Girls basketball: CdM finds passing lane

Barry Faulkner

FULLERTON - The Corona del Mar High girls basketball team ran a

fast break CalTrans could appreciate Monday night: All lanes filled with

no noticeable slowing.

And CdM senior point guard Andrea Gruber directed this high-speed

traffic with aplomb to lead the Sea Kings to a 66-25 first-round victory

over Garden Grove in the Troy NJB Hoops Classic at Troy High.

“I loved the way Andrea distributed the ball tonight,” CdM Coach

Elbert Davis said of his senior point guard, who finished with a

game-high nine assists. She also chipped in eight steals and three

points. “That’s the way a point guard should run things.”

With Gruber behind the wheel, CdM showed plenty of acceleration in

transition, as its swarming defense forced 31 turnovers, many of which

led to easy baskets.

“Our defense is going to be their every night,” said Davis, whose team

(2-1) advances to face highly regarded Troy in the quarterfinals tonight

at 8. “And we’re going to have to get out in the open court this year.

Our girls know if they run the floor and get open, we have guards who are

going to get them the ball.”

CdM junior Kelliann Klein (11 points), junior Lucy Ramsey (eight) and

senior Carrie Hawkins (10) were among those who finished breaks for the

winners.

Hawkins, a 5-foot-11 post, also collected 10 rebounds, as Garden Grove

(1-2) struggled in the shooting department.

The Argonauts, who scored in single digits in every quarter, managed

just two field goals in the first three periods, and only one in the

final eight minutes. They finished 7 of 47 from the field for a dismal

14.9%.

Despite the dominant victory, Davis said he was less than pleased

after assuming a modest 22-12 lead at halftime.

“I was concerned with our effort in the first half,” he said. “I

thought we did a much better job of sustaining our effort in the second

half.”

The Sea Kings displayed much more intensity after intermission,

particularly in the third quarter, when they scored six straight points

to open the period, added a 5-0 run midway through the quarter, then

finished it out the period with a 7-0 spurt.

CdM also forced 11 Grove turnovers in the third period, while

committing only one of its own.

The Sea Kings also had just one turnover in the final eight minutes,

after committing 18 before intermission.

Senior guard Courtney Kawata led all CdM scorers with 12 points,

including a pair of three-pointers, and also contributed five steals.

Junior Jackie McCoy, an All-Newport-Mesa District returner making her

first start of the season, chipped in five points, five rebounds and four

steals, while senior forward Kelly Luu collected six points and four

rebounds.

Junior Madison Otterbien, senior Naz Alateha, sophomore Sarah Stern

and sophomore Lauren Snell also scored for the winners, who allowed only

four field goals inside the three-point arc and only one Grove layup.

TROY NJB HOOPS CLASSIC

First round

Corona del Mar 66, Garden Grove 25

Score by Quarters

Garden Grove 6 6 8 5 - 25

Corona del Mar 11 11 18 26 - 66

Garden Grove - Cho 12, Morris 4, Thai 3, Nakagama 2, Bautista 1, Tran

1, Wells 1, Min 1.

3-pt. goals - Cho 1, Morris 1, Thai 1.

Fouled out - none.

Technicals - none.

Corona del Mar - Kawata 12, Klein 11, Hawkins 10, Ramsey 8, Luu 6,

McCoy 5, Otterbien 5, Gruber 3, Alateha 2, Snell 2, Stern 2, Dimas 0,

Marks 0.

3-pt. goals - Kawata 2.

Fouled out - Ramsey.

Technicals - Kawata.