Simi Valley Connection Fails South

Minutes after her last game as a high school player was over, Kristie Sterbens saw no reason for sadness. This was not a time for gloom, even though she had shared a court for the final time with three Simi Valley High teammates.

For Sterbens, the Ventura County girls all-star basketball game at Ventura High on Friday was strictly pleasure, even though the North easily defeated her South team, 82-70.

“It was sad when we were playing our last games together at Simi,” Sterbens said. “But there was no sadness at all for me tonight.”

The Simi Valley connection of Julie Arlotto, Paula Cooper, Dani Elton and Sterbens gave the South its most potent combination. The foursome, who led the Pioneers to their second straight Marmonte League title last season, played as a unit. Arlotto, who tied the North’s Teresa Palmisano for scoring honors with 19, picked up her third foul in the first quarter. The quartet returned to open the second half.

“We’ve all played for years together and we just have that click,” Cooper said. “Our knowledge of each other makes it a lot easier when we’re out there together. We only had two practices for this game and I think we played well for what we had.”

South assistant John Wilber agreed that his team’s Marmonte nucleus came in handy.

“They ran the ball and pushed it up the floor better when the girls were together,” he said. “It was a good combination.”

The South was not able to stop the North’s dominance in the ninth Ventura County all-star game. The North, which has won four straight games, improved its series record to 8-1 with the victory.

Palmisano, the North’s three-time All-Southern Section center from Buena, dominated the scoring in the first half. The South closed the gap to 59-51 with two minutes remaining in the third period.

The North closed out the period with a 10-point lead, 65-55, and padded it in the final period.