Trio leads Sailors to victory
HUNTINGTON BEACH – Newport Harbor High’s Lexi and Angelina Alvarez were quite disinterested in sharing on Wednesday night.
Some may have believed that they were auditioning for the role of the Grinch in “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” because they were experts in grand larceny on the basketball court.
The sisters combined for 19 steals, and Newport Harbor defeated Rancho Alamitos, 47-36, in a pool play game of the Hawk Holiday Classic at Liberty Christian High.
Lexi Alvarez had 20 points, 10 steals, and six rebounds for the Sailors (4-3), who have won three of their last four games.
Senior captain Angelina Alvarez put in 12 points to go with nine steals and five rebounds.
“We see Coach (Jillian Blackledge) smile at us, and we know we didn’t do anything wrong,” Angelina Alvarez said. “It just feels good to have control of the game.”
As a 5-foot-1 sophomore guard, Lexi Alvarez doesn’t profile as a player that would go into the high-traffic areas of the court. She pointed to a lifetime of playing with her sister for their shared tenacity and grit on the court.
“When we played club, we would practice on the same team, but we would play on different ones,” Lexi Alvarez said. “We’ve been playing together and practicing together. We’re really good on the court together.”
Center Lisa Hamilton added 15 points and 16 rebounds.
Newport Harbor was in control from the start, leading 11-3 after the first quarter.
After going scoreless in the opening period, Tanya Carbajal got hot from the outside for Rancho Alamitos (0-2). The shooting guard had 23 points on five 3-pointers. She added 10 rebounds.
Newport Harbor doubled up Santa Ana Valley, 50-25, in their first game of the tournament. They will face Laguna Hills (4-2) tomorrow night at Liberty Christian at 7:30 p.m. to try to claim first place in Group D of the Distinguished Flight Division.
Positivity and intensity got the Sailors this far in the tournament, but Blackledge believes her team will have to take it up a notch to beat the fundamentally-sound Hawks.
“I think we just have to ride the intensity that we have been playing with, but we need to pick it up against a tougher team,” she said. “It’s about choosing good shots and finishing when we do. We can’t afford to miss the wide-open layups.”
The Sailors could use some secondary scoring, too. The Alvarez sisters and Hamilton accounted for all of Newport Harbor’s points on Wednesday.
Hawk Holiday Classic
Pool Play
Newport Harbor 47, Rancho Alamitos 36
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Rancho Alamitos – 3 - 14 - 9 - 10 - 36
Newport Harbor – 11 - 14 - 11 - 11 - 47
RA – Carbajal 23, Fernandez 7, Rodriguez 6.
3-pt. goals – Carbajal 5, Fernandez 1, Rodriguez 1.
Fouled out –None.
Technicals – None.
NH – L. Alvarez 20, Hamilton 15, A. Alvarez 12.
3-pt. goals – L. Alvarez 4.
Fouled out – None.
Technicals – None.
