Imari Cooley forces SWC's Amber Hard into 10-second violation, giving possession to Palomar. (Hugh Cox Photo)
Imari Cooley forces SWC's Amber Hard into 10-second violation, giving possession to Palomar. (Hugh Cox Photo)
Posted: Jan 16, 2019

Saele buries 7 threes; Comets blast Jaguars 93-61, COD 94-31

SAN MARCOS (1/16/2019) / UPDATED 1-18-2019 – Julie Saele pumped in 23 points, 21 of them on 3-point bombs, as Palomar drew away late to bury Southwestern 93-61 in  the teams'  Pacific Coast Athletic Conference cross-division game on Wednesday evening at The Dome.

The Comets (15-5), ranked No. 11 in the California Community College Sports Information Association poll, then came right back Friday evening at The Dome to rout College of the Desert 94-31 in their PCAC North Division opener.

Friday: Palomar 94, COD 31

The Comets put six players in double figures as they blew out the Roadrunners.

Julie Saelee, coach Leigh Marshall's 5-foot-4 freshman guard out of Monterey Trails High School in Elk Gove, just outside Sacramento, led the way with 15 points, pumping in 5 three-pointers and tacking on 4 rebounds, an assist and 3 steals.

Also for Palomar:

Imari Cooley (Vista Murrieta High) went 7-for-10 from the field and also contributed 9 rebonds, an assist and 3 steals before fouling out.

Dee Dee Valenzuela (San Marcos High) finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds (8 on the offensive board) and 2 assists before fouling out late in the fourth quatrter.

Clarissa Taite  (Mira Mesa High), contributed 12 points3 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals.

Nalei'a Brackett (Carlsbad High), added 11 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals.

Sara Ahmadpour (Mission Hills High contributed 10 points, 3 three-pointers, 6 rebounds, an assist and a steal.

Palomar led 23-5 after one quarter, 49-24 at halftime and 74-23 after three quarters

Wednesday's Game: Palomar 93, Southwestern 61

The Comets jumped in front 26-18 after one quarter, let the Jaguars climb back in the game to take the lead twice in the third quarter, then blitzed the visitors 26-12 in the final quarter to turn it into a blow-out victory.

Saelee, led the way with 7 three-pointers (6 of them in the second half) and 4 rebounds as Palomar knocked in 18 shots from behind the arc.

Sara Ahmadpour (Mission Hills High) contributed 11 points, including 2 threes, while Imari Cooley (Vista Murrieta High) had 9 points and 13 rebounds for the Comets while contributing a big game defensively. Dominique Liebengtritt (Carlsbad High) hauled in 8 rebounds.

Brackett (Carlsbad High) scored 7 points. Morgan Heise (San Marcos High), who scored two early 3's to help the Comets get off to their first-quarter lead, scored 6 points and had 4 rebounds. Keiara Barton (Vista Murrieta), had 6 points and 3 rebounds. Taite had 6 points and 3 rebounds. And Mackenna Gentry (Mt. Carmel) also scored 6 points.

Maya Robinson, a 5-8 freshman forward from Eastlake High in Chula Vista, led the Jaguars from the PCAC South Division (8-8) with 19 points.

Cross-division games count as non-conference games.

 

Palomar will host College of the Desert in its PCAC North Division opener on Friday at 5 p.m. in The Dome. Cross-division games count as non-conference games.