Eagles, Mesa roll

The Estancia High girls basketball team reversed a recent trend by

making 78% of its free throws and remained unbeaten in the Golden

West League with a 57-50 win at Santa Ana Tuesday.

Senior Tisha Gray sank 8 of 10 foul shots en route to a team-high

18 points and also had 10 rebounds for the Eagles (8-8, 3-0 in

league). Senior Xochitl Byfield added 15 points and Trisha Wase had

10, including hitting three of her four three-point attempts.

The Eagles resume league play Thursday at crosstown rival Costa

Mesa.

Costa Mesa handles Orange, 45-30

Costa Mesa High’s girls basketball team got ahead by 15 in the

fourth quarter and that’s the way it ended as the Mustangs remained

unbeaten in Golden West League-play with a 45-30 victory over

visiting Orange Tuesday night.

Costa Mesa (10-6, 2-0 in league) was 19 for 38 from two-point

range, but just one of 16 from beyond the three-point line.

“(Three-point shooting) killed us,” said Costa Mesa Coach Jim

Weeks.

Rhondi Naff led the Mustangs in scoring for the 15th time this

season with 21 points while grabbing five rebounds. Rickell Reeves

also took five rebounds to go with her six points and Susan Trujillo

hit Mesa’s only three-pointer in the first half on her way to eight

points.

Costa Mesa hosts city rival Estancia Thursday at 7 p.m.

Aliso Niguel tops Newport Harbor, 46-37

The Newport Harbor High girls basketball team dropped its second

Sea View League game in as many chances at home Tuesday night to

Aliso Niguel, 46-37.

Newport (10-8, 0-2 in league) went on a 10-5 run in the second

half after trailing, 26-16, at the end of two quarters. But the

Sailors couldn’t sustain the momentum against Aliso (9-5, 1-1 in

league).

“We got off to a slow start but then our defense played much

better,” said Newport Coach Jen Thompson.

Newport was led in scoring by Jillianne Whitfield’s 10 points. The

junior hit 4 of 6 from the free-throw line for the Sailors’ only foul

shots and also grabbed five rebounds. Aliso was 10 of 17 from the

foul line.

Victoria Swigart (nine points and five rebounds), Lindsey Woller

(eight points and seven rebounds) and Athena Vasquez (two steals)

chipped in for Newport.

Lightning falls, 46-35, at St. Margaret’s

Sage Hill School freshman Haywood Wright had a team-high 17

points, 11 rebounds, six blocks and five steals, but it wasn’t enough

against host St. Margaret’s, which earned a 46-35 Academy League

girls basketball victory Tuesday night in San Juan Capistrano.

Debbie Yoder-Lee, a freshman guard, had nine rebounds to go with

six points, while Katie Puishys also contributed nine boards for the

Lightning (8-3, 0-2 in league).

St. Margaret’s improved to 10-3, 2-0.

Sage Hill visits Capistrano Valley Christian Friday night.