Marina’s “team” effort yields 58-53 victory

The most rewarding thing to come out of the Marina High girls

basketball team’s 58-53 victory over Alemany of Mission Hills Thursday

wasn’t the fact that the Vikings won, Marina Coach Butch Fredlow said,

but that his squad found out what it’s like to play as a team.

“We played all 12 girls, and each of them contributed in some way or

another,” Fredlow said after his Vikings defeated the Indians to win the

consolation championship of the Marina-OC Register Tournament. “Tonight,

the girls found out what it’s like to win as a team, because the team

effort they put forth made me pretty emotional. Winning or losing wasn’t

the main thing, it was seeing the girls support one another. These are

the kind of games that are fun, as a coach.”

Playing without the services of leading scorer and team captain Nikki Lee

(flu) for the second consecutive game, Marina fell behind early against a

talented Alemany squad before rallying in the second half to post their

10th win of the season.

The Indians, behind the play of senior guard Kate Beckler, who will play

at Rice University next fall, raced to a 15-8 first quarter lead, and

maintained that seven-point cushion at the half, 25-18.

But with sophomore forward Cara Congelliere scoring 18 of her game-high

22 points in the second half, Marina slowly began to chip away at the

deficit, closing the gap to 38-34 through three quarters of play.

Congelliere scored 10 points in the fourth quarter and junior

guard/forward Miranda Emde scored eight of her 14 points in the period

also as the Vikings overtook the Indians with three minutes to play.

While both Congelliere and Emde were providing the offense, it was the

overall play of sophomore Cindy Romanowski who inspired Marina’s second

half comeback.

“Cindy did an excellent job,” Fredlow said of his sophomore guard. “She

did it, too, with a future (NCAA) Division I player (Beckler) guarding

her closely. Cindy’s ability to drive and penetrate their defense really

got us going.”

All-tournament pick Beckler led Alemany with 17 points, and Nyasha

Bralock added 12 more for the Indians.

Senior guard Jun Okazoe, scoreless Thursday, represented Marina on the

all-tournament team.

OILERS FALL TO PACIFICA IN FIFTH-PLACE GAME

Huntington Beach High couldn’t overcome a cold shooting night against

Pacifica and dropped a 61-46 decision to the Mariners in the tournament’s

fifth-place game.

The Oilers (7-5), who defeated defending tournament champion Palisades

Wednesday night, took a 14-10 first quarter lead, but had troubles

finding the basket the remainder of the game.

They scored just one basket in the second quarter, where Pacifica (6-7)

began to establish control of the game. All-tournament selection Dominque

Valencia’s three-point play gave the Mariners a 24-18 lead, and they held

a three-point advantage at the break, 28-25.

Huntington’s shooting woes continued at the outset of the second half,

and with Valencia scoring two easy baskets in the opening minute of the

half, the Mariners upped their lead to seven, 32-25. A Christine Kimoto

three-point shot brought the Oilers to within 32-28, but an 8-0 Pacifica

run, highlighted by a pair of steals and lay-ins by Diana Barreras, put

the Mariners in control at 40-29.

Barreras, a 5-foot-3 senior guard, is the reigning MVP in the Garden

Grove League.

Pacifica led 45-34 at the end of the third quarter and reached its first

20-point lead (57-37) on reserve forward Sarah Schwartz’s turnaround

jumper inside the key.