Sage Hill handles its business

sage hill girls hoops gamerWith their coach out of town, Lightning complete task of defeating fellow defending league champion Warriors.NEWPORT COAST -- The Sage Hill School girls’ basketball team, without Head Coach Joe Perez, who was out of town on business, captured a 40-35 Academy League victory Tuesday over visiting Brethren Christian.

“We knew we had to win for [Perez],” senior Haywood Wright said. “We knew what we had to do.”

Sage (12-3, 2-0 in league) was led by the 6-foot-2 Wright, who’s double-double -- 19 points and 16 rebounds -- presented problems for the Warriors.

“Our game plan was to contain Haywood Wright,” Brethren Christian Coach Mike Wakamiya said. “She’s a lot bigger than our players. We knew we couldn’t stop her so we just tried to contain her. She’s a special player.”

The Lightning defense faced an equal challenge with the girl in the dark green No. 22 jersey, who scored 25 of the team’s 35 points. Brethren Christian’s Niki Wakamiya darted, hopped and juked her way around Sage’s zone defense, scoring 11of the team’s 19 points in the first half and nailing three three-pointers in the game.

“We could have done a better job,” said Sage Hill assistant coach Rich Bowen, who filled in for Perez. “We’re not really used to a guard like her, so we had to adjust the pressure. But we did shut her down when we went man-to-man.”

“[Niki Wakamiya] hit some key shots, but when we went man-to-man, our guards did a good job on her,” Wright, bound for Yale, said. “It was a good win. We know we want to sweep league and this is how we have to do it. We learn from our mistakes and try to get better.”

In the second half, the Sage offense took its time to help the Lightning defeat the team with which it shared the league title last season.

At the beginning of the second half, the Warriors (10-8, 1-1) tied the score at 22, but both teams hit a standstill, going through several blocks of scoreless minutes.

In the fourth quarter, Wright scored seven points and seniors Laura Shaefer and Rebecca Hembarsky combined for seven as the Lightning outscored the Warriors, 20-16, in the second half.

A key three-pointer by Shaefer with six minutes left gave Sage an eight-point lead, which was reduced to four with one minute left in the game.

With high intensity and ball pressure that Bowen attributed to “Perez basketball,” Sage ran into foul trouble, as Katie McKeon fouled out and the Lightning tallied nine fourth-quarter fouls.

“They’re a good team,” Mike Wakamiya said. “They have a good balance. We wanted to steal one away from them, but it didn’t work out.”

Kaitlin Tyre finished with six points and six assists while Hembarsky added 14 points to her seven rebounds.

Academy League

Sage Hill 40,

Brethren Christian 35

Score by Quarters