Girls’ Basketball Roundup : Fountain Valley Defense Takes Care of Katella and Easterly to Earn 56-37 Victory

Yvette Ybarra scored 16 points and Stacey Hisaka added 15 as Fountain Valley High School defeated Katella, 56-37, in the semifinals of the Marina-Edison girls’ basketball tournament Thursday at Edison.

Ybarra, who scored 10 of her points in the second half, was the spark plug of a box-and-one defense that kept Katella star Joni Easterly in check for most of the game. Ybarra also grabbed 8 rebounds.

Easterly, who scored 8 points in the first quarter, was hardly a factor for the rest of the game. She was held to 1 field goal in the second quarter and no points in the third.

Easterly scored 9 points in the fourth quarter as she made 4 of her 6 free throws during that span to finish the game with 19 points, only a point more than her season low, which she established Wednesday against Mission Viejo.

Fountain Valley (8-5) will play Ocean View in the championship game tonight at 8.

Katella (11-2) led after one period, 12-9, but made just 1 of 9 shots in the second quarter and was outscored, 15-4, to give Fountain Valley a 24-16 halftime lead.

The Barons put the game out of reach in the third quarter as they outscored Katella, 16-2, to take a 40-18 lead. Julie Workman scored 5 of her 7 points in the third quarter for Fountain Valley, and the Barons held Katella to 1 field goal in 10 attempts in the period.

“Yvette did a great job both offensively and defensively,” said Carol Strausburg, Fountain Valley coach. “It was the best that we’ve played this season.”

In the other semifinal game:

Ocean View 50, Mater Dei 42--Jenny Sullivan scored 6 of her 11 points in the fourth quarter as Ocean View outscored Mater Dei, 11-8, in the fourth quarter to seal the win. Heidi Hasseman and Fabiola Nunez scored 10 points each for Ocean View (11-2). Cori Martin scored 13 points while Kelly O’Brien added 12 for Mater Dei (8-4).

--AL PRESTON

In the fifth-place semifinals:

Foothill 44, Mission Viejo 33--Tanya Foxe scored 14 points to lead Foothill (5-6). Kristen Okura led Mission Viejo (11-2) with 19 points.

Long Beach Wilson 44, El Toro 40--Vivian Johnson scored 8 of her 18 points in the fourth quarter as Long Beach Wilson (5-8) held on. Dana Lind and Kristen Bevis led El Toro (8-4) with 9 points each.

In the consolation semifinals:

Marina 58, Esperanza 49--Melissa Sortino scored 17 points and Kristy Sparks added 14 for Marina (11-3). Shannon Jones had 14 points to lead Esperanza (4-7).

Loara 41, Valencia 35--Kim Yoshioka scored 11 points to lead Loara (10-4). Kristen McDonald had 16 points for Valencia (6-6).

In other consolation games:

Lakewood 58, El Modena 32--Shayla Warren scored 26 points to pace Lakewood (6-7). Jamie Flynn led El Modena (0-8) with 11 points.

Edison 62, Huntington Beach 34--Stefanie Moorman scored 17 points and Debbie Fischer added 16 for Edison (3-7). Huntington Beach is 2-9.

In the Costa Mesa tournament:

Capistrano Valley 42, Schurr 41--Holly Anderson’s 12-foot jump shot with 1 second left gave Capistrano Valley a semifinal round victory. Capistrano Valley plays Montebello, a 66-37 winner over North Torrance, in the championship game tonight at 8. Anderson had 21 points to lead Capistrano Valley.

Cypress 57, Canyon 54--Cypress was led by Stacie Kosaka’s 22 points and Erica Manning’s 19. Cypress meets Tustin for the consolation championship today at 3. Keri Erkenbrack had 18 and Sheri Rhyne added 10.

Tustin 51, Saddleback 49--Teresa Perkins had 21 points, Dee Dee Anderson 13 and Wanda Sequeria 11 for Tustin. Saddleback’s Melody Mayfield had 25 points.

Trabuco Hills 68, Estancia 61--Marta Bickert and DeeDee Sampson had 22 points apiece for Trabuco Hills. Melody Earle had 17 points to lead Estancia. Trabuco Hills plays San Clemente for fifth place today at 4:40.

San Clemente 41, Costa Mesa 39--Costa Mesa’s Maureen Moore had a game-high 20 points, but it wasn’t enough. Laura Farrell had 18 and Amanda Valentino 12 for San Clemente.

In the Orange Glen tournament:

University 52, Orange Glen 16--Shelley Davis scored 13 points to lead University (9-3) in the third-place game.