Newport Harbor’s depth plays big role in win over Costa Mesa

By Andrew TurnerStaff Writer

Dec. 8, 2017 7:15 PM PT

The core of the Newport Harbor High girls’ basketball team last season was three-fold.

Sisters Angelina and Lexi Alvarez teamed up with center Lisa Hamilton to form their own version of the triangle offense, but only one of those pieces remained for this season’s team.

Lexi Alvarez was the only one not to graduate, and in her first two seasons of high school basketball, she presented herself well as one who was not afraid of the moment.

In Friday afternoon’s game against Costa Mesa, the junior point guard picked up two early fouls, but when she returned, she changed nothing about the way she played. Alvarez continued to go for steals and go coast-to-coast with the ball in transition.

Alvarez had 15 points, six rebounds, five steals and three assists in leading the Sailors to a 55-38 victory over the Mustangs in their final pool play game of the Hawk Holiday Classic at Ocean View High.

“I guess I have two different gears,” Alvarez said. “One, I just go and attack the ball. The other, [I’m thinking], ‘If you get the steal, then get the steal, but if not, just go and play straight-up defense.’”

There is not much of a difference between the two. She is still going to take at least one swipe at the ball.

Her teammates want to get their hands on the ball, too, giving the Sailors (3-4) a much deeper group to work with than they did the season prior.

Freshman forward Willa Rath scored a team-high 16 points to go with 12 rebounds for Newport Harbor. Sophomore forward Chloe Swanson produced four points, 11 rebounds and two steals, with sophomore forward Ashleigh McPhie adding 10 points, three assists and two steals.

“In the post, being able to pull Ashleigh [McPhie] out at the three [small forward] and having Willa and Chloe, and then having Taylor [Howard] come off the bench, I have plenty of people to go to for the rebounds down low,” Sailors coach Jillian Blackledge said. “It’s just nice having so many different options. I have a hard time figuring out who is going to go in because there are so many people that I could put in at any time.”

Newport Harbor won the battle of the boards, outrebounding Costa Mesa 36-33. Rath, a freshman, credited the team’s early success in the rebounding department to chemistry being developed in practice.

“I think we’ve just bonded at practice, and we worked really hard to get good at rebounding and improve all around,” she said.

As for the energized and aggressive Alvarez, Blackledge now has the ability to give her a break if needed, too. Dessie Quinonez has given Alvarez the ability to play off the ball on some plays.

Quinonez, a junior, had six points, four rebounds and two steals.

“Dessie has really picked it up at the point guard position,” Blackledge said. “Lexi can play point guard one round, and then Dessie comes up the next time.

“It gives them more of an opportunity to score, but it also gives them an opportunity to not be as tired sprinting up and down the court.”

Costa Mesa enjoyed a 13-8 lead early in the second quarter, but Newport Harbor used an extended run to jump ahead 39-22 with 3:40 left in the third quarter.

Katie Belmontes tried to get the Mustangs (1-2) back into the game by herself. She had 10 points and 10 rebounds in the final frame, and a three-pointer from Ally Cruz cut the Sailors’ lead to 41-35.

Belmontes connected on one more free throw to narrow the deficit to five with 3:45 to go, but then turnovers created more offense for Newport Harbor.

“There is nothing that a team can do to stop her because I can pull her out, I can put her in,” Mustangs coach Carlos Juarez said of Belmontes. “She can score in many different ways.

“Katie has also got to play that way the whole game. It can’t just be [when we’re behind].”

Belmontes finished with 21 points and 19 rebounds. Tarah Harmon had six points and seven rebounds for the Mustangs, and McKayla Ortiz chipped in with six points.

Newport Harbor 55, Costa Mesa 38

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Costa Mesa 10 – 8 – 7 – 13 — 38

Newport Harbor 8 – 18 – 15 – 14 — 55

CM – Belmontes 21, Ortiz 6, Harmon 6, Cruz 5.

3-pt. goals – Cruz 1.

Fouled out – None.

Technicals – None.

NH – Rath 16, Alvarez 15, McPhie 10, Quinonez 6, Swanson 4, Nacho 2, Howard 2.

3-pt. goals – Alvarez 2.

Fouled out – None.

Technicals – None.