever her new coach, Jerica Williams, asks.
“She’s special,” Williams said.
Brentwood dropped to 17-4 and 3-1. Windward improved to 14-5 and 4-0.
Sierra Canyon 70, Marlborough 44: With Watkins sitting out because of an ankle injury, the Trailblazers still improved to 20-0. Mackenly Randolph had 24 points and 14 rebounds.
Mater Dei 71, Rosary 50: The Monarchs (20-2, 4-0) were led by Addie Deal, who scored 25 points.
Boys’ basketball
Windward 81, Brentwood 63: Making 11 threes and getting major contributions from five sophomores, Windward (18-6, 3-1) served notice it’s making steady progress with an impressive upset at Brentwood to move into a tie for first place in the Gold Coast League.
Sophomore JJ Harris scored 21 points and made five threes. Sophomore Gavin Hightower scored 16 points and sophomore Jeremiah Hampton added 14 points. Brentwood (18-3, 3-1) received six threes and 18 points from Jordan Houegban.
West Ranch 90, Saugus 62: Max Tengan scored 22 points for Saugus.
Valencia 98, Castaic 55: Bryce Bedgood led Valencia with 24 points.
Mira Costa 66, Redondo Union 47: The Mustangs are like a shooting star, raising their record to 20-1. Dylan Black scored 18 points.
Thousand Oaks 73, Newbury Park 62: Elias Shin and Jacob Kjarval each scored 22 points for the Lancers.
Agoura 70, Calabasas 60: Zane Miller led the Chargers (14-8, 4-1) with 19 points and Zach Ourfalian had 18 points.
Oaks Christian 46, Westlake 35: Isayah Garcia had 14 points for Oaks Christian.
Palos Verdes 56, Peninsula 52: Alex Hassanein had 21 points for Palos Verdes.
Foothill 61, El Dorado 53: Carlo Billings had 17 points for Foothill (21-2, 5-0).