Girls’ 3-A Division : Los Alamitos Relies on Outside Shooting to Beat Corona del Mar

Dave Heffern, Corona del Mar High School coach, had his team play a tight 2-3 zone against Los Alamitos Saturday night in the first round of the CIF Southern Section 3-A girls’ basketball playoffs to try to shut down the Griffins’ inside game.

Heffern told his team during a timeout: “If they’re going to beat us, let’s make them beat us from the outside.”

The Griffins did.

Relying on the outside shooting of Kelli Moore (20 points) and Jeanette Dorsey (14), Los Alamitos defeated the Sea Kings, 48-41, at Corona del Mar.

The Griffins (18-7) advance to the second round where they will play Louisville (23-4), which beat Burroughs, 70-47. Corona del Mar finishes at 16-9.

“I figured they would pack in the zone to defend against our big players,” said Robin Farrington, Los Alamitos coach. “It was the way they played us last time.”

Last time was at the Marina-Edison tournament in December. Los Alamitos won that game, 36-30, but shot only 24% (16 of 66) from the field.

Any repeat of that performance seemed unlikely after the Griffins took a 16-12 lead by the end of the first quarter. Seven of their eight field goals were from 15 feet or farther. Moore made an 18-foot shot as the first quarter ended to give Los Alamitos its four-point lead.

She would repeat her last-second feat in the second quarter, when she made a short jump shot as the buzzer sounded. The basket made the score 26-21 at halftime.

The Griffins took total control of the game in the third quarter, outscoring the Sea Kings, 16-6. Dorsey scored eight points in the quarter, including three straight 15-foot jump shots.

“We figured they’d have to beat us from the outside, and they did,” Heffern said.

Heffern announced after the game that he will step down from his post as girls’ basketball coach to concentrate on his duties as Corona del Mar’s boys’ and girls’ tennis coach.

In his four seasons coaching the Sea Kings, Heffern’s teams have finished second in the Sea View League three times, and this season shared the league championship with Woodbridge. In his first season, Heffern led Corona del Mar to the 1983 3-A championship.

“I’m happy with the way things went,” he said. “But it got so hectic running back and forth between basketball and tennis. I’m proud of this team. We had a bunch of overachievers who just never quit.”

Corona del Mar was led by center Michelle Willard’s 13 points, and Kathey Smirl added 12 points for the Sea Kings.

In other first-round games:

Foothill 64, Irvine 18--Senior center Chris McFerson scored 16 points and had 14 rebounds to lead the Knights (25-1) past the Vaqueros. Foothill, which has won 24 consecutive games, got 15 points and 12 rebounds from senior forward Stephine Fleischaker. Reserve Najla Mitchell scored 8 points and pulled down 11 rebounds for the Knights who led, 32-2, at halftime.

Riverside Poly 49, Savanna 40--The Rebels were only 5 of 19 from the free-throw line as they lost to the Bears in Riverside. Coury Najula scored 13 points for Savannna, and teammate Tammy Burns had 10 points to go with 11 rebounds. Savanna finishes its season at 13-12.

Esperanza 75, Magnolia 47--Michelle Carter, the leading scorer in Orange County, had 32 points but it wasn’t enough for the Sentinels (14-10). Esperanza, the No. 1 team from the Empire League, is 19-5.

Brea-Olinda 64, J.W. North 44--The Wildcats, the Orange League’s No. 1 entry, breezed at home. Brea (23-3) plays Woodbridge in the second round. North finishes at 10-14.

Woodbridge 60, Alemany 55--The Warriors, the No. 2 team from the Sea View League, improved their record to 20-6. Alemany fell to 19-7.

El Toro 71, Tustin 58--The Chargers, the No. 2 team from the South Coast League, upped their record to 20-6. Tustin, the Century League’s No. 2 team, finishes at 14-9.

Mission Viejo 79, Costa Mesa 45--The South Coast League champion Diablos rolled to the win and improved their record to 24-3. The Mustangs, the No. 3 team from the Sea View League, dropped out at 14-11.