Malapira finds zone for Mustangs’ triumph

COSTA MESA — Costa Mesa High girls’ basketball player Miriah Malapira was feeling it.

She hit several three-pointers off a pass, then canned one off the dribble.

She made three-pointers from the right side and the left corner, then nailed a long one from the top of the arc for good measure.

The location didn’t matter for the red-hot Malapira. She tied a school record with seven three-pointers in the Mustangs’ 58-24 Orange Coast League win over cross-town rival Estancia on Tuesday at Costa Mesa.

Malapira, a sophomore, finished with a game-high 21 points on seven-of-nine from three-point land, including a perfect five-for-five in the first half.

Her seventh make, from the top of the arc with three seconds remaining in the third quarter, tied the Mustang girls’ school record set by Susy Trujillo in 2004.

“I’ve been doing more shooting in practice,” Malapira said. “Once it’s in my hands, I just release it and it’s right there. It was a pretty good game tonight. Our shooting was great, and we were doing good on defense.”

Costa Mesa (13-10, 5-1 in league) seized control from the very start. Consecutive put-backs by point guard Michelle Figueroa gave the Mustangs an early 6-2 lead, which they extended to 13-2 on Malapira’s first two three-pointers of the night.

“[Malapira’s] a great shooter,” Costa Mesa Coach Jim Weeks said. “She’s got a shooter’s mentality. But she’s been playing such great defense the last few games, so coming down on offense, she’s just relaxed. She’s really starting to blossom as a player, and it starts with that defensive effort.”

The Eagles took a timeout after that early deficit, but first-year Estancia Coach Tommy Rausch never did figure out an answer to Malapira. Eight first-quarter turnovers didn’t help the Eagles’ cause, either.

Costa Mesa’s Jennifer Courtney (four steals), Figueroa and Antoinette Langmos (three each) helped the Mustangs keep up the defensive pressure all night long.

“Mesa played well,” Rausch said. “That’s all I can really say. They really took it to us.”

The Mustangs went on a 19-0 run at one point during the second quarter and never looked back. Also playing strong was junior center Jasmine Werdel, who had 13 points, five rebounds and three blocks.

Werdel said it was key for Costa Mesa to play more effectively than it did in beating Estancia, 43-31, on Jan. 19. The Mustangs are now gearing up for their game at Calvary Chapel next Monday.

The teams split their first two meetings, and the third will likely decide the Orange Coast League champion.

“We’re getting closer and closer to that game,” Werdel said. “We have to step it up, so we can be league champs and beat Calvary again.”

Senior guard Yasmin Arroyo had a team-high 10 points for Estancia (7-11, 2-4), and senior center Michelle Hallock pulled down seven rebounds.

Alondra Barrera, in her first game back from an ankle injury, came off the bench and made a three-pointer.

“She hasn’t even practiced yet,” Rausch said. “We’ll have a full team back soon. Hopefully then, we can put on a better performance.”

The Mustangs, ranked No. 4 in CIF Southern Section Division IV-AA, have higher hopes.

“We’ve been playing in spurts,” Weeks said. “To really be a great team, to really have a chance to win a league championship or a CIF championship, then we’ve got to start playing more than four or five minutes in a row.

“We want to keep the pressure on all the time defensively, and tonight we did.”

Orange Coast League

Costa Mesa 58, Estancia 24

Score by Quarters

Estancia

5

6

5

8

—

24

Costa Mesa

16

21

17

4

—

58

Estancia -- Arroyo 10, You 4, Hallock 4, Barrera 3, Ulrich 2, Williams 1.

3-pt. goals -- Arroyo 1, Barrera 1.

Fouled out -- None.

Costa Mesa -- Malapira 21, Werdel 13, Courtney 8, Figueroa 6, Trinh 4, Gentling 2, Garces 2, Gutierrez 2.

3-pt. goals -- Malapira 7.

Fouled out -- Brannon.