Girls’ Basketball : Easterly Paces Katella Past Marina

Joni Easterly scored 21 of her 33 points in the first half as Katella High School held off a Marina second-half rally to pull off a 60-51 victory in a Marina-Edison tournament first-round game Tuesday at Edison.

Katella (10-1) led, 34-19, at halftime, but Marina (9-3) outscored the Knights, 18-7, in the third quarter to narrow the lead to 41-37.

With 15 seconds gone in the fourth quarter, Christa Yorke scored on a layup to bring Marina within 2 points, 41-39. After Easterly scored on a tip, Lisa Orosco made one free throw and Kristy Sparks scored on a layup to close the lead to 43-42 with 7 minutes left.

That was as close as Marina would get as Katella scored the next 6 points to take a 49-42 lead with 4:30 remaining. The closest the Vikings would come after that was within 4 points, 49-45, with 4 minutes left.

“We got a little anxious in the third quarter and didn’t run the offense,” Katella Coach Barb Bausch said. “Fortunately (in the fourth quarter) the athletic ability of Joni and Angie (Gomez) helped us handle their defensive pressure, and our kids playing tough defense also helped a lot.”

Easterly, who also grabbed 7 rebounds, scored 10 of her points in the first quarter as the Knights took a 16-2 lead. Easterly added 11 points in the second quarter as the Knights extended their lead to 34-12 with a minute before halftime.

Melissa Sortino, who led Marina with 20 points, scored 6 points in the last minute of the second quarter as the Vikings outscored the Knights, 9-2, to narrow the lead to 15 points at halftime.

“We just weren’t ready to play when the game started,” Marina Coach Mike Thornton said. “We rely on our shooting and our pressing defense, and when we have neither going for us, we can’t do anything.”

Lisa Orosco, who guarded Easterly for most of the game, scored 10 points for Marina, 6 in the third quarter.