Rosella Nunez scored all 15 of her game-high points in the second and third quarters to help the Carson High girls basketball team post a 64-26 victory against Gardena, Calif., on the opening day of play at the Bishop's School Above the Rim Prep Classic in La Jolla, Calif., on Monday.
Six-foot-2 senior post player Nicole Scott, in her first action so far this season, also scored 10 points in just eight minutes to help Carson (2-3) win a game it led virtually from start to finish.
The Senators were up 13-9 at the end of one quarter. They broke the game open by outscoring the Gardena Panthers (1-4) 19-6 in the second quarter and 20-7 in the third.
Nunez knocked down a trio of three-pointers during that span to help spark Carson's outburst.
Scott, who has been held out due to an ankle injury she sustained at the end of Carson's volleyball season, had an impact even though she was limited to two minutes on the floor for each quarter.
"We want to bring her along slowly, and this was a good game for her to do that," assistant coach Ron Tamori said. "She looked good. Everyone looked good."
Kaitlin Burroughs scored eight points for the Senators, including one three-pointer and 5-for-6 shooting from the free throw line, while Briana Dodge and Brandi Vega contributed five each. Catherine Brekken, Christy Works, Megan Kilty and Sarah Evans added four points each, Hannah Works and Sineid McSweeney had two each and Abby Rankl one point in a game when all but two Senators reached the score column.
Carson resumes play in the San Diego area tournament today with a 4:30 p.m. game against Ironwood (Glendale, Ariz.).