Girls basketball: CdM on a roll

Barry Faulkner

CORONA DEL MAR - Corona del Mar High finished an otherwise

forgettable girls basketball season winning six of its last seven games.

But, even before the Sea Kings host Ganesha tonight in a CIF Southern

Section III-AA first-round playoff game at 7 o’clock, Coach Elbert Davis

celebrated yet another victory - a coin flip with fellow Pacific Coast

League runner-up Estancia.

The fortuitous flip allowed CdM (13-12) to claim the league’s No. 2

playoff spot, which led to tonight’s home assignment against the Giants

(18-11).

Davis and his players hope to keep the good times rolling against

Ganesha, which finished third in the eight-team Valle Vista League with a

10-4 record, three games behind co-champions South Hills (20-3) and San

Dimas (21-5).

“I think we’re playing our best basketball of the season and peaking

at the right time,” CdM senior star Kristin McCoy said.

McCoy, a 5-foot-7 forward who earned second-team All-CIF Division III

recognition last season, is a big reason for the late-season surge, which

included critical league victories over Estancia (Feb. 1) and Costa Mesa

(Feb. 8).

McCoy, who has missed games with various injuries this year, averaged

14.6 points in the regular season. After returning from a two-game hiatus

due to an ankle sprain, she averaged 19 points in the final three

regular-season games, including a season-high 26 in the PCL finale

against Costa Mesa.

Adding support to the reigning Newport-Mesa District Player of the

Year, are teammates Jackie McCoy, Kristin’s sophomore sister, and

starting guards Andrea Gruber and Courtney Kawata.

Jackie McCoy (9.3 points per game) averaged 12.2 the last four games,

including a career-high 20 against Northwood Jan. 30.

Kawata (5.3 ppg) and Gruber (4.9 ppg) will be asked to balance out the

McCoys’ inside presence with some scoring from the perimeter.

The Sea Kings’ late-season surge last year included an III-AA

first-round overtime victory over visiting La Canada. They are hoping for

a similar result this time around.

Ganesha, coached by Gloria Hackett, is paced by 5-foot-10 senior

Anetero Uiagalelei. Having taken over the featured role from Veranda

James, who dropped 37 points on III-AA second-round victim Estancia last

year, en route to the University of Arizona, Uiagalelei is averaging 22.5

points, 11 rebounds and 6.7 assists.

Tonight’s winner will travel to Rio Hondo League champion La Canada

(16-10) for Saturday’s second round.