Eagles hold on, 58-55

Richard Dunn

In sales and baseball, a closer finishes the deal, which is what

the Estancia High girls basketball team could have used Wednesday

night.

Despite winning again and remaining undefeated in the Golden West

League -- beating its nearest competitor for the second time to open

the second round of league -- the Eagles did it the hard way in their

58-55 road victory over Westminster.

“I think I lost 10 pounds tonight,” Estancia Coach Tami Rappa

said, referring to the game’s perspiration-inducing fourth quarter,

in which the Eagles’ 10-point lead was sliced to one with under a

minute left.

“We had a 10-point lead on and off, on and off, on and off. We

need to shut a team down, and that’s something we need to work on. We

get up, then we drop to the level of our opponent. We’ve got to work

on closing the door and not let them see the light.”

The light for Estancia (12-8, 7-0 in league) was junior point

guard Trisha Wase, who scored a game-high 20 points, while adding

eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals. Wase also connected

on a huge three-pointer with 1:08 remaining to give the Eagles a

54-50 lead, their first field goal of the fourth quarter.

“I’m not saying this clinches the league title for us, but we did

beat our closest competition twice (with five Golden West games still

on the slate),” said Rappa, whose squad defeated Westminster at home

in the first round of league, 44-41. “If the girls play to the level

they’re capable of the rest of the way, we should reach our goals of

winning the league title and going undefeated in league.”

The Eagles, who outscored the Lions (11-10, 5-2) in each of the

first three quarters, enjoyed a 10-point lead on four separate

occasions, the last coming early in the fourth quarter, 51-41, after

two free throws by senior center Tisha Gray (16 points, seven rebounds, three steals and one blocked shot). Those were the only two

points Estancia scored in the final period, until Wase’s clutch

three-pointer.

The Eagles, who suffered foul trouble with Gray, senior Xochitl

Byfield and junior Krystal Mino, were whistled for a technical foul

because of an improper uniform number on a player with 3:35 left and

Estancia leading, 51-46. But Westminster missed both free throws.

Later, Andrea Martell scored for the Lions, then teammate Heather

Couzens scored on a putback with 1:25 on the clock to cut Estancia’s

lead to 51-50.

On Estancia’s next trip down, Wase nailed her fourth

three-pointer, but Westminster’s Kelly Parson drained a three with

0:54 left to trim the Eagles’ lead again to one.

On the Eagles’ next possession, Wase dished beautifully from the

point to Gray at the low post, and Gray scored on a power move to the

basket with 0:27 remaining, giving Estancia a 56-53 edge.

Westminster was looking for an open look at a three as the final

seconds ticked away, then Gray came up with a steal when 9.5 seconds

to play. Gray was fouled and missed the front end of a one-and-one,

but Westminster came up short again from the field, and when Wase

rebounded, the Lions fouled her immediately. Wase calmly sank both

foul shots with 3.7 seconds left for a five-point lead. Couzens

scored at the buzzer for Westminster to provide the margin of victory

for Estancia.

The Eagles managed their first 10-point lead in the second

quarter, 25-15, after baskets by Gray and Byfield. But Gray picked up

her third foul with 5:20 still to play in the first half and was

forced to the bench. That’s when Westminster rallied to tie it at 25.

Three-point shots by Wase and Imelda Pena late in the first half,

and a layup by Nancy Castro, gave Estancia a 33-27 halftime lead.

The Eagles built their lead to 40-30 in the third quarter, then

led, 49-39, at third quarter’s end.

Biava Arganda led Westminster with 16 points and eight rebounds,

while Couzens added 15 points and eight rebounds (six offensive).

The Eagles, also led by Byfield’s four rebounds, two steals, one

assist and one block, will host Saddleback at 7 p.m. Friday.