Girls basketball: Wounded Sea Kings knock out rivals

Steve Virgen

CORONA DEL MAR - With four players out of action, including two

starters, the Corona del Mar High girls basketball team found quick

motivation when it realized who was visiting its gym Thursday night.

Back Bay rival Newport Harbor provided inspiration for the battered

Sea Kings as they earned bragging rights with a 37-27 nonleague victory.

CdM junior Jackie McCoy, a first-team All-Pacific Coast League and

All-Newport-Mesa District performer, is out for the season with a torn

anterior cruciate ligament, and starting senior post player Carrie

Hawkins will not play the rest of the season either with a torn meniscus.

CdM senior Naz Alateha will miss the next three weeks with an injured

shoulder and 6-foot junior Aryn Dimas is away from the team on vacation.

“This is the first time we played with intensity the whole game,” CdM

Coach Elbert Davis said. “We didn’t feel sorry for ourselves. The girls

that were here suited up and played hard. I hope it’s not because of

Newport, but I’m sure that had a lot to do with it. I hope (CdM) would

get up for all the games.”

CdM junior Kelliann Klein sparked the Sea Kings’ intense performance.

She came off the bench to lead the Sea Kings (4-7) with 11 points,

scoring seven in the fourth quarter. She hit two free throws with 0:28

left for a 35-27 lead.

Lauren Snell, a versatile CdM sophomore, showed glimpses of her

potential, scoring nine points, while senior point guard Andrea Gruber,

who wore a bandage above her right eye, led the defense with six steals.

The Sailors answered with junior Lindsay Woller, who scored a

team-high eight points, while senior Evita Castillo added seven points

and a game-high 11 rebounds, nine in the second half.

“Seeing the girls get pumped up for this game, you could tell this is

a big rivalry,” Newport Coach Jen Thompson said. “We played a very good

defensive game. This is the first game where we saw the girls talking on

defense. Our defense is what kept us in the game because we were forcing

bad shots. But, our free throws killed us.”

Newport Harbor struggled at the foul line, making 6 of 21.

The Sailors (1-9) were outscored 12-6, over the final seven minutes.

Woller nailed a pair of free throws with 7:08 left, but CdM still led,

22-21, and after Klein drained a three-pointer after an assist from

Colleen Marks, the Sea Kings gained huge momentum.

CdM junior Madison Otterbein hit a clutch jumper off an assist from

Gruber with one second left on the shot clock to give the Sea Kings a

31-25 lead with under three minutes left, and Gruber later dished an

assist to Snell for an easy layup and a 33-25 lead with 2:32 left.

“(Snell is) coming around,” Davis said. “I’ve been waiting for this.

She can do it all for us and we’re going to need her.”

The Sea Kings built a 15-10 lead before halftime. Marks knocked down a

big-time three-pointer and was fouled with 1:18 left in the first half.

She converted the free-throw for the four-point play to give the Sea

Kings a 15-8 lead.

NONLEAGUE

Corona del Mar 37, Newport Harbor 27

Newport Harbor 3 7 8 9 - 27

Corona del Mar 4 11 7 15 - 37

Newport Harbor - Swigart 1, Castillo 7, Woller 8, Vasquez 2, Stoltz 1,

Campbell 3, Whitfield 3, Miller 2, Rangel 0.

3-pt. goals - Campbell 1.

Fouled out - none.

Technicals - none.

Corona del Mar - Ramsey 0, Luu 0, Snell 9, Kawata 3, Gruber 2, Klein

11, Otterbein 4, Marks 6, Stern 2.

3-pt. goals - Marks 1, Klein 1.

Fouled out - Ramsey.

Technicals - none.