Sailors wake up and put Fullerton to sleep

Steve Virgen

It was as if the Newport Harbor High girls basketball team wiped

their eyes, stretched and let out one last yawn before going back on

the court after halftime.

“We told them what they had to do at halftime,” Newport Coach Jen

Thompson said after her team’s 52-40 nonleague win over visiting

Fullerton Monday. “They responded and did everything we said. They

just woke up.”

After scoring nine points in the first eight minutes and then 10

points in the second quarter, the Sailors erupted for 10 points in

the first two minutes of the second half. Newport’s third-quarter

surge resulted in a 10-2 run, and a 29-20 lead that the Sailors (4-2)

would not relinquish.

Junior Jillianne Whitfield, who led the Sailors with 16 points,

scored four points in the Sailors’ third-quarter spurt, while

sophomore Vanessa Miller scored six of her seven points in the run

that gave Newport the momentum.

Later in the third quarter, the Sailors scored eight points in the

final 3:30, and carried a 37-30 lead into the fourth quarter. Then,

Newport opened the final period with a 7-1 run, that included a

three-pointer by junior Victoria Swigart. Athena Vasquez, a Newport

senior, capped the scoring run with a drive to the basket and a layup

that provided a 44-31 lead and prompted a Fullerton timeout.

Swigart came off the bench and contributed 15 points.

“Whitfield did great for us and Vicky Swigart had a great run,”

Thompson said. “(Swigart) really stepped up.

In the first half we came out flat,” Thompson continued. “Part of

that was because it’s Monday. I guess they had too much of a break

over the weekend. Last year, we had a tough time in the third

quarter, but now we are adjusting and we are coming out strong.”

Thompson also said she has been impressed with the Sailors’

tenacity this season and pointed out that Newport was 0-5 at this

time last year.

“We’re a different team,” Thompson said. “As a team we came out

(against Fullerton) and played hard in the second half. That’s what

you have to do. You have to come out and play hard.”

The Indians (3-4) pulled to within, 44-36, with 4:10 remaining,

but the Sailors held Fullerton off, mainly because of Whitfield’s

ability to break down her defender. She scored six of Newport’s final

eight points, including two layups and two free throws that came from

a drive to the basket.

Whitfield also helped shut down Fullerton’s best player, Nicole

Powers, in the fourth quarter. Powers scored 20 points, yet only two

in the final period, and that was on a buzzer-beating jump shot.