Girls’ Water Polo: Sailors earn big win

The Powerball lottery jackpot grew to a record $1.5 billion on Wednesday night.

In terms of the Sunset League, the Newport Harbor High girls’ water polo team does not want to leave anything to luck or chance.

The Sailors knew their game against Huntington Beach would be key in trying to defend their league title. And they responded.

Junior Lissa Westerman, playing in arguably the most important game of her water polo career so far, scored a season-high four goals as Newport Harbor earned a surprisingly lopsided 10-3 victory at Newport Harbor High.

Westerman transferred from CdM a game into her sophomore year and missed the first few weeks of this season with a broken hand suffered in a fall Monday night league game. But she responded Wednesday for the Sailors (5-7, 2-0 in league), who are ranked No. 9 in CIF Southern Section Division 1.

“She’s back,” Newport senior Sammie Garcia said with a smile after the game.

Three of Westerman’s goals came in the first quarter and they came in a variety of ways. She scored on a counterattack, then on a backhand goal assisted by Garcia. Her third goal, a redirect shot off a pass by senior co-captain Katie Kearns, gave Newport a 3-2 lead early.

“It feels really good,” said Westerman, who also had a pair of assists in the second half. “I was scared … but I’ve been working on getting back in shape. It feels nice to be able to go back in and feel like how I was during the summer. It feels like I’m at my high point again, which is a really big confidence boost.”

Kearns scored two goals for the Sailors and Garcia, Josie Miller, Jessica Lynch and Sarah Barker also scored. Kearns and Lynch led the defensive effort with three steals each, while Miller and Garcia each had a pair of field blocks.

Huntington Beach (6-5, 1-1) drew a lot of power-play chances with its powerful centers Lauren Smith and Julia Rozolis-Hill, who drew four and three exclusions respectively. The Oilers converted their first three power-play opportunities. The third, a goal by Kalista Hyham, pulled Huntington Beach within 4-3 with 6:25 remaining in the first half.

But the Oilers would go scoreless on their final seven power-play opportunities, finishing three for 10. They also were shut out in the second half. Senior co-captain Maddy Kanzler had two saves and two steals for Newport Harbor in goal.

“I think it was one of our best defensive efforts yet, to hold a team like that to three goals and shut them out for the second half,” Garcia said. “It was a great accomplishment and confidence booster.”

Barker was kicked out twice in the first two minutes of the game, but the Sailors were resourceful. At times, Kearns helped back with set, and Lynch also is a strong defender.

“We knew we had to press,” Garcia said. “We didn’t want to get in foul trouble, but unfortunately we did in the first quarter. It kind of gave us motivation to play our best press and get our hands up on the five-on-six defense, get a lot of shot blocks.”

Lynch, Miller, Westerman and Garcia all scored in the third quarter as the Sailors earned some separation on the scoreboard despite the best efforts of Oilers sophomore goalie Marina Hyham, who played well with 10 saves and four steals.

The other main competitors in league are expected to be Edison and Los Alamitos, and the Griffins are ranked No. 10 in Division 1. The Sailors play the Griffins on Jan. 28 and the Chargers on Feb. 10.

Newport Harbor is seeking its fourth league title in five years.

First, the Sailors head to the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions this weekend. They play Rosary in a play-in game on Thursday at 3 p.m. at Dos Pueblos High. Should Newport win that game, it will play Dos Pueblos in a first-round game Friday at 12:30 p.m., also at Dos Pueblos. The Chargers are ranked No. 6 in Division 1.

“We don’t want to get too excited,” Garcia said. “[Newport Coach Brian Melstrom] said that teams fall flat after a high like that. [We’ll] take it one game at a time.”

Still, the win over Huntington Beach may have created a blueprint for performance in the coming weeks for the Sailors.

“It gives us a good idea of how we should be playing,” Westerman said. “That’s how we should be playing 100% of the time.”