VEGAS INVITE: Marruffo fills into scoring role, leads Mountain View girls past Clark

In the past, Briana Marruffo was more of a facilitator than a scorer for Mountain View’s girls basketball team.

Now a co-captain, the junior point guard is showing she has no problem putting up points, either.

Marruffo had 24 points, seven rebounds and two steals to lead the host Saints to a 43-38 win over Clark on Wednesday at the Vegas Invitational at Mountain View.

“Briana understands her role has to become more aggressive versus the passive facilitator from years past,” Saints coach Mike Valenzuela said. “I’ve been waiting for her to shoot the ball for the past three years, and she’s finally understanding that the burden’s on her shoulders.”

Marruffo also came up with several clutch plays to help the Saints (6-4) advance to the fifth-place game Thursday at 6:30 p.m. against Moapa Valley.

Marruffo’s layup with just under three minutes remaining gave the Saints a 39-34 lead. She then hit two free throws with two seconds left to give Mountain View a 43-38 cushion.

“When the game gets tight, they seem to be more focused and more comfortable on how to finish a game and how to get a couple stops and take care of the ball to seal a win,” Valenzuela said.

Senior guard Patrice Marshall supplied 13 points and two steals.

Valenzuela was pleased to see his team bounce back from a 62-33 loss to York House (Canada) on Tuesday night, thanks mostly to success in penetrating Clark’s defense.

“Once we get into the lane, things always happen,” he said. “We get to the free-throw line or we get an easy finish. It gives our defense more energy when we make layups, and our girls are understanding that’s what we need to do.”

Senior forward Angelena Cook led Clark (1-5) with 19 points and 14 rebounds. Jacquelin Garcia added nine points and two steals for the Chargers, and teammate Julianna Thornock tallied five points and 10 rebounds.

Moapa Valley 68, Lake Mead 25 — Shelbie Denman-Gray scored 21 points to help the Pirates rout the Eagles.

Amanda Campbell had 13 points and Brianna Harding scored 11 for Moapa Valley, which led 37-14 at halftime.

Colleen Zumaran (13 points) and Taylor Badua-Kono (12) did all the scoring for Lake Mead.

Needles 58, Western 36 — Gena Chavira scored 28 points as the Mustangs routed the Warriors in a consolation semifinal.

Holly Laswell added 12 points for Needles, which built a 34-16 halftime lead.

Mylasia Smith led Western with 10 points.

Pahranagat Valley 48, River Valley (Ariz.) 24 — Freshman Kimberly Lewis had 13 points and seven rebounds to help the Panthers cruise past the Dust Devils in a consolation semifinal.

Halie Lewis contributed eight points and two steals for Pahranagat Valley, which scored the first 12 points and jumped to a 27-2 lead.

Katie Simpson paced River Valley with 10 points.

Pahranagat Valley 55, Sunrise Mountain 38 — Kimberly Lewis scored 13 points to lead the Panthers past the Miners.

Dakota Day (11 points), Bailee Hosier (10) and Halie Lewis (10) also scored in double figures for Pahranagat Valley, which outscored Sunrise Mountain 16-3 in the second quarter.

Jasmine Jones led the Miners with 13 points.

Calvary Chapel 46, Adelson School 20 — Marissa Bonnefin scored 11 points to help Calvary Chapel down Adelson.

Samantha Mann and Phallen Nelson added 10 points apiece for Calvary Chapel, which outscored Adelson 20-2 in the second quarter.

Sueleika Blackwell led Adelson with 10 points.

Fairmont Prep (Calif.) 60, Agassi Prep 59 — Negin Taleb and Samantha Sudoko each poured in 20 points to help the Huskies hold off the Stars.

Alannah Conway had 22 points for Agassi Prep, teammates Kayla Johnson added 14 points, and LaBrishun Hardwick supplied 11 points for the Stars.