Marina girls’ basketball clinches Wave League crown at home
Marina was one of the premier Cinderella stories in girls’ basketball last season, a late run taking the team on quite a ride.
The Vikings advanced to a CIF Southern Section semifinal, won a regional title, and played in an NBA arena in reaching the state finals in Sacramento.
With the hopes of another deep playoff run on the horizon, Marina clinched the Wave League championship on its home court on Monday night. Marina defeated Huntington Beach 49-42 to give the program its first league title since 2019.
Standout sophomore guard Rylee Bradley said the team is playing with more confidence this year. It has shown in the Vikings’ seven-game winning streak, which came on the heels of a four-game losing skid.
“It’s very special to me,” Bradley said of winning a league title. “After our losing streak, the energy wasn’t that good, but I felt like we still have it in us to win after we beat Corona del Mar. … We built off of that.”
Bradley turned in a signature performance, dashing into the paint and making plays around the rim. She scored 23 points — matching her jersey number — to go with six rebounds.
Marina (19-8, 5-0 in the Wave League) had to battle back after the Vikings began the game with an untraditional starting lineup in recognition of senior night. Huntington Beach (15-12, 3-2) scored the first eight points of the game, forcing the hand of Marina coach Daniel Roussel.
Roussel said the players were notified he would start the seniors and make “game-time decisions” within the flow of the game. He added that everyone in the locker room understood there was “something bigger at stake” in the league championship.
A vexing defense has been the calling card for the Vikings, led by the toughness of Maria Tejeda. The 5-foot-3 junior guard supplied nine points, eight rebounds, seven steals and three assists.
“I really like to play defense,” Tejeda said. “... I really like to be the strong person on the team. My coach always says, ‘Oh, you’re really strong.’”
Anaya Rivera (five steals) and Haley Nguyen were also imposing defensively. Sydnie Smith added nine points and three rebounds.
“We couldn’t exhale on the court tonight,” Roussel said. “[The Oilers] played us super tough. Like we have in a lot of games this year, we just really continue to fight. I think we’re well conditioned, and that allows us to extend our pressure the whole game. … [The league title] was one of our goals, but ultimately, it’s partly still just getting ready for hopefully another nice playoff run.”
The section will release its girls’ basketball playoff pairings on Sunday at 12:30 p.m.
Huntington Beach maintained the lead into the second half, but defense led to offense for Marina, helping the Vikings get fastbreak baskets to turn the tide.
Freshmen Emily Hoang (15 points), a forward, and Emma Miyai (10 points), a guard, carried the Oilers offensively.
Lauren Matsumoto had five points, six assists, five rebounds and two steals. Looking to exploit a height advantage, Melanie Rose also got the start at center, providing six points, six rebounds and a blocked shot before fouling out for the Oilers.
“This year, the goal was 13 wins, make the playoffs, at-large or guaranteed,” said Huntington Beach coach Russell McClurg, who earned his 500th career win earlier this season. “We did that, so I’m very happy with the turnaround from last year to this year. We’re not done, but I’m very happy that we’re going to the playoffs.”
Wave League
Marina 49, Huntington Beach 42
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Huntington Beach 10 - 7 - 9 - 16 — 42
Marina 7 - 8 - 12 - 22 — 49
HB — Hoang 15, Miyai 10, Rose 6, Matsumoto 5, Melitas 3, Mori 3.
3-pt. goals — Miyai 2, Matsumoto 1, Melitas 1, Hoang 1, Mori 1.
Fouled out — Rose.
Technicals — None.
M — Bradley 23, Smith 9, Tejeda 9, H. Nguyen 6, Rivera 2.
3-pt. goals — Tejeda 1.
Fouled out — None.
Technicals — None.
Other girls’ basketball results from Monday:
Los Alamitos 73, Edison 35: Kassidy Beach scored 16 points, as the host Griffins clinched the outright Surf League title on Monday at home.
Los Alamitos (22-5, 5-0) received help from Fountain Valley (15-12, 1-4), which beat Corona del Mar (13-13, 3-2) on Monday by a count of 49-42.
CdM, which plays at Los Alamitos on Wednesday, has already clinched the second guaranteed playoff berth in the Surf League.
Mia Cassel had a team-high 11 points for Edison (7-20, 1-4).
Newport Harbor 38, Laguna Beach 33: Kaitlyn Leibe led the Sailors with 14 points, four assists and four steals on Monday in a Wave League game at home.
Abigail George added nine points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals for Newport Harbor (9-17, 1-4), which closes the season at Huntington Beach on Wednesday. Gianna Briggs contributed four points, 11 rebounds and four assists for the Sailors.
Laguna Beach (7-20, 1-4) plays host to Marina on Wednesday.
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