Sailors advance to title game

Patrick Laverty

Victoria Swigart leaped high, grabbed the rebound and held it snuggly

as the final second ticked off the clock.

For the previous 31 minutes and 59 seconds, Newport Harbor High’s

girls basketball team had played one of its worst games of the young

season, but somehow the Sailors managed to hold on to a victory.

Newport Harbor struggled all game with turnovers and offensive

efficiency, but it came up with the crucial buckets it needed to post

a 42-40 win over La Serna in the final round of pool play at the

Cerritos Valley Christian tournament.

The Sailors (5-3), who won all three pool play games, advanced to

the championship game at 8 tonight at Cerritos Valley Christian High.

It’s the first tournament title game for Harbor since Coach Jen

Thompson took over the struggling program three years ago. But

Thompson knows the Sailors will need a better effort than they gave

Thursday if they hope to bring home the championship trophy.

“I know we’re a better team than what we showed out there,”

Thompson said.

The encouraging news is that so do the Sailors, a change from

Thompson’s first season, when they won just four games. After the

victory over La Serna, Thompson’s players were discouraged about how

they played, something Thompson said wouldn’t have been recognized

two seasons ago.

After finishing in third place in this tournament last year on

their way to 13 victories, the Sailors continued their gradual

improvement by advancing to this year’s championship game.

“It’s a step up,” Thompson said. “The girls aren’t excited right

now, but they will be tonight.”

With energy lacking because of sickness and the fact that this was

the Sailors third game in three days, Newport Harbor was almost taken

to overtime by La Serna.

Harbor built a five-point lead with 2:55 remaining after Swigart,

who finished with four points and a team-leading 14 rebounds, scored

after an offensive rebound. But the Sailors didn’t score again.

After a Sailors’ turnover, La Serna’s Jenna Failla netted a pair

of free throws to cut the lead to three. The Lancers (6-3) got the

ball back with 12 seconds left and Failla was once again fouled, this

time while shooting a three-pointer with one second remaining on the

clock. But she missed the first and third free throws and Swigart

grabbed the rebound to end the game.

The Sailors built their lead after trailing much of the game

through patience and precision passing on offense in the opening

minutes of the fourth quarter. Senior Allyson Stoltz scored seven of

her nine points in the final period, including Harbor’s only

three-pointer of the game, which broke a 37-37 tie with 3:37

remaining.

Jillianne Whitfield led the Sailors with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

*--*

Valley Christian tournament

Pool play Newport Harbor 42, La Serna 40

Score by Quarters

La Serna 12 9 11 8 -- 40

Harbor 8 14 8 12 -- 42

La Serna -- Bedoya 4, J. Failla 7, Randazzo

9, French 4, A. Failla 3, Coins 0, Saenz 7,

Shears 4, Malkasian 0, Clare 2. 3-pt. goals

-- Randazzo 1. Fouled out -- None. Technicals

-- None. Harbor -- Swigart 4, Stoltz 9,

Whitfield 14, Miller 4, Eddington 5, Trobman

2, Koon 2, Deyan 0, Lawrence 2. 3-pt. goals

-- Stoltz 1. Fouled out -- None. Technicals

-- None.

*--*