It’s No Masterpiece, but Irvine Rolls On

Like most sequels at the multiplex, the rematch Tuesday between Irvine and Rosary failed to live up to the original.

Irvine, ranked fourth in Orange County, showed no letdown from its impressive showing last week at the Orange County Championship and rolled to a 62-49 girls’ basketball victory over visiting Rosary, which is ranked seventh.

The two met last week and played a 56-55 thriller that Irvine’s Kristin Thawley ended with a left-handed layup at the buzzer. Irvine took the thrill out of this one in the first half, going on a 20-3 run over a span of 9 minutes 10 seconds.

Staci Morita’s three-point basket gave Irvine a 27-12 margin and the Vaqueros were on Easy Street.

“This was a good mental test for us because it was so emotionally and physically draining last week,” said Joni Colburn, one of Irvine’s co-coaches. “This was a good character builder.”

Morita scored a game-high 17. She was complemented by Thawley, who had 11 points and 13 rebounds, and guard Nikki Kamada, who also scored 11 points. Morita and Jody Carlson, who had nine points and 10 rebounds, both battled the flu, but it was Rosary that showed sickly ball-handling.

The Royals committed 11 turnovers in the first half to Irvine’s three, and had six more in the third quarter while falling behind, 49-30. The deficit reached 21 before a late rally. Freshman Cara Enright scored 13 for Rosary; Jen Farner and Jenise Karcher were held to eight points apiece.

“Irvine’s a good shooting team, and we struggled to make field goals,” Rosary Coach Richard Yoon said. “They’re not a typical team. . . . Rarely does a team [that tall] shoot the ball so well at every position.”

Neither team shot as well as the 55.6% both shot in the first game. Irvine shot 44%, Rosary 33%. Significantly different was how Irvine handled the Rosary pressure. In the first game, the Vaqueros committed 11 first-half turnovers and fell behind, 32-25, before coming back.

“We weren’t going to let them take us out of our game,” said Dennis Hurley, the other co-coach who watched his team go 3-1 last week and beat, among others, then-No. 1 Troy. “I’m not surprised by the score, but I am surprised by how strong we played. I didn’t know what to expect after coming off the big weekend.”