Esperanza girls basketball knocks off Villa Park in battle for first place

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VILLA PARK — Esperanza’s girls basketball team is known for prolific 3-point shooting under coach Jimmy Valverde but there’s more to the Aztecs’ success than just shooting.

A few other ingredients surfaced again Friday in Esperanza’s clash against Villa Park for sole possession of first place in the Crestview League.

The Aztecs’ matchup zone defense forced 21 turnovers and their offense handled the Spartans’ press to collect a 49-43 victory at Villa Park.

Esperanza (13-9, 4-0), ranked No. 7 in Orange County, also received a season-high 20 points from guard Avery Kame and 15 points from Alexa Muller beat the No. 6 Spartans (17-5, 3-1).

“When you’re playing against a guy who has the resume (Valverde) has, I got to do a better job to prepare my team,” Villa Park coach Brad Willis said. “Credit to them because they didn’t let us get any rhythm, and when you don’t get any rhythm in basketball, it’s hard to win games.”

“(Valverde) is a master tactician,” the coach added. “They did a good job reading of our players and where we were going to pass the ball. You get to this point of the season, these people know what you’re running.”

As Villa Park struggled with turnovers, Esperanza limited its turnovers to eight with steady dribbling and passing from Muller and Kame.

Muller, a senior guard/forward, took a break from basketball earlier in the season but showed her value with five assists, three steals and seven rebounds.

“I’m glad I came back,” she said. “I love playing basketball and I love my teammates so that’s why I like coming back. And (playing with) my sister (Charlotte).”

“It wouldn’t be Esperanza without her,” Kame said of Alexa Muller. “She just calms the game down. Alexa plays with poise.”

Kame, a sophomore guard, showed her composure by scoring 10 points in the fourth quarter.

After Villa Park’s Olivia Sturdivant sank a corner 3-pointer to trim Esperanza’s lead 43-41, Kame sank a high-arching 3-pointer with 1:05 left in the fourth to help seal the victory. The basket came off a pass from the high post from sophomore Emily Min.

“Avery came (through) big,” Valverde said. “She’s going to be dynamite.”

Kame and Alexa Muller each finished with four 3-pointers to help Esperanza convert 12 of 33 shots from beyond the arc.

Alexa made three of her 3-pointers in the third quarter to help the Aztecs erase a 24-21 deficit at halftime and take a 36-33 lead into the fourth.

Kame and Alexa Muller’s shooting helped Esperanza overcome a quiet offensive game for Charlotte Muller. The senior, who become the school’s all-time leading scorer last weekend, had eight points but Valverde praised her defense.

“Charlotte did a great job defensively … and that shows you a good player,” Valverde said of the senior, who had three steals. “And (Villa Park) was paying a lot of attention to her and it left people open.”

Ellie Frazier grabbed eight rebounds to help Esperanza stay close to Villa Park in rebounding. Bailey Roczey of Villa Park had nine rebounds.

Sabina Patel made 5 of 6 shots from the floor to tie Lauren Wolfe and Sturdivant with 13 points for the Villa Park lead. The Spartans made seven 3-pointers.

Esperanza plays host to Villa Park on Feb. 3 in the teams’ regular-season finale.