Tars survive attack

Bryce Alderton

All Jen Thompson wanted for her 29th birthday Tuesday was a win. The

Newport Harbor High girls basketball team made the wish come true by

defeating visiting Aliso Niguel, 48-45, in a Sea View League contest.

Junior Vanessa Miller scored a game-high 15 points, including the

final two on free throws with 12 seconds remaining and Newport (10-7,

1-1 in league) clinging to a one-point lead.

Aliso (5-11, 0-2) pushed the ball into the corner, but Lyndsay

Harada’s desperation heave from beyond the three-point line fell

short.

“I just tried to stay relaxed because when I get tense, I don’t do

as good,” said Miller, who made all eight of her free throws,

including four in the game’s final 2:06, despite battling a bad back

that caused her to sit out Newport’s 44-34 win over CdM Saturday.

Newport made 13 of 20 free-throw attempts (65%) while Aliso went 3

of 7 from the free-throw line (42.8%). “Lately, my shot hasn’t been

falling so I practiced shooting free throws on the hoop at my house.”

But the Wolverines, who trailed, 45-39, with 2:06 to go, didn’t

lay down. Junior Bree Mannaert (6-foot-4) came off the bench to score

four of her team-high 14 points to cut Newport’s lead to 45-43 with

53 seconds to go. Aliso had a chance to tie, but a turnover allowed

Newport to run the break and Allyson Stoltz (five points) eventually

made the front end of a one-and-one, giving the hosts a 46-43 edge.

“The last two minutes I wanted them to play to win and not to

lose,” Thompson said. “I told them the clock is our friend.”

In addition to Mannaert, Aliso fed 6-1 junior Erica Koeppen (six

points and three blocks) near the basket, but Newport, which faced a

decided size disadvantage, forced several missed shots from close

range.

“We played man and zone [on Mannaert and Koeppen] and tried to

make them shoot over us,” Thompson said.

The Wolverines went 7:23 in the first half without a field goal as

Newport, which trailed, 7-6, at the end of the first quarter, went on

a 13-5 run. The Sailors took the lead for good on a Miller bucket to

begin the second quarter and closed the first half when senior guard

Jillianne Whitfield raced the length of the floor to score two of her

five points on an underhand layup as the buzzer sounded.

A three at the top of the key by Victoria Swigart to begin the

fourth quarter gave Newport a 35-26 lead, its biggest of the game. A

Swigart layup gave the hosts a 21-12 cushion to start the second

half. Swigart led the Tars with eight rebounds while Kristi Eddington

(six points) grabbed seven. Eddington countered four points by

Mannaert with four of her own in the fourth quarter, two coming on a

tip in of her own miss to give the Sailors a five-point lead with

three minutes left.

“We weren’t doing so hot on offensive rebounds, so to crash the

boards like that was key,” Thompson said.

*--*

Sea View League

Newport Harbor 48, Aliso Niguel 45

Score by Quarters

Aliso 7 5 14 19 -- 45

Newport 6 13 13 16 -- 48

Aliso -- Koeppen 6, Ritorto 2, Moore

5, Larson 11, Scurich 4, Mannaert 14, Brown 2,

Farrell 0, Harada 0, Ikosipentarhos 0, Heuer

1. Newport -- Swigart 11, Miller 15, Eddington

6, Whitfield 5, Stoltz 5, Trobman 3, Koon 2,

Lawrence 1, Slater 0. 3-pt. goals -- Swigart

1, Miller 1.

*--*