Knights run by CdM

Steve Virgen

The first three minutes appeared to be going great for the Corona del

Mar High girls basketball team.

But the game’s turning point proved cruel for the Sea Kings, who

fell out of rhythm and lost, 40-28, to Katella in the final round of

pool play at the Cavalier Classic at Santiago High Friday.

CdM (3-7) went up, 8-4, when senior Sarah Stern canned her second

three-pointer with 5:43 left in the opening quarter. However Katella

then went on an 11-0 run to grab control of the game, using

aggressive defense, while the Sea Kings fell apart.

“We started shooting the ball pretty well,” CdM Coach Jim Barkalow

said. “We just made some real fundamental mistakes. We were up, 8-4,

then got outscored [11-0]. Eleven straight is going to kill you. That

set the tempo for the rest of the game.”

The Sea Kings, who went 1-2 in their pool, will face Rancho

Alamitos today at 5 p.m. in the fifth-place game of the eight-team

tournament. They were dealt a consolation game, mainly because of

Katella’s defense and because they could not get in sync.

CdM, the designated home team, committed 26 turnovers and had a

bit of deja vu in regard to its offense from the last time it faced

Katella (5-5).

The Knights defeated the Sea Kings, 42-34, Dec. 4, when they held

CdM to 13 points in the second half, including three in the third

quarter. This time, Corona scored 12 points in the second half, six

in each of the final two quarters.

“We weren’t creating opportunities to score,” Barkalow said. “Kate

Heeschen has had a great tournament, but she had a rough game in this

one.”

Heeschen, a senior guard, scored a career-high 21 points, leading

the Sea Kings to a 44-38 win over Santiago Monday. She then had 16

points in a 59-56 overtime loss to University of Los Angeles Tuesday.

She scored eight points against Katella. Barkalow said the

Knights’ defense performed well in helping out and denying

penetration from Heeschen. The Knights also stepped up in the passing

lanes.

“We keep track of [tipped passes] for our defense,” said Patrick

Collins, Katella’s first-year coach. “We had 25 tips. When you do

that, it’s pretty good because we either got a steal or forced the

offense to reset.”

Katella also found success on offense, especially from the

outside. Ashley Smith was 3 for 3 from behind the three-point line

and Christina Rudat also nailed a three-pointer. Rudat’s

three-pointer came with one minute left in the third and provided the

Knights with their biggest lead of the game, 36-20.

There were few bright spots for the Sea Kings. Katella center

Samantha Connor, who scored 24 points against CdM Dec. 4, was held to

only seven.

Stern led the Sea Kings with 11 points. She was 3 for 5 from

threedom. She hit two three-pointers in the first quarter, but did

not find her third until there was 2:21 left in the game. That proved

to be CdM’s final points.

CdM senior Colleen Marks provided a bit of a spark, coming off the

bench to score four points and grab four rebounds. Sophomore Katie

Schulte, also a reserve, added four points and four rebounds.

Barkalow said his team’s youth factored into the loss. Because of

inexperience, the Sea Kings could not get back on track on offense

and failed to answer Katella’s 11-0 run.

Even though CdM starts four seniors, sophomores Kristina Wayte,

Allison Long and Schulte also log considerable playing time.

Sophomore Megan Benbow, who had three rebounds and one point, starts

for CdM.

“We just have so many young kids,” Barkalow said. “They need to

get in the flow of the game ... We stood around a little on offense.

By us standing around, that got our shooters cold.”

*--*

Cavalier Classic Third-round pool play

Katella 40, Corona del Mar 28

Score by Quarters

Katella 13 12 11 4 -- 40

CdM 8 8 6 6 -- 28

Katella -- Connor 7, Fowler 4, Troge 3, Smith

14, Castanon 4, Kudat 5, Kent 2, Brock 1.

3-pt. goals -- Smith 3, Kudat 1. Fouled out -- None. Technicals -- None. Corona del Mar --

Skalla 0, Snell 0 , Benbow 1, Stern 11,

Heeschen 8, Marks 4, Schulte 4, Duernberger 0,

Wayte 0, Long 0, Kawata 0, Wadhwa 0. 3-pt.

goals -- Stern 3. Fouled out -- None.

Technicals -- None.

*--*