Streaks are at stake

Patrick Laverty

Costa Mesa High and Estancia will begin Golden West League play in

girls basketball tonight with the hope of keeping a pair of

historical streaks alive.

The Mustangs (5-6) need at least six victories to qualify for the

CIF Southern Section playoffs, something they have done in each of

the last 14 seasons.

Estancia (3-10) will be looking for a few more victories than that

as it attempts to win its third straight league championship and

second Golden West League title in a row.

Both streaks are in jeopardy as the undersized Mustangs and the

inconsistent Eagles will have to knock off Ocean View, Saddleback and

Westminster, who should all join the battle for the top spot in

league.

“We’re playing pretty well. We’re doing about as much as we can

do,” Mesa Coach Jim Weeks said. “We don’t have a great player like

Saddleback and Estancia and we’re giving up so much height to Ocean

View and Westminster.”

The Seahawks (9-1) and their balanced scoring attack enter the

league season as one of the favorites and will play host to Estancia

tonight at 7. Senior Tanisha Lewis, averaging 26.6 points per game,

leads Saddleback, which visits Costa Mesa in the opener tonight at 7.

Ocean View sports 6-foot-2 freshman D.J. Butler and won the

Century tournament and finished third in the Satana/Horsman Christmas

Classic.

Saddleback is led by Lewis -- “If you contain her, you’ve got a

chance,” Weeks said. -- while Westminster, which won five straight

league championships before Estancia grabbed the title last season,

can present problems with its height.

The Mustangs will need victories over Santa Ana and Orange,

expected to finish near the bottom of the league standings, and at

least one upset to meet the 11-win requirement for playoff

qualification. If the Mustangs can’t knock off Avalon in a nonleague

home game Saturday or fall to either Orange or Santa Ana, at least

two upsets in league would be required.

Whether the Mustangs are capable of such could be determined

early, as their season opener against Saddleback is followed by a

date with Ocean View.

“We’ll find out how we’re going to play,” Weeks said. “If we play

them tight then I think we’ll be all right.”

Senior Susy Trujillo, among the Mustangs’ tallest starters at

5-foot-6, leads Mesa in scoring with 13.3 points per game, while 5-3

senior point guard Cassey Brick has added 8.7 points, 5.5 rebounds

and 4.5 assists.

Much of Mesa’s success will be dictated by its three-point

shooting, the Mustangs are averaging more than six three-pointers a

game.

Estancia is led by 5-4 senior point guard Trisha Wase, who is

averaging nine assists per game, and 5-10 senior Nancy Castro,

averaging 15 points and 10 rebounds. Krystal Mino provides tough

defense, with five steals per game, and Imelda Pena is a consistent

threat behind the three-point arc.

But Wase will likely determine if the Eagles can earn their third

straight league championship after grabbing the Pacific Coast League

title two years ago and running through the Golden West League

undefeated last season.

“Trisha is just a remarkable point guard,” Weeks said. “She can do

anything she wants to do.”

The Eagles’ record is a bit misleading having easily played the

most difficult nonleague schedule in the league. They entered league

play last season with a 5-8 mark and a seven-game losing streak, but

didn’t lose again until the second round of the playoffs.

“When we go into league, they’re a totally different team,”

Estancia Coach Tami Rappa said. “They’re confidence is always there.

But I always tell them, ‘Winning’s a habit and so is losing.’ ”

The key for the Eagles is playing consistently. They have yet to

do so this season, and that has been their biggest problem.

“We can beat anybody,” Rappa said. “I still believe that we’re a

great team. I still believe that.”

The Eagles, and the rest of the league, will find out, beginning

tonight.