Girls basketball: Eagles eye No. 1 goal

Barry Faulkner

For the Estancia High girls basketball team, it begins with the

ending. This season, the Eagles have elected to conclude the last huddle

of every practice and game with the same collective chant: “League!”

The one-word mantra reflects the Eagles’ focus on winning the Pacific

Coast League championship, a feat which last occurred in 1991.

“We talk about the banner; we talk about it every year,” Estancia

Coach Paul Kirby said. “Our girls can look up in our gym and see that the

last league championship banner is from 1991. They want to put a banner

up there themselves. Last year, we ended every huddle by saying ‘Ribs,’

(a reference to the rib dinner that goes to the winner of the annual PCL

series with crosstown rival Costa Mesa). This year, we wanted to focus on

more than just beating Costa Mesa.”

Estancia (11-9, 4-0 in league) can take a huge stride toward securing

a PCL championship Tuesday at 7 p.m., when it visits fellow league

unbeaten University (13-6, 4-0).

“Whoever wins this game is in the driver’s seat and we definitely

would like to be driving,” Kirby said. “(Tuesday’s loser) gets pushed

into the back seat.”

Tuesday’s clash highlights the week for Newport-Mesa girls basketball

teams.

It is Estancia’s second meeting this season with the defending PCL

champions. The Eagles defeated the Trojans, 48-32, in the third-place

game of the Jim Hill Memorial Tournament, Dec. 23 at Mission Viejo High.

“That was so many games ago, I don’t think you can read much into

that,” Kirby said.

This time, the Eagles enter on a season-high six-game winning streak,

which was extended Thursday by a 99-22 romp at Laguna Beach.

The 99 points are believed to be a school single-game record and the

77-point victory margin surpassed the Eagles previous best scoring output

this season (73 against a team from Canada).

The Eagles’ current roll includes a 51-20 blowout of visiting Mesa

Tuesday, and a 63-25 triumph over Corona del Mar Jan. 10.

But such sustained dominance has been atypical for this team, a fact

that has Kirby concerned about a letdown.

“Girls basketball teams tend to be up and down and we’ve shown that

this season,” Kirby said. “We’ve had down games and still been able to

beat teams who were not as talented as we are. But, if we have a down

game against a team like University, we’re going to lose.”

Another Kirby concern is foul trouble, a chronic problem amplified by

the fact that the Eagles have seven players.

“It hasn’t caught up to us in league, but we lost some games in the

preseason because we had girls foul out,” Kirby said.

Coach Bob Bernal’s Uni squad defeated the visiting Eagles, 44-34, in

last year’s regular-season finale to clinch sole possession of the league

crown. Estancia would have earned a share of the title with a win.

The Eagles will be led by 5-foot-9 junior forward Tisha Gray (14.2

points per game), junior second-team All-PCL returner Xochitl Byfield (12

ppg) and sophomore point guard Trisha Wase (11.2), a first-team All-PCL

choice last year. Wase recorded a triple-double against Laguna Beach with

21 steals and 10 assists to go with her career-high 25 points.

Uni will be paced by senior returning first-team all-league point

guard Shaadi Ariazand, as well as 5-11 senior forward Danielle Janda and

5-11 freshman Chelsea York.

The Eagles round out the week Thursday by hosting Northwood. The

Timberwolves gave Estancia a scare in the first round, a 44-41 road win

for the Eagles Jan. 8.

In other PCL games this week, Costa Mesa (7-12, 1-3) is at home

against last-place Laguna Beach (Tuesday) and University (Thursday).

Coach Jim Weeks’ Mustangs ended a four-game losing streak with a 46-42

victory at Corona del Mar Thursday. Junior Rhondi Naff (15.7 ppg) keys

the Mustangs.

Coach Elbert Davis’ banged-up CdM squad (6-12, 1-3) hits the road

against Northwood (Tuesday) and Laguna Beach (Thursday). A pair of

victories would propel the Sea Kings back into the upper half of the PCL

standings.

Newport Harbor (3-17, 0-4) is off until meeting Sea View League

visitor Aliso Niguel Thursday.

Academy League representative Sage Hill has league games at Brethren

Christian (Tuesday) and Calvary Chapel of Downey (Friday).