Magical run ends for Oilers
The Huntington Beach High girls’ basketball team saw its successful 2011-12 season come to an end Saturday when the Oilers lost, 80-52, to top-seed Mater Dei in the CIF State Championships SoCal Regionals at Mater Dei.
Senior guard Maya Kennedy scored a team-high 15 points and sophomore guard Paola Roa had 13 points for No. 9-seed Huntington. Mater Dei, which won the CIF Southern Section Division 1AA title, was led by Jordan Adams with 24 points. The Monarchs pulled away in the third quarter, outscoring the Oilers, 24-9.
Huntington won its regional opener March 8 when they went to San Diego High and defeated the CIF San Diego Section Division 1 champion Cavers, 71-51. Huntington jumped out to a 20-8 lead at the end of the first quarter and still was in front, 38-27, at the half. The Oilers then put the game away by outscoring the Cavers, 20-7, in the third quarter in building a 58-34 lead.
Against San Diego, three Oilers hit double figures, with senior Kelsey Minato scoring a game-high 28 points. Minato netted a career-best eight three-point shots in a game, where the Oilers set a school single-game record with 17 three-pointers. Minato also collected 12 rebounds. Sophomores Stephanie Louie and Danielle Kennedy also had big scoring games with 18 and 13 points, respectively.
The previous school record for three-pointers in a game for Huntington was 16, said Coach Russ McClurg, whose team made 250 three-pointers this season.
Minato and Maya Kennedy completed standout four-year careers. Minato became the all-time scoring leader for the program with 1,853 points. The old career scoring mark was 1,743 points set four years ago by Noelani Viloria. Kennedy hit 49 three-point shots and scored 379 points this year to give her 1,356 career points.
Huntington, which shared the 2012 Sunset League championship and finished runner-up to the CIF Southern Section Division 1A title, finished its year 26-6.
“It was a great season with lots of great memories,” McClurg said. “I told the girls this might be one of the greatest teams in school history. They played with great discipline and made their families, school and coaches very proud. I was very proud and thankful to be a around such a great group of girls.”
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All-CIF Girls’ Water Polo
Edison senior Alys Williams was named to the All-CIF Southern Section Division 1 team.
Williams, who signed with UCLA, is one of 13 players on the team and one of five Sunset League players selected. The Division 1 team is headed by Los Alamitos senior Rachel Fattal, who was named the division’s Player of the Year. Fattal also is headed to UCLA next year.
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Boys’ Volleyball
Some of the top boys’ volleyball teams are set to compete at the 2012 Orange County Championships beginning Friday. Edison and Fountain Valley are hosting Division 1 bracket play and Newport Harbor hosts the Division 2 bracket. The tournament continues Saturday and concludes Monday with both division finals being played at Edison.
The Division 2 final is at 5:30 p.m., followed at 7 p.m. by the Division 1 final on Monday.
In Division 1, 24 teams are split into four, four-team pools. The tournament starts at 3 p.m. Friday with pool play. Edison opens against Santa Margarita in a 3 p.m. Pool 3 match. Marina battles Dana Hills in a 3 p.m. Pool 4 match and Fountain Valley takes on Laguna Beach at 4 p.m. in Pool 4 play.
Each team plays two pool-play games Friday. The top two teams from each pool advance to the Gold Bracket and the third- and fourth-place teams go to the Silver Bracket on Saturday. Games start at 11:30 a.m. Saturday.
Twitter: @MikeSciacca
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