Girls basketball: Mesa towers over Azusa

Joseph Boo

AZUSA - In the first half, Autumn Smith o7 wasf7 Costa Mesa

High’s offense. But when she got into foul trouble, the rest of the

Mustangs’ girls basketball team stepped in, and Mesa pulled out a 50-43

win over host Azusa in Thursday’s CIF Southern Section Division III-AA

first round game.

Mesa (18-10) will face the winner of Saturday’s matchup of No. 2 seed

Bishop Montgomery and Sherman Oaks of Notre Dame in the quarterfinals on

Wednesday.

The six-foot Smith took advantage of a short Azusa squad and scored 14 of

Mesa’s 17 first-half points, hitting 7 of 11 field goal attempts.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Mustangs were a paltry 1 for 17.

Nevertheless, the 18-10 Mesa crew still led Azusa’s 21-2 quintet, 17-15,

at halftime with defense the key factor. The Aztecs, undefeated champions

of the Montclair League, came out jittery and committed 14 turnovers in

the first half, 10 in the first quarter.

“We played really good D,” Costa Mesa Coach Jim Weeks said. “We couldn’t

buy a shot in the first half, but our defense kept us in.”

Smith picked up her fourth foul three minutes into the third quarter and

did not score in the second half. With its leading scorer out, the rest

of Mesa’s offense stepped up, and a 9-0 run gave the Mustangs a 29-17

lead.

“I have confidence in all my girls,” Weeks said. “Laura Muniz came in and

did a great job. We scored nine points in a row with her in the game.”

It was the triumvirate of Nancy Hatsushi, Jenny Earnest and Christine

Caron that ignited the Mustangs. Hatsushi hit a three-pointer and Earnest

scored 11 of her 13 points in the second half. But it was Caron who

provided the biggest spark. Right after Smith picked up her fourth foul,

she hit a three-pointer, grabbed four offensive rebounds and dished out

two assists before she picked up her fourth foul with 2:26 left in the

third quarter.

Down, 37-26, after three quarters, Azusa made one big run at the start of

the fourth quarter. Trailing,44-37, Azusa’s Michelle Moore drove for a

layup with 1:51 left. On the same play, Mesa picked up a technical foul,

and the Aztecs pulled to within 44-40.

Azusa had a chance to close the game to one possession with 40 seconds

left, but Caron tied up Belinda Gallardo’s shot for a jump ball, which

went to Mesa. Azusa was forced to foul, and Hatsushi hit all six of her

free throws down the stretch, finishing with 14 points.

“Once it got to a 1:30,” Weeks said, “I wasn’t worried because they had

to foul Hatsushi, and she wasn’t going to miss.”

CIF SOUTHERN SECTION DIVISION III-AA

Costa Mesa 50, Azusa 43

Score by Quarters

Costa Mesa 7 10 20 13 - 50

Azusa 5 10 11 17 - 43

Costa Mesa - Smith 14, Hatsushi 14, Earnest 13, Caron 5, Marshall 2,

Trejo 2, Muniz 0, Lazos 0, Hitt 0, Cooper 0.

3-pt. goals - Hatsushi 1, Caron 1.

Fouled out - None.

Technicals - Marshall.

Azusa - Moore 18, Reed 8, Barroga 7, Gallardo 6, Joaquin 2, Garcia 0,

Perez 2, Jimenez 0, Manqueros 0.

3-pt. goals - None.

Fouled out - None.

Technicals - None.