Sage Hill stuns Corona del Mar

When the March Madness bracket comes out, eyes scale the draw to locate four games in particular.

Those games are the ones to be played between a No. 5 and a No. 12 seed.

Casual basketball fans are drawn to the possibility of the upset, but what makes that excitement possible is the mentality of the lower-seeded team.

The No. 12 team is usually a lesser-known school, tired of living in the shadow of the power conference teams.

Once they finally hit the big stage, that desire to prove themselves often produces some of the finest performances.

The Sage Hill School girls’ basketball team played that role on Wednesday night, defeating host Corona del Mar High, 43-34, in pool play of the CdM Tip-off Tournament.

Sophomore shooting guard Heather Park scored a game-high 21 points to go with eight rebounds, as the Lightning (1-1) defeated the Sea Kings (1-2) for the first time in a decade.

Sage Hill’s last win over Corona del Mar came in a 48-34 decision on Dec. 28, 2007.

“I’m very shocked,” Park said when she heard how long the Lightning had gone between wins over CdM. “I did not expect that.”

There had been just two meetings since the 2007 triumph. One came in 2008, and the other occurred in 2012.

The Lightning’s status as a small school largely contributed to that, as the team rarely scheduled games against the bigger programs until it felt it was ready.

Sage Hill Coach Kerwin Walters feels that his staff is building a program that can compete. He says that now is the time to step out from the shadows.

“This is one of the things we’re trying to do,” he said. “We want to play the bigger schools like CdM because we think we can compete with them. It’s a step in the right direction for us.”

Due to its recent success, CdM was bumped up this year from Division 3A to Division 1AA, the highest playoff grouping in the CIF Southern Section.

Park scored the first eight points for the Lightning, which trailed CdM, 10-8, at the end of the first quarter.

Samantha Uehara got the Sea Kings’ offense off to a good start, draining a pair of three-pointers in the opening frame. She had 12 points by halftime and 14 in total.

It was Sage Hill that reigned in the second quarter. The Lightning turned on the full-court press, and it led to a string of turnovers for the Sea Kings.

Sage Hill took advantage, outscoring CdM, 16-10, in the period to take a 24-20 lead going into the break.

The Lightning’s supporting cast came to life in the second, as Joyce Jogwe and Trinity Cha poured in three-pointers to give Park a breather.

Nataly Shayan-Smith, Emily Hublitz, and Jogwe each finished the game with six points for Sage Hill.

After the first quarter, the basket looked awfully small for CdM, which could not get the jump shot to fall with the Lightning pressure quickening the pace.

“They had great defense,” Uehara said of Sage Hill’s defensive prowess after the first quarter. “They started playing more pressure. I guess they adjusted better, and they woke up.”

In all, Corona del Mar had 17 turnovers. Playing fast might not be the answer now, but it’s something that the Sea Kings realize that they must do to make up for the loss of graduated 6-footers Natalia Bruening and Krista Anderson.

“We don’t really have that many tall players right now,” Uehara added. “We have to be fast and push the ball.”

Center Tatiana Bruening had six points and eight rebounds for the Sea Kings, and Malia Halafuka added four points and seven rebounds.

Tia Grippo chipped in across the board with six points, four assists, and three rebounds.

Dana Hills 57, Newport Harbor 33: Maicie Saia led all scorers with 15 points, and Peyton Romo had 14 points on four three-pointers as the Dolphins (3-1) sunk the Sailors.

Newport Harbor (1-2) dropped both of its games in group play, but a 25-point second half was a sign to Sailors Coach Jillian Blackledge that her team is ready to bounce back.

“It was definitely the best fourth quarter we’ve had all season, probably the best half so far,” she said. “I don’t know what I said at halftime, but whatever I said got them going.”

“They realized that this team is the team that I’ve been looking for. This is the team that I knew we had.”

The Sailors outscored Dana Hills, 16-11, in the fourth quarter, buoyed by Lexi Alvarez’s eight points. The sophomore point guard had 11 for the game.

Lisa Hamilton had a team-high 10 rebounds.