The leagues set with the Suns

Mike Sciacca

It was the season of the Suns in the Boys and Girls Club of Laguna

Beach’s girls’ basketball season, which wrapped up Monday night with

championship finals in both Junior and Senior League play.

In the Junior League title game, the Madison Duncan-led Suns nipped

the surprising Lakers, 18-16.

The Senior League crown went to the other Suns, who defeated the

Pacers in the final, 46-34.

Duncan led all scorers in the Junior final with 16 points.

The Lakers were the surprise team in Junior postseason play. They came

up with their best basketball of the season, and upset three teams in

tournament play to reach the championship game.

With 10 seconds remaining the Lakers had a chance to tie the score and

send the game into overtime, but the Suns’ Dana Weaver blocked Christina

Pellecchia’s jumper to end the Lakers’ hope.

Pellecchia paced the Lakers with eight points. Nichole Forte followed

with five points.

During the Junior tournament, the Lakers edged the Heat, 20-19, on

Pellecchia’s last second basket. They followed that upset with another

one, this time by beating the previously unbeaten Jazz, 20-18.

They reached the title game by beating the Magic, 20-16.

In the Senior League championship, the Suns defeated the Pacers in a

high-scoring affair.

The Suns relied on the leadership and scoring of Claire Bevacqua and

Mya Olivier throughout the regular season, but it was the scoring of

Alivia LeVeque in the final that propelled the Suns to victory.

With Bevacqua still leading the way with a game-high 21 points,

LeVeque scored a season-high 17 points.

Ali Terwilliger’s two, three-point baskets led a brief Pacers’

comeback in the fourth quarter, but poor free throw shooting doomed the

Pacers.

They converted just eight of 24 attempts from the foul line.

Brittany Clark scored 10 points and Rachel Hodges added nine points to

lead the Pacers.

The Suns road to the Senior final included a 39-21 semifinal win over

the Lakers, a game in which Bevacqua and Olivier scored 17 and 12 points,

respectively.