Girls basketball: Destiny unveiled

Barry Faulkner

Pacific Coast League girls basketball teams will share Tuesday and

Thursday nights with PCL boys teams this week. But if one plausible

scenario plays out -- creating a three-way third-place tie between Costa

Mesa High, Corona del Mar and Northwood -- players from the those teams

just may wind up with the Friday night spotlight all to themselves,

settling things with a third-place playoff.

Barring upsets tonight, the league championship spotlight will shine

Thursday in the Estancia girls gym, where Coach Paul Kirby’s Eagles will

host University, hoping to gain a share of the league crown.

Estancia (14-10, 7-1 in league) enters tonight’s home game against

last-place Laguna Beach one game behind University (16-7, 8-0), which

hosts Northwood (7-17, 4-4) tonight.

If Estancia and Uni win tonight, the Eagles must defeat the Trojans,

who knocked them off, 43-41, Jan. 22, to gain a share of Estancia’s first

league title since 1991.

Estancia has won nine of its last 10, with the Uni setback the only

blemish.

Should Northwood upset the Trojans tonight, and the Eagles handle

Laguna Beach, the Estancia-Uni winner would claim the championship

outright.

The Eagles and Trojans have wrapped up the league’s top two guaranteed

berths into the CIF Southern Section playoffs.

The third and final berth, however, remains up for grabs.

Northwood will finish third with a pair of wins this week.

But, a Northwood loss to Uni would allow Costa Mesa (9-15, 3-5) to

catch the T-wolves with two wins this week. In that case, Mesa and

Northwood will have split their head-to-head meetings, requiring a

one-game playoff to determine the guaranteed third-place berth.

If Northwood loses to Uni and CdM, and Mesa defeats CdM tonight and

Laguna Beach Thursday, the Mustangs would finish third.

But, if CdM (7-16, 2-6) wins tonight, then beats Northwood Thursday,

combined with a Northwood loss to Uni and a Mesa win over Laguna Beach

Thursday, Northwood, Mesa and CdM would finish in a three-way tie for

third.

In this scenario, a three-way coin flip would ensue, with the first

odd school out earning the right to await the winner of a playoff between

the other two. The winner of that first game would then meet the school

that won the initial flip for the guaranteed berth.

CdM would need a sweep, as well as a Northwood loss to Uni and a Mesa

loss to Laguna Beach to force a third-place playoff between the Sea Kings

and T-wolves.

Costa Mesa defeated CdM, 46-42, in the first round at CdM and the Sea

Kings lost to Northwood, 50-48, in the first round at Northwood.

Uni defeated host Northwood, 59-41, their first meeting.

A pair of wins, giving them 11 for the season, would put Coach Jim

Weeks’ Mustangs in position to earn an at-large berth, should they not

emerge with a guaranteed spot by finishing in the top three.

Neither CdM nor Northwood would be eligible for an at-large berth,

since they will not have satisfied the 11-win minimum requirement for

at-large consideration.

Meanwhile in the Sea View League, Newport Harbor (4-19, 1-6) closes

out its season Tuesday at Woodbridge.

Academy League representative Sage Hill (4-11, 1-7) concludes its

first varsity season by visiting Oxford Academy Tuesday and hosting

Brethren Christian Thursday.