Sophomore lights up Selland Arena with 21 points to lead Lindsay girls to section title
An upstart high school girls basketball program held leads of 3-0 and 5-4 in the CIF Central Section Division VI championship game Friday morning at Selland Arena.
That’s when Lindsay High sophomore Melanie Millán and her teammates warmed up in cruising to a 53-37 victory for the school’s third section title.
Millán – described by her head coach David Nucum as being hot and cold – was impressive with 21 points, coming on 9-of-16 shooting.
“She’s hit and miss. She’s a great girl. She works hard,” said Nucum. “She has a shooter’s mentality. She always has the potential to score.”
Millán’s scoring included 3-of-6 from 3-point range. Her stats included five rebounds.
“This is THE game of the year. I have always looked forward to this game. We’ve always talked about it,” said Millán. “It’s just the most exciting feeling ever.”
Millán, who also plays softball, has focused more on basketball. She’ll take 100 3-point shots a day in practice.
“I’ve been playing since June, summer ball,” she said.
Lindsay, now 21-12, came in seeded fifth but knocked off No. 1 seed Strathmore 37-33 in a semifinal. Millán remembered that a big lead evaporated against Strathmore, and wasn’t about to let a 17-5 first-quarter lead against Torres become a repeat.
“We talked about that all week. We just have to take care of the ball,” said Millán, whose team led by as many as 22 points late in the fourth quarter.
Millán, whose mother and older sister have been Lindsay High softball MVPs, also knows her Lindsay girls basketball history.
“I’ve always wanted this ever since Christina Castro had it here, and Megan Salinas had it here,” she said of the duo that won section titles in 2012, 2013 and 2014. “It’s the best feeling in the world.”
Lindsay had 27 turnovers, but Torres committed more with 30.
When Torres did hold onto the ball, it made 14 of 40 attempts.
Torres head coach José Villalobos attributed that to “nerves.”
“It’s uncharacteristic of us to have so many turnovers,” said Villalobos. “But it is a different monster, it’s a different game when you’re here at Selland Arena.
“The lights are up in your face and the crowd is so loud that you can’t hear your coach screaming. There’s a lot of different things that we’re not accustomed to. That kind of threw us off a little bit.”
Torres junior Sabrina Cerrillo scored 11 points, while fellow junior Sheng Lee matched her in points.
“We will definitely be back,” said Villalobos, whose team is now 18-15.
