Basketball Roundup: Breakers find game at home
In the 10th game of its season, the Laguna Beach High girls’ basketball team finally played on its home court Wednesday. From start to finish, things couldn’t have gone better for the Breakers.
Laguna led from wire-to-wire in its nonleague game against Anaheim, and posted a 56-35 victory at Dugger Gym. It put the Breakers, who have won two straight, at 6-4 overall and gives them some momentum heading into a Saturday game at Sage Hill.
The Breakers took an early lead Wednesday and led by nine, 28-19, at the half. They broke open the game in the third quarter to win comfortably.
Sophomore guard Jackie Cenan led the scoring with 24 points. Sophomore guard Alexandra Lewis and sophomore forward Francesca Cecutti both were in double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively, and freshman guard Nicole Davidson chipped in three points.
“We really crashed the offensive boards well and shot the ball well from the outside,” Laguna Coach Mark Lewis said. “It was a nice win and a nice way to come out in our home opener. It was also somewhat of a redemption game for us from last year, as Anaheim gave us our first loss of the season and the only one outside of league play.”
The Breakers were coming off a third-place finish in the Premier Flight Division of the Ocean View Hawk Holiday Classic. They completed the week-long tournament Saturday and held off a late surge by Mission Viejo to grab a 57-54 victory.
Laguna used a 15-0 run in the first quarter to go up by five points and extended the lead to double digits before the Diablos rallied. Cenan led a balanced Breakers’ attack with 18 points. Senior center Jane Wallin scored 13 points, Lewis and Cecutti eight points each, Davidson six points, and sophomore forward Murphy Thompson and senior guard Kendra Overstreet each had two points.
The win allowed Laguna to bounce back from a 67-31 loss to host Ocean View Dec. 13. The Seahawks on Saturday won the Premier Flight Division title by downing Western, 52-45.
The Breakers play a 6 p.m. nonleague game Saturday at Sage Hill. Next week, they compete at the Max Preps Holiday Classic. Laguna opens tournament play at noon Thursday against Shadow Hills at Xavier Prep High. The Breakers play their second tourney game at 12:30 p.m. against La Costa Canyon at College of the Desert.
The Max Preps Classic continues Dec. 28 and concludes Dec. 30.
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Boys’ Basketball
The Breakers went to 2-0 at the Irvine World News Tournament by slipping past Northwood, 55-53, in overtime Wednesday at Irvine High.
Laguna senior guard Alec Wulff hit a three-point shot at the end of regulation to tie the score (48-48) and send the game to overtime.
Wulff led Laguna, which improved to 7-2 overall, in scoring with 15 points. Senior forward Josh Adams scored 14 points, senior guard Matt Jones nine points, senior guard Noah Blanton eight points, senior guard Bryan Ludloff seven points, and senior guard Garrett Wong rounded out the scoring with two points.
Laguna, which opens the season with a No. 10 preseason ranking in CIF Southern Section Division 4AA, started the tournament Tuesday and defeated host Beckman, 64-48. Wulff and Adams each had 15 points, Ludloff 12 points, Jones 11 points, and Blanton had eight points.
The Breakers complete tournament pool play Friday at 5:30 p.m. against San Clemente at Northwood High.
The 16-team tournament concludes Saturday.
In a nonleague road game Dec. 13 at Irvine, Laguna opened up a 21-point lead and cruised to a 55-44 win over the Vaqueros. Adams led the charge with 19 points. Wulff scored 14 points, Blanton had 10 points to go with 14 rebounds, and Ludloff had seven assists.
“It was a good win and an opportunity to play everybody,” Fleming said.
Following the Irvine World News Tournament, the Breakers next week will compete at the 24th annual Torrey Pines Holiday Classic. They open tourney play at 12:40 p.m. Thursday against San Diego Francis Parker in Senators Division action at La Jolla Country Day School.
Francis Parker is ranked seventh in San Diego County.
The Torrey Pines Holiday Classic continues Dec. 27-28 and concludes Dec. 30.
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CIF Basketball Preseason Rankings
(released Monday)
Boys: Laguna Beach, No. 10, Division 4AA.