OCL title time for Breakers
It’s been a big week, a celebratory week, for the Laguna Beach High boys’ and girls’ basketball programs.
Both have earned Orange Coast League championships.
For the Laguna girls’ team, there was plenty reason to celebrate Wednesday in Dugger Gym. The Breakers’ league matchup with visiting Calvary Chapel marked Senior Night and the final home game of the regular season. The night ended with a 53-28 runaway victory for the Breakers that gave them a piece of the league title.
The triumph completed a 9-1 league season and 19-7 regular season for Laguna, ranked No. 16 in CIF Southern Section Division 4AA, and gave the program only its second league title (and first in the OCL) in its 43-year history. The Breakers share the crown with 13th-ranked Estancia which defeated Godinez Wednesday to also finish league 9-1.
The program won its first league championship in 2005 when the 2004-05 team captured the Pacific Coast League title.
“This was a great week for the girls, for the program,” Coach Mark Lewis said. “We locked down defensively and came away with two huge victories and a league title.”
Senior guard/forward Jackie Cenan poured in a game-high 27 points. Senior forward Alexandra Lewis dropped five three-point shots and scored 19 points. Junior guard/forward Rachel Kenney had four points, junior forward Marissa Lee two points, and sophomore guard Marisa Schatz one point.
Calvary Chapel gave Laguna a battle when the teams met Jan. 21, but the Breakers were able to come away with a 44-38 victory. The Eagles entered Wednesday’s game tied with Godinez for third place in league and in the hunt for the league’s final automatic playoff berth.
“We knew that if we wanted to win league, we were going to have to earn it,” Mark Lewis said. “We weren’t shooting the ball well early as I think the girls had a little too much adrenaline flowing.”
The Breakers struggled early on offense and led by only 5-3 late in the first quarter. Cenan’s play at the basket gave them the lead and Alexandra Lewis, who struggled early from long range, hit a key three-point shot late in the quarter, then hit again from behind the arc early in the second quarter, to extend the lead to 13-3.
Laguna rolled from there. The Breakers clamped down defensively and held the Eagles to three points in both the first and second quarters. They held a 28-6 halftime lead and took a 41-14 lead into the final quarter.
The Breakers recognized their senior class of players, Cenan, Lewis, guards Amy Nygaard and Ashely Brown, and forward Elise Pontius, in pregame festivities.
The Breakers were able to grab a portion of the OCL title by coming up with a huge road victory Monday at Estancia. They handed the Eagles, who won the first league meeting between the teams Jan. 19, a 45-30 defeat which resulted in the teams being deadlocked in first place.
Mark Lewis said the showdown was “one of, if not the, biggest wins in the program’s recent history.”
“Estancia’s is the only gym in which we have not won in at least the five years I have been coaching at Laguna Beach,” he said. “With Estancia being the three-time defending league champs, we knew that the league title would go through them and we knew we would have to beat them in their gym to get there. The girls did just that in a masterful performance.”
The Breakers held Estancia star guard Maya Van Den Heever, who picked up three fouls in the first quarter, to only three points all coming in the fourth quarter. The senior hit four three-point shots and scored a game-high 23 points in the Eagles’ 53-43 win over the Breakers Jan. 19.
Laguna led, 22-12, at the half.
Cenan scored 17 points, Kenney 11 points, Alexandra Lewis nine points, Lee four points, Brown two points, and sophomore guard Jasmine Banks, who Mark Lewis said “had primary responsibility for keeping close watch on Van Den Heever,” had two points.
Alexandra Lewis hit a pair of three-pointers that helped Laguna build and keep its lead. Lee hit big shots early, and Mark Lewis said Kenney was a big key on offense.
“She made buckets in every quarter, hitting on several, key outside shots,” he said. “She provided that balance and the third scoring option that allowed us to open up the court. This was, I would say, Rachel’s best performance of her career to date and it couldn’t have come at a more opportune time and in such an important game. Her naturally calm demeanor, I think, really helped her stay grounded and in the moment. She was huge for us.”
Laguna also came up with a huge defensive effort to stymie the Eagles.
“This game was won on the defensive end,” Lewis said. “We worked on a defensive strategy in the practices leading up to this game to make sure we addressed the weaknesses that Estancia exploited the first time we played them. The girls executed the game plan to perfection. I think our defensive strategy caught them off guard and frustrated their normal offensive sets early.
“We used our defensive strategy to set the tone for the game. The 30 points to which we held Estancia was their lowest point total of the season. I can’t praise the girls enough for their defensive effort. It was truly masterful, a true team defensive effort. I was most impressed with the girls’ poise. They looked and played calm throughout.”
Lewis said Laguna won a coin flip to determine the league’s No. 1-seeded team for the playoffs. The playoff pairings will be released Sunday and wild-card and first-round games are next Thursday.
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•The Laguna boys’ basketball team, ranked 10th in CIF-SS Division 4AA, cruised to a 71-31 victory at Estancia Tuesday to complete a two-game league sweep of the Eagles. That win, combined with Costa Mesa’s 52-48 home loss the same night to Godinez, allowed the Breakers to take sole possession of first place in the league standings as well as earn at least of a share of the league championship.
Both Laguna and Costa Mesa had shared first place before the outcome of Tuesday’s league action.
“We (Fleming, assistant coach Rus Soobzokov) told the kids when they got off the bus, that Godinez beat Costa Mesa,” Fleming said of his team’s return to campus after the game. “Man, were they excited. The loss last week to Costa Mesa (55-54), the kids really beat themselves up on that one. They were super-excited to hear the news after the Estancia game. They feel that they deserve the league title with the way that they have played and now, its’ nice to get the opportunity to win the title outright.”
The Breakers faced Calvary Chapel in their league and regular season finales Thursday. The score wasn’t available at press time.
Laguna went into the game 8-1 in league and 20-6 overall.
In Tuesday’s win over Estancia, senior guard Darin Richardson hit four three-point shots and led the way with 23 points. Senior guard Isaac Wulff had 15 points, sophomore guard Charles Rounaghi 12 points, junior guard Karam Jones eight points, senior center Nick Rahder seven points, sophomore forward Adam Armstrong four points, and sophomore guard Owen McMurray two points. Senior guard Spencer Wong didn’t score but “played his usual, great defense and spread the ball around nicely, Fleming said.
The Breakers were without starting sophomore forward Blake Burzell (illness) for the game.
“Estancia started a some seniors which was a different line-up for them, and we kind of relaxed in the first quarter,” Fleming said. “But, we got it together after that and played really well over the final three quarters.
“I thought we, again, locked down and defended really well. We shared the ball really well, too.”
Laguna only had seven players for its Feb. 5 game at Saddleback but still easily defeated the Roadrunners, 55-28. Richardson netted five three-point shots and again topped the scoring with a game-high 22 points. Wulff hit four three-pointers and finished with 18 points. Rounaghi had eight points, McMurray three points, and Armstrong and Wong two points apiece.
Burzell, Rahder (injury) and Jones (illness) didn’t play, and junior forward Ryan Meisberger broke his nose toward the end of the game, Fleming said.
The Breakers will learn the identity of their first CIF-SS playoff opponent when the Division 4AA playoff pairings are announced Sunday. They will play a first-round game at 7 p.m. Wednesday and as a league champion, would host the matchup.
“Any time you have a 20-win season, it’s a really good season,” Fleming said. “Now, we’ll see if can go into the playoffs and do some damage.”
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CIF Weekly Rankings
Boys’ Basketball: No. 10, Division 4AA.
Girls’ Basketball: No. 16, Division 4AA.
