Girls basketball: CdM strangles Whitney

Tony Altobelli

MISSION VIEJO - Put two teams with a tendency to play very

aggressive defense against each other and throw in officials that like to

call a close game and that’s a perfect formula for what happened in

Saturday’s third-place girls basketball game between Corona Del Mar High

and Whitney.

In the nearly-hour long first half of the Sea Kings’ 71-28 romp over the

Wildcats, there were 26 fouls called and 32 free throws attempted between

the two schools, numbers that did not suprise Sea Kings’ Coach Elbert

Davis.

“That’s the way we play our game,” Davis said of his team’s relentless

pressure. “I was suprised with all the calls, but that’s what can happen

when we play that style of ball.”

All-tournament selection Kristen McCoy led the Sea Kings (6-3) with 20

points, while Charlene Quon and Ainsley Kling each added 11.

“It’s nice to have two Pacific Coast League teams competing so high in

this tournament,” Davis said of his team and Estancia High in the

championship game. “It shows that our league is a pretty tough league and

it should be a fun race.”

CdM’s defense put a choke hold on the Wildcats’ offense, not allowing a

field goal until the four-minute mark of the second quarter. By then, the

Sea Kings had built a 25-6 lead and never looked back.

Whitney shot 2 for 19 from the field in the first half.

“It was definitely a well-played game on our part,” Davis said. “We

showed great intensity throughout the entire game from start to finish.”

Every player for the Sea Kings scored at least one point as the reserves

saw an abundance of playing time in the fourth quarter.

Ironically, despite the number of first-half fouls called, no player

fouled out.

CdM will host Aliso Niguel Tuesday at 3 p.m.

The Sea Kings are two wins away from already matching last year’s win

total, but Davis sees a much bigger goal than that.

“We have a lot of expectations this year,” Davis said. “Our teams from

the previous years were missing some of the pride and determination that

this club has. It’s gonna be fun.”

JIM HILL BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

Third place

Corona del Mar 71, Whitney 28

Corona del Mar - K. McCoy 21, Kling 11, Quon 11, Gruber 7, J. McCoy 2,

Eyre 1, Meservey 5, Hawkins 5, Pham 4, Kawata 3.

3 pt. goals - Quon 3, Gruber 1, Kawata 1.

Fouled out - none.

Whitney - Bobadilla 10, Young 9, Ordonez 4, Kuo 2, Woi 2, Devilla 1.

3 pt. goals - Bobadilla 1.

Fouled out - none.