Laguna teams win gold, silver at Winterfest tourney

The Laguna Beach 14-and-Under girls’ water polo team won the gold medal and the Laguna 12U girls won silver at the Winterfest tournament last weekend.

Sixteen teams played for the 14U title and 12 teams vied for the 12U crown.

Laguna’s 14U team opened tourney play against traditional power SoCal of Tustin and scored an 11-3 victory. Next came a 19-5 win over Chino Hills Area Water Polo (CHAWP) and was followed by a 12-7 win over Corona del Mar (CDM) that put Laguna in the semifinals. Laguna turned in a solid performance in the semis and emerged with a 14-3 win over Rose Bowl.

In the division final, Laguna prevailed, 7-5, over Santa Barbara.

The Laguna 12U team also reached its division championship game. Laguna took a 7-6 sudden-death overtime win from Riverside, routed Capistrano Valley Aquatics Club, 27-4, and then posted an 18-8 win over International (Los Alamitos). The three wins put Laguna in the semifinals, where they took a 15-2 win from CHAWP. In the division final, Laguna trailed Santa Barbara, 6-3, at the half and went on to an 11-8 defeat.

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National Junior Basketball

Girls’ Division 1: Laguna Beach won its second consecutive league title last weekend by knocking off second-place Capo Dana, 32-19. Laguna used a balanced attack on offense and defensively held Capo Dana’s offense in check in finishing the regular season at 9-1.

Laguna competes in postseason play Sunday and Feb. 26 in a tournament that includes teams from Tustin (8-0), Diamond Bar (9-0) and La Habra (8-1).

Girls’ Division 2: Laguna Beach ran its record to 7-1 and stayed in first place in its division by scoring a 22-17 win against San Clemente on Saturday. Laguna went to its press in the final quarter to create turnovers, which led to easy baskets to pull away from a tight game.

Sophia Lucas scored 15 points and Isabel Mansour had four points for Laguna, which closes out its regular season Saturday with games against second-place Laguna Hills that will determine the regular-season champion.

Boys’ Division 2: Laguna Beach Team II completed its season on a winning note Saturday, beating the Laguna Hills “UC Santa Cruz” team, 43-37. Frankie Cotinola led the way with 17 points and Josh McManus scored eight for Laguna, which avenged two earlier losses to UC Santa Cruz and will compete in the division playoffs Feb. 25-26.