GIRLS’ BASKETBALL NOTEBOOK

St. Bonaventure is 13-3, the best start in four seasons under Coach Nick Pardue.

The Seraphs’ improvement has coincided with the emergence of point guard Ashley Garza, a sophomore who scored a career-high 34 points in a 68-59 nonleague victory over Nordhoff on Saturday.

Garza averages 15 points, four steals and four rebounds.

“We haven’t had a scorer like her since Stacy Howard,” Pardue said. “Ashley was always able to steal the ball and get into the passing lanes. Now the difference is that when she gets there, it doesn’t turn into a turnover, it turns into points.”

Garza made 16 of 20 free throws against Nordhoff and scored 20 second-half points.

St. Bonaventure hosts defending Tri-Valley League champion Oak Park on Thursday in a game with league title implications. The Seraphs won the league title in Pardue’s first two seasons and fell to third last year.

“Oak Park is the team to beat,” Pardue said.

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When Santa Paula and Santa Clara meet on Friday, it should provide a clearer picture of the Frontier League race.

Santa Clara (7-9, 2-0 in league play) has the league’s best post player, Ashley Biggins. Santa Paula (11-5, 2-0) has the league’s best shooters, Sarah Ruiz and Rachel Kolbeck.

Biggins recorded a triple-double last week in a league victory over Nordhoff. She had 22 points, 27 rebounds and 14 blocked shots. Biggins averages 21 points and 19 rebounds.

Ruiz, a sophomore, scored a school-record 43 points in a game and has scored in double figures in all but one of Santa Paula’s games. She averages 21.4 points. Kolbeck, a junior, averages 16.1 points and leads the Cardinals in rebounding with a 10.2 average.

“It’ll be hard for us to match up with [Biggins],” Santa Paula Coach Emily Stenzel said. “We have to deny that pass inside, stay out of foul trouble and execute our break.”

Stenzel said Kolbeck has been a positive influence on Ruiz.

“They’re close friends and they really enjoy playing with each other,” Stenzel said. “Rachel definitely does teach Sarah a lot about what other teams are doing. She teaches her a lot about work ethic.”