Primed and positioned

Mike Sciacca

They are poised, perhaps, for something quite big.

Depending on what they did Thursday , and what they do at home

Tuesday , the Laguna Beach High girls’ basketball team has created

the chance to do something no other girls’ hoops team in school

history has done: win a league championship.

The Breakers moved to the top of the Pacific Coast League

standings Tuesday by defeating Tesoro, 59-49.

That win, coupled with University’s loss to Northwood Tuesday,

puts Laguna in first-place at 6-2, one game ahead of the 5-3 Trojans.

The Breakers played a pivotal game Thursday at University, and

host rival Corona del Mar Tuesday.

The University score was not available at press time.

This Laguna squad, however, already owns the school record for

victories in a single season -- 13 -- heading into the University

matchup.

The previous record for wins in a single season was 11.

“It’s an exciting time to be a part of this program,” Laguna coach

Stacy Howard said. “The kids have worked so hard to get here and it’s

great to see all of that paying of for them.”

Against Tesoro, junior Claire Bevacqua led all scorers with 25

points.

She also pulled down 12 rebounds.

Freshman Tess Grogan hit a pair of three-point shots and finished

with 12 points, and Andrea Ventura scored eight points.

“Andrea had a great night in the paint, playing tough ‘D’ and

hitting key free throws in the fourth quarter.”

Brittany Clark also was solid, getting 11 points and seven steals.

Laguna, however, had a fight on its hands.

Tesoro took a 43-41 lead into the final quarter, where Laguna’s

defense held to Titans to just six points.

“Led by our defensive pressure and effort in the fourth quarter,

our guards made the difference in that quarter,” Howard said. “We

went on a 7-0 run and Tesoro burned two timeouts in a 1 1/2 minute

stretch when we put that run on them.

“It was a great win to put us at the top of the heap in the PCL

today. The kids refused to lose last night and they showed what they

were made of in the fourth quarter. Our speed and conditioning just

outlasted Tesoro.”

Previously Laguna had defeated Calvary Chapel, 60-50. Bevacqua

scored 21 points to go along with 12 boards and four steals and Clark

finished with eight points, seven steals and four assists.

Bevacqua, whose play Howard describes as “powerful, gifted,

versatile, exciting,” is one of the county’s leading scorers.

She leads the team in scoring (16.6), rebounding (10) and blocks

(1.4) averages per game, and is second on the team in steals (3.2)

and assists (1.7).

Bevacqua leads the PCL in rebounding, is second in blocked shots

and also second in scoring average behind Chelsea Deluca of Calvary

Chapel.

Laguna’s defense held Deluca to just nine points in the 60-50 win.

“I think that the level Claire plays at is unlike anything we’ve

had at Laguna Beach High in girls’ basketball,” Howard said. “She can

control a game at both ends of the floor whenever she puts her mind

to it.

“I think that her innate ability and feel for the game has helped

to boost the confidence of our entire team. All of the kids raise

their level of play around Claire. She has been a major component in

the shift of Laguna Beach High girls’ hoops.”

Although Bevacqua ranks at or near the top in several team

categories, several other players have been instrumental in Laguna’s

ascend toward the top.

One such player is Ventura -- or, “Vinnie,” as she is called --

whom Howard refers to as, “the backbone of the team structure.”

Another is junior Chelsea Hairston, whom Howard dubbed the “glue

that holds this team together.”

And Clark, a sophomore whom the coaching staff asked this year to

take the reins of the team, has led a group of freshmen and

upperclassmen to, Howard said, “bigger heights than anyone thought

possible for us this season.”

Which brings us to an influx of three key freshman -- Grogan,

Emily LaRose and Lauren Kelly -- whose contributions have helped fuel

the Breakers’ success.

“I think that those three freshman have really had a great impact

on our success,” Bevacqua said. “They have really been impact players

on this team. I don’t remember so many talented freshmen players

coming into the program in the same year. It’s great. The future of

this program looks really good.”

That future could be now.