Shadowlands

Looking back, 5 years ago this week:

The Costa Mesa High girls basketball team clinches a spot in the

CIF Southern Section Playoffs with a 52-39 victory over University in

Pacific Coast League play. Mesa (11-13, 2-1 in league) leads by 14

points four times and the Trojans never get closer than eight. Senior

Julie Collett leads Mesa (tied with Aliso Niguel for first place in

league) with 13 points, seven rebounds and four steals. Senior guard

Kristen Chisholm (10 points) hits 3 of 7 from three-point land to go

along with Nancy Hatsushi’s eight assists, as well as 12 points from

Kim Nguyen.

The Newport Harbor High boys basketball team upsets Santa

Margarita, Orange County’s top-ranked team, 50-47, erasing a

nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter. Newport had fallen to the

Eagles (21-1, 6-1) by 40 in the first league meeting. Santa Margarita

6-foot-7 senior Dekker McKeever records a game-high 17 points and

Carson Palmer drills a three with five minutes left to give Santa

Margarita its biggest lead, 43-34. Then the Tars explode for a 12-2

run. Newport’s Matt Jameson tallies a team-high 12 points and Gary

Robinson scores eight of his nine points in the final quarter. Adam

Hearlson and Carlos Nicasio defend well against Santa Margarita’s

taller front court.

Corona del Mar High’s boys basketball team cruises to a 64-46

victory over visiting Irvine in Sea View League play as 6-9 senior

Adam Jekeli records a career-high 24 points with 13 rebounds and two

blocked shots. CdM hits 10 of 13 from the field in a 22-point third

period and shoots 67% (14 of 21) from the field after intermission.

The hosts use an 11-1 run to forge a 26-15 edge midway through the

second quarter. In addition to Jekeli, Nick Gabriel and Andrew Simon

(10 and 12 points, respectively) finish in double figures for CdM.

Looking back, 10 years ago this week:

The Newport Harbor High girls basketball team remains tied for the

lead in the Sea View League with a 68-62 win over Back Bay rival CdM.

The Sailors (16-6, 11-1 in league) go on runs of 13-2, 9-0 and 7-1 to

build a 35-20 halftime lead. But CdM pulls back to within one when

Rosalie Kane drills her second three-pointer of the final period with

2:21 left. Harbor senior Michaela Ross matches CdM’s Mollie Flint

with 32 points in the two girls’ final duel as preps. Flint becomes

the school’s all-time leading scorer, reaching the 1,500-point

plateau. Mandy Clayton, Dianne Pulido and Tina Bowman assist for

Newport.

Newport Harbor High shocks CdM, 1-0, in girls soccer, marking the

first time in recent memory the Tars have defeated the Sea Kings.

Meggen Fleener converts a penalty kick in the 19th minute but CdM

(10-5-6, 6-3-3) gives the Sailors (10-10-1, 5-6-1) plenty of

resistance in the second half. Junior scorer Stephanie Hughes peppers

Harbor goalkeeper Kim DeMayo with shots but the Sailor records the

shutout, making nine saves. Harbor assistant coach Don Bradbury

commends fullbacks Shellie Bradbury, Tracy Teal and Naomi Makena for

their defensive prowess.

Estancia High quarterback Matt Johner signs his national letter of

intent to attend the University of Kansas after completing 187 passes

for 2,871 yards and 22 touchdowns over a three-year varsity career.

He becomes the first Eagle during Coach John Liebengood’s seven-year

tenure to earn a Division I scholarship. Newport Harbor’s Beau Ralphs

(Villanova) also declares his allegiance on the first day players can

sign letters of intent. Johner is a two-time All-Pacific Coast League

and All-Newport-Mesa District selection. Ralphs is a two-way lineman

for Division IV runner-up Harbor. He is All-CIF and Co-Defensive

Player of the Year in the Sea View League. He also collects the Daily

Pilot’s Newport-Mesa District Defensive Player of the Year honor.

-- compiled by Bryce Alderton