Girls get solid victory over Calvary Chapel

Mike Sciacca

Tying its own team record for most points scored in a single-game,

Laguna Beach High downed Calvary Chapel Tuesday, 63-48, in Pacific

Coast League girls’ basketball action.

The Breakers, who won their 10th game of the season, outscored the

Eagles in the first three quarters, most notably, by a 24-9 count in

the third quarter.

“We controlled this game from start to finish, never letting

Calvary in the door,” Laguna coach Stacy Howard said. “We were led by

four great performances.”

On such performance came from senior Aja Roley.

The senior guard/forward scored a game-best 21 points and seven

rebounds. In addition, she held Bethany Hurst, one of Calvary’s top

scorers with a 10.5 points per game average, to just four points.

“Aja saw the floor well, made great decisions all night and did

exactly what we asked of her on both ends of the floor,” Howard said.

Sophomore Claire Bevacqua came off the bench to score 18 points on

six of 10 shooting from the field, and six of seven from the foul

line.

Bevacqua also had five steals on the night.

Freshman guard Brittany Clark scored 10 points and capped a solid,

all-around performance with six assists, six steals and five

rebounds.

“Our most relaxed performance of the evening came from Deana

Awadalla,” Howard said. “In a game where Calvary forced us to hit

from outside, Deana took and hit the shots we needed, hitting two,

three-pointers and connecting on another field goal to give her eight

points on the night.

“But Deana’s six assists and five boards were a better reflection

of her hustle all night. Completely focused, Deana led us all night

with great control of the game, both offensively and defensively,

with great communication and adjustments. She saw the floor

incredibly well and had a couple of passes that really threaded the

needle.”

The victory kept Laguna in a three-way tie for second-place in the

league standings.

Prior to running past Calvary Chapel, the Breakers scored what

Howard termed “our most exciting win as a program, to date,” -- a

43-42 win at Northwood.

The Breakers were led by the double-double effort of Bevacqua, who

finished the game with 17 points and 11 rebounds.

“We rallied from a horrible start to beat them,” Howard said.

“Claire’s athleticism and ability to make things happen on the floor

has really ignited our team and has given us a new-found confidence

on the floor.”

Laguna trailed, 20-9, after the first quarter and was down by 11

points in the third period.

But the Breakers battled back to take the lead with under two

minutes left in the game. They never trailed after that, and went on

to outscore the Timberwolves, 12-6, in the quarter.

Senior post Katie Sexton scored eight points and added eight

rebounds in another big game performance for the Breakers.

“We played great defense and out-rebounded them, 41-25,” Howard

said. “I think that it was a big confidence boost for us and keeps us

on the winning track heading into our last week of league play.”

In boys’ basketball, Laguna defeated Corona del Mar, 48-43, on the

Sea Kings’ home floor.

The triumph gave the Breakers, who won their 11th game overall,, a

season sweep of their chief rival.

Freshman guard Cheyne Martin topped all scorers with 14 points and

junior guard/forward Ivan Kovacevic had 13 points.

“We did an outstanding job defensively,” Laguna Coach Mark Hill

said. “Our guys really hustled and did a great job in shutting them

down.

“But we had a major breakdown a few nights later against

Northwood.”

Hill said that breakdowns along the Breakers’ defensive front was

a problem in a 62-52 loss against the Timberwolves.

Kovacevic’s 19 points led Laguna.

Senior forward/center Austin Sands contributed 12 points and

Martin finished with 11 points.