GIRLS’ BASKETBALL PREVIEW:Newport Harbor looks for a turnaround

What more could Newport Harbor High Coach Jennifer Thompson do?

“Win more,” she said.

After guiding the Newport Harbor girls’ basketball team to a season-opening victory, Thompson needs three more wins to match last year’s win total.

It’s an achievable feat for the Sailors, who have shown Thompson in three of their first four games that there’s no quit in them this year.

“They are putting in the effort now,” said Thompson, whose team is 1-3. “We’re just concentrating on working hard. We’re not thinking about winning league.”

Claiming the Sunset League will prove difficult for a team that won only two games last year in the inferior Sea View League.

In Thompson’s previous five years, Newport Harbor never won a league crown, but she has a group that could give teams fits.

The Sailors did just that to cross-town rival Corona del Mar in the Battle of the Bay Friday.

They lost a close one, 44-42, but there were a couple opportunities late to pull off the road victory.

That’s something Newport Harbor couldn’t do much of last year. The games were rarely close.

So when the Sailors found themselves trailing CdM by two points with 36 seconds remaining, they froze at the free-throw line.

Thompson saw her team go two-for-6 on free throws the rest of the way, hurting Newport Harbor’s chances.

“We didn’t make the easy shots,” said Thompson, who in a three-second span saw her team miss two opportunities to tie the game.

The first came after one player didn’t take advantage of being fouled while attempting a three-pointer.

The score was 44-41, but Newport Harbor could only cut it to two points as only one free throw went in.

The last chance came after the player purposely missed the last free throw. It worked when a teammate grabbed the offensive rebound, but the putback attempt didn’t go in at the buzzer.

Players walked away disappointed, but at least how Thompson put it, they “are in games now.”

Seven players are back from a team finishing 4-22 overall and 2-8 in league last year, and they should improve Newport Harbor.

Counted on to have productive senior years are 6-foot-1 center Brittany Deyan and guard Ivy Melo. The duo were around in the 2003-04 season when the Sailors won their first postseason game since 1997.

With senior Amber Munnelly at guard with Melo, Newport Harbor showcases a strong backcourt.

There are also two freshman standouts, 5-10 forward Lindsay Anderson and 6-0 center Maiquel McLeish.

Only time will tell if Newport Harbor’s mix of veterans and young guns this year will add up to more wins.