Laguna hangs on for victory

Jon Hendrickson called it an “unbelievable” game. Perhaps there isn’t any better description.

His Laguna Beach girls’ basketball team appeared to have Wednesday night’s Orange Coast League game against visiting Estancia in hand by the half, a 21-10 lead at the break showing the Breakers in control.

But the second half was a completely different story.

The Breakers, however, were able to survive a lowly-productive third quarter, a last-second deficit, a pair of missed free throws and then overtime, to achieve a thrilling, 50-49 victory over the visiting Eagles.

In a game they came close to losing, the win thrust the Breakers into a tie for first place in the league standings at 5-1. They share the league lead with Costa Mesa as they hit the road today to take on Calvary Chapel at 6 p.m.

More importantly, a year removed from going winless in league play, Laguna secured a CIF-Southern Section playoff berth with Wednesday’s win.

“The girls deserve all the credit in the world for their resiliency and the time that they have put in from day one,” the Laguna coach said.

Wednesday, they just found a way to win a game that appeared they almost certainly would lose at the end.

After that promising 21-10 first-half start, Laguna went on to be outscored 20-11 in the third quarter as Estancia (0-6 in league) pulled to within 32-30 going into the fourth quarter. The Eagles went into the lead in the final quarter and actually built a seven-point lead with two minutes to play. But clutch shooting by veterans Tess Grogan and Emily LaRose, both of whom hit huge three-point shots, cut the Estancia lead to one. The Eagles then hit a late free throw to take a two-point lead, but with seven seconds left, Laguna’s Emily Writer was fouled and went to the free throw line for two shots.

The freshman showed her cool by sinking both foul shots to tie the score. Estancia took the ensuing inbounds pass quickly up the floor and drew a shooting foul but the Eagles missed both free throws and the game went to overtime.

The lead went back-and-forth in overtime, and the score was tied with less than 10 seconds left when Laguna freshman Samantha Garner was fouled. Garner held her composure and made the first of two free throws to break the tie and give the Breakers an improbable one-point victory.

“As a coach, I was disappointed in our third-quarter effort but couldn’t be more proud of the effort and the poise the girls put forth tonight,” Hendrickson said. “They didn’t quit; they battled back and hit some clutch free throws down the stretch to pull off the victory.

“It was exciting, thrilling and nerve-racking but to battle back and win the game showed how much character this team has. I’m glad I am a part of it.”

The win was the second straight one-point victory in the past week for Laguna.

The Breakers were coming off an inspiring 59-58 victory at Costa Mesa.

The Breakers had to rally in the fourth quarter where they outscored the Mustangs, 20-10, to pull out the come-from-behind win.

Laguna had trailed by as many as 15 points in the third quarter. They took the lead for the first time with 45 seconds left in the game and built the lead to four points before Costa Mesa hit a three-point shot at the buzzer to make the final 59-58.

LaRose’s outstanding performance ended with a season-high 25 points. Also scoring in double-figures for the Breakers were Grogan with 14 points and Samantha Garner with 10 points.

Lauren Kelly scored nine points and Writer had a point to round out Laguna’s offense.

That triumph moved Laguna into a first-place tie in the league standings with Costa Mesa. It also avenged a 53-26 hit the Mustangs put on the Breakers in their first league meeting on Jan. 16.

“I couldn’t be prouder of the effort and resiliency the girls showed,” Hendrickson said. “We lost to Costa Mesa by 27 points the first time we played them and were thoroughly embarrassed from the coach down to the players. Therefore, we wanted to show that we were much better than that and did so [last] Friday night. It was a great effort on the girls’ part.”