LA HABRA—Sonora had good memories from the last time they played Fullerton. The Raiders won by a whopping 60 points on the road. It was much of the same on Thursday night, as Sonora (19-7, 8-2) beat Fullerton (1-23, 0-10) in dominate fashion, 60-16.
The Sonora win comes after the Raiders lost to Freeway League Champion Troy. Fullerton ends their season going winless in league play and not having won a game since their season opener against Firebaugh.
The Raiders were led by Cal State Northridge-commit Meghann Henderson, who scored a game high 18 points and 5 assist.
Senior guard Susan Valdez and junior forward Vanessa Martinez were the only players to score for Fullerton. Valdez scored 10 points and Martinez scored 6 points. The Sonora defense was able to shut down the Indians, as they forced 28 turnovers, with 20 of them coming in the second half.
Henderson got off to a hot start for the Raiders, as she scored or assisted all of the 14 points in the quarter. 10 of Henderson’s 18 points were scored in the opening quarter, as she led Sonora to a 10 point lead going into the second quarter.
The Sonora offense continued to knock down shots in the second quarter. Guards Alyssa Salgado, Emily Lopez, and Lainie James all knocked down 3-pointers to increase the Raider lead. Fullerton’s Susan Valdez scored 8 of her 10 points in the quarter, but her layup with nearly 2 minutes left in the quarter would be the last field goal the Indians would make for the rest of the game. At the end of the first half, Sonora led 36-15.
The Indians offense struggled to move the ball, as the only point scored by Fullerton in the quarter came off of a Susan Valdez free throw seven and a half minutes into the quarter. The Sonora offense continued to get baskets and held a comfortable 48-16 lead with one quarter left.
It was only a few minutes after Valdez’s made free throw when she took hard fall while attempting to grab a rebound. She was able to get up on her own, and was limping with an apparent left leg injury. Valdez did not return for the reminder of the game.
When Valdez made the Indian’s sole point in the third quarter, it would be Fullerton’s last point of the game, as they were shutout in the fourth quarter. The Raiders would add 12 more points in the quarter to give them the 44-point victory.
Most of the Indian points came from the foul line, as they made 10 of their 15 free throw attempts.
With the regular season ending, Sonora will get ready for the Southern Section Division 1AA playoffs, while Fullerton will look to bounce back in the 2017-2018 season.