Girls basketball: Defense keys CdM win

Barry Faulkner

NEWPORT BEACH - Lineups may change and offensive fluidity may be

fleeting. But Corona del Mar High girls basketball coach Elbert Davis

knows he can always count on his team’s defense.

Such was the case in Tuesday’s 47-39 Pacific Coast League win over

visiting University, in which the Sea Kings (15-4, 3-0 in league) forced

25 turnovers to set up Thursday’s showdown of PCL unbeatens at

league-leading Costa Mesa.

With its top three scorers on the bench at the outset, serving punishment

for missing practices, and another starter sidelined until an eligibility

issue could be cleared up, the Sea Kings were often forced to improvise

offensively.

“We didn’t have the type of fluid motion we normally do,” Davis said. “It

seemed like whoever got the ball first, shot it.”

Fortunately for the hosts, the ball frequently found sophomore Courtney

Kawata on the wing. The 5-foot-3 sharpshooter fired away from distance --

often six feet beyond the 19-9 three-point arch. She hit half of her

eight three-point attempts to help the Sea Kings net a season-high seven

three-pointers.

“We slowed their offense down a little bit, except for (Kawata),”

University Coach Bob Bernal said.

Kawata’s season-high 12 points led the winners, who shot better from

three-point range than they did inside the arc.

“We’ve never had seven three-pointers,” said Davis, who received the

other three from senior guard Charlene Quon.

CdM hit 7 of 21 from threedom (33.3%) and only 11 of 35 elsewhere

(31.4%).

The hosts used separate 7-0 runs in the first and second quarters to take

a 23-21 halftime lead, then closed the third quarter with an 8-0 burst to

assume a 39-30 cushion.

Uni cut the deficit to 40-37 with 4:04 left in the game, but Andrea

Gruber’s steal and assist set up a Jackie McCoy layup and Kawata answered

a Trojan free throw with her final three-pointer to turn away any

comeback hopes.

Gruber, a sophomore guard who normally comes off the bench, spearheaded

CdM’s full-court pressure. She finished with six steals. She added seven

assists and four rebounds to her four points.

“She does it all for us,” Davis said of Gruber. “She’s going to be a

special player.”

Sophomore forward Carrie Hawkins chipped in five steals, six rebounds and

four points to help pick up the slack.

Quon finished with 11 points, while junior standout Kristin McCoy

contributed 10 points and 10 rebounds for the winners.

Uni (7-12, 1-2), which committed 10 turnovers in the second quarter, was

held to 38 field-goal attempts, hitting 12 (31.6%).

The triumph, CdM’s 12th in its last 13 games, gives it a shot to erase a

half-game deficit to Costa Mesa Thursday.

“If we play like we did tonight against Costa Mesa, we’ll get blown out

of the water,” Davis said. “We survived tonight.”