BEAUMONT — Yucaipa girls basketball coach Jeremy Hoch and Beaumont coach Pete Carr both agree that the Citrus Belt League title will come down to one of those two high schools. Yucaipa won the first meeting and remained unbeaten in league play following Tuesday night’s 48-42 victory over Beaumont. Yucaipa’s overall record is 8-10, which is not as good as Beaumont’s 8-5 record.  However, the schedule actually worked in Yucaipa’s favor. “We schedule pretty tough competition,” Hoch said. By contrast, Beaumont had not played during the two weeks during the school vacation. Making matters worse was that a contest against Needles last Friday was cancelled. “Some things you can’t duplicate in practice,” said Carr, who added that in retrospect, he wished hey had scheduled games during the break. “I liked the way we started. We had a lot of energy.” Beaumony raced to an 8-3 lead in the first four minutes of the game. There were six lead changes in the second quarter, with Yucaipa leading 19-13 at intermission. “We threw some defenses at them, but the biggest thing was that our passing was much better,” Hoch said. Johanna Thames, Yucaipa’s 6-foot-1 sophomore center, scored 12 points, half coming in the final period as the T-Birds managed to hold off the Cougars in the final quarter. “Last year I was mostly a role player and averaged about 12 minutes per game,” Thames said. “This year, I’m playing 24 minutes per game and am seeing the court better.” The beneficiary of Thames’ generosity was fellow sophomore Sudi Rana. She had some important points on fast breaks. “Rana had two big finishes to control the game,” Hoch said. Yucaipa led by 11 points at the start of the fourth quarter, but Beaumont rallied to cut the lead to 44-42 when Laylene Fontes scored a layup with two minutes remaining in the game. Thames scored the final two field goals. Because there is no rule requiring a team to cross the midcourt line within 10 seconds, Yucaipa kept the ball in the backcourt during the final moments to secure the victory. Related Articles High School Sports | Riverside Poly boys basketball basketball team beats Rancho Verde in Ivy League action High School Sports | Inland girls athlete of the week: Aliyahna Morris, Etiwanda High School Sports | Inland boys athlete of the week: Dominic Ruiz, Riverside Poly High School Sports | IE Varsity’s high school boys basketball rankings Jan. 6 High School Sports | IE Varsity’s high school girls basketball rankings, Jan. 6 Yucaipa’s victory upset the CBL order. Beaumont has won the three previous titles, securing last year’s crown with a two-point victory. The teams will square off again Jan. 23 at Yucaipa.