Girls’ Basketball: Esperanza edges HB

ANAHEIM — There was much more than a girls’ basketball game going on in the Esperanza High gym on Thursday night.

Two established programs took to the hardwood, led by coaches who shared a lot of respect for each other.

Even as he grappled with emotions spawned by a stroke that his brother suffered the night before, Esperanza Coach James Valverde still brought his best on the bench when his team needed it.

A furious rally by Huntington Beach was supplanted by Esperanza, 47-42, as the Aztecs made just enough plays late to get the win in a nonleague game.

“I’ve got a great bunch of kids,” Valverde said. “They play with a lot of desire. To be honest, I didn’t think that they played that well tonight, but they fought through it.”

Esperanza (8-1) had opened a 43-32 lead with 1:36 remaining on a transition layup by Katie Kubo.

It had been an off shooting night to that point for the Oilers (4-3), but the one player that was exempt from that cold front was Frankie Wade-Sanchez (21 points).

The senior small forward was five of six from three-point range, and she hit two shots from that distance in the final 80 seconds.

Add another three-pointer by freshman Sophia Escalante, and the Oilers were in a one-possession game, 45-42, with 15 seconds left.

For the second time in the final minute, though, the Aztecs were able to press break for a layup. Sarah Youssouf’s fastbreak basket put the game out of reach.

The teams were in a near deadlock early, as Huntington Beach trailed, 20-19, at halftime.

Despite foul trouble for senior guard Amanda Williams, Esperanza found other ways to be effective in the second half.

Sophomore center Samantha Fries scored seven points in the third quarter, and Kubo added a pair of three-pointers. The Aztecs won the third, 15-9, and they led, 35-28, going to the final period.

“One of my best players got in foul trouble,” Valverde said. “The girls just came together to grind out another win.”

Oilers Coach Russell McClurg felt that his team left rebounds that were there to be had, and it cost Huntington Beach some big second-chance points.

“There were a lot of opportunities on the weak side,” he said. “We didn’t crash the boards on the offensive side.”

“We had two people rebounding, and that was it. You’ve got to get three kids in there at all times, forming a triangle. We just struggled in that area.”

Entering the game, Huntington Beach was ranked 11th in the CIF Southern Section Division 1A rankings. Esperanza was the No. 7 team in the same division.

Needless to say, the Oilers were treating this game as a measuring stick for how they currently stack up against playoff teams in their own division.

“We knew how high they were ranked, so we knew it was going to be a good, competitive game for us,” Wade-Sanchez said. “We just weren’t able to finish a lot of our shots, and we weren’t able to do what we came out to do tonight.”

Huntington Beach will head to Arizona for the Nike Tournament of Champions next week.

Nonleague

Esperanza 47, Huntington Beach 42

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Huntington Beach – 10 - 9 - 9 - 14 – 42

Esperanza – 14 - 6 - 15 - 12 – 47

HB – Wade-Sanchez 21, Tanga 8, Escalante 5, Nakaji 3, Byer 3, Hodel 2.

3-pt. goals – Wade-Sanchez 5, Escalante 1.

Fouled out – None.

Technicals – None.

Espy – Kwong 12, Fries 10, Youssouf 8, Kubo 8, Warye 5, Williams 3, Gelinas 1.

3-pt. goals – Kubo 2, Fries 1, Williams 1.

Fouled out – Williams.

Technicals – None.

Other Games on Thursday Night

Los Amigos 47, Loara 26: Cheryl Caldera had 30 points and 14 rebounds as the Lobos improved to 8-1 on the season.

Los Amigos has won every game since dropping its opener to Beckman in the Vernie Ford Tournament.