CdM goes ice cold at Calvary Chapel
Richard Dunn
Billed as the Pacific Coast League season’s inaugural first-place
showdown, the Corona del Mar High girls basketball team would prefer
not to advertise its shooting percentage Thursday night, while host
Calvary Chapel, the league newcomer, announced its arrival with a
65-35 win.
The Eagles (12-8, 3-1 in league), whose throwback 3-2 zone defense
was instilled to shut down CdM senior sharpshooter Kelliann Klein,
kept most of the Sea Kings (8-10, 3-1) on their heels as the visitors
shot 13 of 46 from the field (28.2%) in their first league setback.
“We shot so bad against University the other night, I didn’t think
there was any way we could shoot any worse ... I guess it finally
caught up with us,” CdM Coach James Barkalow said.
Calvary Chapel, which has a history of CIF Southern Section
Division IV success with two finals appearances since 1999, mounted
an early lead, 17-6, which was insurmountable for the Sea Kings by
first quarter’s end. The Eagles outscored the Sea Kings in every
quarter, including 19-8 in the fourth period.
“The whole game, we didn’t play defense and we shot horrible,”
Barkalow said. “We missed I’d say eight layups and we missed them at
crucial times, just when (the Eagles) would be in the middle of a
run. It takes the wind out of your sails.”
CdM’s defensive mission was to stop Calvary Chapel point guard
Rochelle Crawford from going nuts on the scoreboard. And, while the
Sea Kings were successful in holding the Eagles’ leading scorer to
only six points, the had no answer for slashing guard Dani Bacon, who
dropped in a career-high 21 points with a 9-of-14 performance from
the field.
“This is a big win for us,” Calvary Chapel Coach Bob Moore said.
“We played well tonight.”
Calvary Chapel, which reached a season-high point total against
the Sea Kings’ defense, shot 27 of 62 from the floor (43.5%) -- 13 of
31 in the first half and 14 of 31 in the second.
The Eagles opened with a 7-0 lead, then after Klein (team-high 14
points) scored to cut their lead to 11-6, they scored six unanswered
points to cap the first period.
“We switched our defense around to a 3-2 so we could follow
(Klein),” Moore said. “Klein’s an awesome shooter and we decided to
keep her out on the perimeter with a hand in her face and I think
that frustrated her. In two of the last five games, she has had five
three-pointers in those games.”
Klein was 0 of 4 from three-point country, while the Sea Kings
finished 0 of 6. CdM senior Jackie McCoy contributed eight points,
six rebounds, four steals and one assist, while Madison Otterbein had
four rebounds and two blocked shots and Lauren Snell four rebounds
for CdM.
Calvary Chapel, which got at least one steal from six different
players, was led by Crawford’s seven assists, four rebounds and three
steals.
In the second quarter, CdM pulled to within 17-11, but Bacon scored three straight baskets -- a layup, a three-pointer and another
layup with 3:34 left on a pass from Crawford -- and Monique Watson
added a jumper with 2:43 to play in the first half to crown an
Eagles’ 9-0 run. They led at halftime, 31-16.
After Bacon and Crawford scored two quick baskets for Calvary
Chapel to open the second half, it gave the hosts a point total (35)
greater than twice the Sea Kings’.
After another Calvary Chapel 7-0 spurt, in which Cortni French
scored after a steal and pass from Crawford to cap the run, the
Eagles enjoyed a 42-21 advantage with 3:00 to play in the third
quarter.
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