A team win for Sage

COSTA MESA — Losing for much of the first half, the Sage Hill School girls’ basketball team didn’t panic Thursday night at Estancia High.

Lightning-fast was the way the Lightning changed the momentum in the nonleague game.

Senior guard Katie McKeon hit a three-pointer with 55 seconds to go in the half. After a defensive stop, junior forward Tierney Danner made a layup, was fouled and converted the three-point play, giving Sage Hill a two-point halftime lead.

From there it got considerably easier for the Lightning, who went on to a 44-25 win over the Eagles.

“We started spreading the floor, and everybody was looking for their shot,” McKeon said. “Tierney’s usually our main scorer on offense, but we really moved the ball around a lot and got a lot of good shots.”

Danner, who is averaging 19 points and 10 rebounds per game, had a game-high 18 points for Sage Hill (4-3). She’s led the Lightning in scoring in each of their seven games so far.

Estancia freshman forward Kassie Stratton has done the same thing for the Eagles (1-6), and she did it again Thursday with nine points. But the Sage Hill production was too steady across the board.

Junior guard Morgan Hembarsky had eight points, all in the second half as the Lightning pulled away. McKeon had six points, five rebounds and three assists. Junior forward Stephanie Garrison contributed four points and 16 rebounds, while sophomore forward Hannah Jeffrey had six points and 12 rebounds.

“We’re trying hard to have everybody be a threat,” Garrison said.

Second-year coach Lou Silverman said he saw it against Estancia.

“One of the things we really improved on tonight was getting meaningful contributions from seven or eight players,” he said. “Our defense was pretty strong throughout, and we did a much, much better job of executing in the second half offensively.”

The Lightning outscored the Eagles, 18-5, in the fourth quarter alone. It was then that Danner scored eight of her points, including four free throws. Danner, aggressive around the basket, was eight of 12 from the line.

“She used to be soft as a freshman,” McKeon joked. “We had to beat her up a little bit.”

Estancia starting point guard Tiffany Monteiro was out sick, as was fellow senior Amber Thomas. Senior Julie Arreola (knee) and freshman Yesenia Maldonado (ankle) also couldn’t play for the Eagles, Coach Tommy Rausch said.

Freshman guard Brenda Soto, who usually comes off the bench, stepped into the starting lineup and contributed eight points, five rebounds and four steals. But the Lightning wore Estancia down as the game went on.

“That’s our Achilles heel; we struggle to rebound,” Rausch said. “I know we’re a small team, but rebounding’s about effort...As a whole, the team, myself, the coaches, we need to do a better job. We shouldn’t be 1-6. We’re better than that. We’ve got to start putting some wins together.”

Senior guard Steffi Ramirez had three steals for Estancia.

Nonleague

Sage Hill 44, Estancia 25

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Sage Hill – Danner 18, Hembarsky 8, McKeon 6, Jeffrey 6, Garrison 4, West 2.

3-pt. goals – McKeon 1.

Fouled out - None.

Technicals - None.

Estancia – Stratton 9, B. Soto 8, Gutierrez 2, E. Soto 2, Ste. Ramirez 2, Millan 2.

3-pt. goals – None.

Fouled out – Stratton, Millan.

Technicals – None.

MATT SZABO may be reached at (714) 966-4614 or by e-mail at matthew.szabo@latimes.com.