Girls’ roller-coaster season ends

The roller-coaster ride of a season has come to an end for the Laguna Beach High girls’ basketball team.

And it was a good one.

Laguna’s run in the CIF-Southern Section Division IV-AA playoffs ended Feb. 16 when the Breakers dropped a close game at St. Margaret’s, losing 56-51. And like any ride, it wasn’t over until their was one final, thrilling twist.

Down by three with 20 seconds to play, the 11th-ranked Breakers perfectly executed an in-bounds play that set up Tess Grogan. The senior guard launched an open shot from the three-point arc but the ball went in and out of the cylinder.

The sixth-ranked Tartans were able to secure the rebound, then hit two free throws in the closing seconds to ice the game.

“Well, I guess the ride you get on sooner or later pulls up, stops and forces you to get out,” said Laguna first-year Coach Jon Hendrickson.

Laguna dug itself in a hole early. Its defense gave up 21 first-quarter points and the Breakers trailed 21-12 after the first eight minutes.

But, as they had on several occasions throughout the 2007-08 season, the Breakers staged an exciting comeback.

“The girls were a little nervous and jittery and took awhile to settle down but when we did, we started playing like only the Lady Breakers can,” Hendrickson said. “We battled back, winning the second and third quarters and trailed by one (40-39) going into the fourth.

“It seemed like we had them on their heels and we were charging. Our defense was in lock-down mode and offense was clicking. The game started getting physical as no team wanted to lose and go home. Our seniors came to play and were battling all night. They left all they had on the floor.”

Emily LaRose, Lauren Kelly and Emily Writer scored 14, 13 and 11 points, respectively, to lead the Laguna offense. Grogan finished with nine points and Sam Garner contributed four points.

Laguna had earned its first playoff victory since 2005 “” the last time it also hosted a first-round game “” when the Breakers defeated visiting Santiago of Garden Grove, 67-57, at Dugger Gym on Feb. 14. LaRose, who Hendrickson said was “on fire,” netted a career-high 29 points by shooting better than 60% from the floor.

Grogan hit a trio of three-pointers to finish with 13 points, Writer got seven of her nine points from the free-throw line, Garner had eight points and grabbed 13 rebounds and Kelly also scored eight points to go along with eight caroms.

“Awesome game,” Hendrickson said. “The girls played unbelievably good. We scored more points than we had all year.”

Laguna, which finished in second-place in the Orange Coast League, loses seniors Grogan, LaRose, Kelly and Shawna Reinart to graduation in June.

But gone, too, are the memories of last year’s winless season.

“I couldn’t be more proud of the effort the girls gave, just like they did all year,” Hendrickson said of the Breakers performance against St. Margaret’s. “It’s been an awesome season both on and off the court for me. I’m so glad I was able to coach this group of seniors. Next year will be tough without them.

“This season has been a memorable ride from day one and will be a season we will never forget.”