High School Basketball: Laguna girls earn tie for second
The Laguna Beach girls’ basketball team capped Orange Coast League play Wednesday with a victory that gave the Breakers a tie for second place.
Laguna took a 43-26 win from visiting Calvary Chapel at Dugger Gym, which completed a 7-3 league season and earned the Breakers a tie for second with Godinez. Estancia (10-0) won the league title.
Junior forwards Sydney DeCarlo and Alexandra Lewis scored 12 points apiece, and junior guard Jackie Cenan had 11 points for the Breakers, who completed the regular season with a 15-11 record and are now preparing for the CIF playoffs which start next week.
Laguna Coach Mark Lewis called the victory a “good win at home to close out the regular season.”
“We talked after the game and reflected back on our season and how many changes we went through with various players coming and going, injuries, eligibility, return from injuries, and the changing of offensive and defensive philosophies several times throughout the season, to adjust to the various personnel moves,” he said. “Through it all, the girls did a great job adapting and playing well through it all.
“Our team certainly exceeded my expectations and they are to be commended for their achievements. After starting the season 2-7, we finished with a 13-4 run to achieve our mark of 15-11. Another big accomplishment for the girls was to earn a berth into CIF for the third straight season. I am not 100% sure, but it may be that this is the first time the girls’ basketball program has qualified for CIF in three consecutive years.”
In a league game Monday, Laguna was upended, 33-27, at Godinez. Cenan scored 12 points to pace the Breakers, who were deadlocked with the Grizzlies, 22-22, heading into the fourth quarter.
“It was a grind it out game, not pretty on either end of the floor,” Mark Lewis said. “It was a disappointing loss as we could have really put a stranglehold on outright second place in league.”
The Breakers ended the previous week with a 41-30 league victory at Saddleback. Alexandra Lewis scored 13 points, Cenan 12 points and sophomore guard Rachel Kenney seven points for the Breakers, who led throughout and won going away.
The win secured an automatic CIF playoff berth for Laguna.
The CIF girls’ basketball playoff pairings will be released Sunday. First-round and wild-card games start next Thursday.
“We are excited about competing in CIF and are hopeful for a first round draw that will give us an opportunity to advance,” Mark Lewis said. “We will be working to shore things up on the defensive end heading into the playoffs. We will know more about our approach once we know our first round opponent, which we will know Sunday afternoon.”
*
Boys’ Basketball
The Breakers ended their Orange Coast League and regular season on Thursday against Calvary Chapel. The score from the game, between a pair of 6-3 league teams that would determine second place in the final league standings, wasn’t available at press time.
Laguna, ranked No. 15 in 4AA, took a 15-12 overall record into the Calvary Chapel game.
In an OCL game Tuesday at Godinez, Laguna was handed a 64-27 defeat by the league champion Grizzlies. The Breakers fell behind, 12-0, in the game’s first three minutes, and never recovered.
Freshman guard Charlie Rounaghi scored nine points to lead Laguna which trailed, 35-9, at halftime.
The 27 points for the game were a season-low for the Breakers.
“I’m pretty sure this is the worst loss I’ve ever had,” Laguna Coach Bret Fleming said. “The game was on me. Any time a team comes out and is not ready to play, that’s on the coaches. We were never in this one.”
To win its first title in boys’ basketball, Godinez, ranked No. 7 in CIF Southern Section Division 1A, had to get through Laguna. The Grizzlies, who started four seniors Tuesday, twice defeated Laguna this season, gaining their first victories against the Breakers, who had been 12-0 in previous meetings between the schools.
The Breakers had an eight-year run as league champions come to an end.
In their previous league outing, the Breakers overcame another slow start to run away from host Saddleback, 65-36. Four Breakers scored in double figures paced by freshman wing Brandon Burzell’s game-high 25 points. Junior wing Darin Richardson scored 15 points and junior guard Isaac Wulff and junior post Nick Rahder both had 10 points.
“We also started out slow in that one and didn’t come out ready to play,” Fleming said. “We had a bad first quarter but after that, we turned it on and won pretty big.”
The Breakers are headed to the CIF playoffs. The boys’ basketball playoff pairings will be released Sunday. First-round and wild-card games will be played at 7 p.m. next Wednesday.
*
CIF Weekly Rankings
(released Monday)
Boys’ Basketball: Laguna Beach (No. 15, Division 4AA).
*
Twitter: @MikeSciacca