Edison girls' basketball beats Laguna Beach, claims Wave League's second-place playoff bid

Edison's Cynthia Dinh (11) shoots in the Wave League second-place tiebreaker game against Laguna Beach.

By Scott FrenchSpecial Contributor

Feb. 5, 2022 6:11 PM PT

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Edison High School‘s fourth-quarter collapse in Monday’s girls’ basketball loss at Laguna Beach left the Chargers with alternate narratives: They lost their grip on the Wave League’s second berth for the CIF Southern Section playoffs but found the impetus when the Breakers’ defeat in the league finale to champion Newport Harbor left them even in the standings.

Edison used that as a catalyst in Friday evening’s showdown for the postseason invitation, using sophomore Mia Cassel to take command inside and five Gwen Ontiveros three-pointers — three in the fourth quarter — to claim successive CIF trips with an impressive 63-50 triumph at Fountain Valley High School.

Cassel scored 23 points and pulled down 11 rebounds, and Ontiveros scored 20 points to lead the Chargers. Edison (9-18) missed six of its first seven shots while falling behind by seven points, then took charge by halftime behind an aggressive zone defense and full-court press and Cassel‘s dominance in the paint.

Next up is the Division 3A playoffs for Edison. Laguna Beach (17-10), which had outscored the Chargers 27-7 in the fourth quarter of its 51-39 triumph four days earlier, awaits word on a likely at-large berth as the third-ranked team in Division 5AA.

Laguna Beach's Kate Cheng (34) shoots a jump shot versus Edison in the Wave League second-place tiebreaker game.

“It feels really great, because we didn’t think we had a chance after [Monday’s loss to make the playoffs],” Cassel said, “And getting the reassurance that we’re going, it’s really good feeling that we have another chance.”

The Chargers “didn’t finish the job on Monday,” Edison coach Mark Decker said, “And that was kind of our theme at practice yesterday and [in the game] today. We still let them hang around a little bit, but it looked like our girls were determined to make sure it wasn’t close enough to let them have a chance.”

Edison was better organized at both ends from tip-off, even as the Breakers rushed to a 9-2 advantage in the first three and a half minutes. It was 11-11 a few minutes later. Laguna Beach was up by five early in the second quarter, but the Chargers — with Ontiveros striking twice from behind the arc in an 8-0 run — had their first lead with three minutes to go in the half, were up 27-22 at the break, and held a double-digit advantage before the third quarter was up.

Cassel became the protagonist as Adelina Fredrick got into foul trouble before the end of the first half, when she scored seven points with nine rebounds. Decker went to four guards, and Cassel’s dominance inside against Sophie Marriner and Kate Cheng left space on the perimeter.

Edison's Bailey Chang (21) grabs a rebound in the Wave League second-place tiebreaker game at Fountain Valley High School.

Amid three Laguna Beach turnovers, Ontiveros sandwiched two three-pointers around one by Gillian Barnes on Edison’s first five possessions of the fourth quarter, extending the lead to 14. The Breakers climbed within 10 just once and for only a few moments after that.

“The girls seemed a little nervous,” Laguna Beach coach Matthew Tietz said. “Most of them haven’t played in a big-time game like this, and we were tentative when we could have been more confident. Our girls got caught on their heels too often.”

Marriner scored 18 points with 11 rebounds, and Cheng and Alexandra Grombchevsky added 11 points apiece.

Tietz believes his team can make the program’s first playoffs appearance since 2016. He says it looks like there should be about a half-dozen at-large berths in Division 5AA, and one of them would surely come his team’s way.

“I’m hoping. If there’s space, we should get in,” he said. “You just never know if there’s going to be room in the bracket for us.”