Girls hoops: Mesa wakes up in third

Steve Virgen

LAGUNA BEACH - If regulation meant periods one, two and four, the

Laguna Beach High girls basketball team would have its first Pacific

Coast League victory of the season.

Costa Mesa, however, came to play in the third quarter. The Mustangs

(15-11, 6-3 in league) outscored the Artists (3-13, 0-9), 28-9, in the

third as Nancy Hatsushi scored 12 of her game-high 22 points, en route to

a 66-59 victory.

“We played eight minutes of good basketball,” Mesa Coach Jim Weeks

said. “Probably the best eight minutes we ever played. The rest of the

game we just kind of went through the motions.”

Trailing, 25-24, at halftime, Mesa opened the third period with 14

straight points.

Hatsushi actually came off the bench as Weeks had a new starting

lineup because, “we are so much better than they are.”

Mustangs Christine Caron (16 points) and Leigh Marshall (10) also

finished in double figures and Mesa stayed away from technical fouls. The

last time the two teams met, three Mustangs were ejected.

Mesa ends league play at Corona del Mar, Thursday, at 5:30 p.m.

PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE

Costa Mesa 66, Laguna Beach 59

Costa Mesa 8 16 28 14 - 66

Laguna Beach 8 17 9 25 - 59

Costa Mesa - Hatsushi 22, Caron 16, Marshall 10, Naff 7, Lazos 6, Le

2, Carich 2, Poncher 1, Grewal 0, Bello 0, Trinh 0, Trejo 0, Muniz 0.

3-pt. goals - Hatsushi 3, Caron 3, Marshall 2.

Fouled out - none.

Technicals - none.

Laguna Beach - Jones 14, Morales 13, Offield 9, Slaney 8, Schmalzried

6, Friedman 3, Duffy 3, Westenhauer 3.

3-pt. goals - none.

Fouled out - Morales.

Technicals - none.