It’s a Bonita Sweep on Record-Setting Night

January 15, 2011

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Cousin Camaraderie, Carly Horine and Madison Zylstra

On a great team, it was Madison Zylstra grabbing all the Madison Avenue-style headlines on Friday night in the Bonita gym as the senior became the Bearcats’ all-time leading varsity girls’ basketball scorer, knocking down 1,300 points in her career, and she’s still going.

On hand to watch her record-setting feat were family members and her cousin Carly Horine, whose record of 1,284 points she broke, which is commemorated with a framed jersey on the gymnasium wall.

“It’s good to see that it was Madison breaking the record,” Horine said. “That keeps it in the family. She’s worked really hard.”

Against Walnut, however, neither Madison nor her teammates had to work too hard to defeat the Mustangs. After a slow start, they overwhelmed Walnut 65-37 behind Zylstra’s game-high 23 points. Taylor Anderson netted 15 points and freshman guard Nikki Wheatley had 12.

In fact, the game’s biggest drama was trying to guess exactly when the record-breaking moment would occur. It came at precisely the 4:40 mark in the second quarter. After the shot, Bonita coach Darren Baumunk called time out. Suddenly, Horine was on the floor, flowers were being presented, and photographers were angling for close-ups.

“It wasn’t expected at all,” Zylstra said. “Before the game I saw my family and Carly standing in the corner. I was kind of confused.”

Most of the confusion was on Walnut’s side, however. The Mustangs simply had no answer for the Bearcats’ quick-paced, up-tempo offense and their withering defense. In the first quarter, Bree Kennedy blocked four shots to key several fast breaks.

With the win, Bonita moved to 15-1 and 3-0 in league.

As for Zystra, she’ll continue shooting. Before every game, she shoots with her dad Dave and also uses a shooting machine at school to stay sharp.

“I hope to win league and beat Diamond Ranch,” the senior said.

Right now, Bonita and Zystra are on the mark, well within range of their goals.

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In the nightcap, the Bonita varsity boys downed Walnut 57-34, using a big 22-point third quarter to run away with the contest.

“I think we finally just starting hitting some shots,” Bonita coach Greg Eckler said. “In the first half I thought some of the looks we got were okay. We got some really good ones. We just missed. Lucky, we played great defense, so that kept us close. In the second half, we started knocking down some shots.”

Leading the way for the Bearcats were Scott Fassas with 16 points and Zach Brungard with 13 points, showing just how many weapons Bonita has. If teams try to key on shutting down star senior guards James Northup or Jordan Butler, Coach Greg Eckler has other options.

“Zach and Scotty really shot the ball really well today,” Eckler said. “Because James and J.B. have been doing so well, they forget about those guys.” On Wednesday, Brungard pumped in 17, as well.

Although the wins keep coming for Bonita, especially with footballers, Brungard, Garrett Horine and Garrett Pendleton rounding into form, Eckler still doesn’t like his position.

“I’m never where I want to be. Ever!” Eckler said. “That’s why we keep going.”