GIRLS’ BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : Edison Plays Giant-Killer Again, Defeats Ocean View

Edison High School has continually toppled taller teams, and Saturday night’s Marina tournament final was no exception.

The Chargers defeated previously unbeaten Ocean View, 58-53, and its 6-3 center Jennifer Sullivan, the Sunset League’s most valuable player last season.

“They just have so much heart, it makes up for that lack of inches,” Edison Coach Philip Abraham said of his team, which doesn’t have a starter taller than 5-10.

Edison (10-2) broke the game open in the third quarter, outscoring the Seahawks 18-8 to take a 45-36 lead.

The key to the surge was Edison’s switch from man-to-man defense to a sagging zone. While the Chargers’ were in man-to-man, Sullivan hit five of nine shots for 11 first-half points.

In the third quarter, however, Edison’s tiny but mobile zone frustrated Sullivan, limiting her to two points on one-of-seven shooting. She finished with 21 points.

“Our other people didn’t respond like they have previously when people keyed on Jenny,” Ocean View Coach Ollie Martin said.

Point guard Allie Takido was one of four from the field for Ocean View (13-1), and Tracy Wolfe took only one shot and missed it in the decisive quarter.

Edison had been cold, shooting only 37% in the first half. But in the third quarter the Chargers got their transition game going and hit on eight of 16 field-goal attempts.

Edison also thwarted Ocean View’s press and controlled the boards, thanks to Laura Vinch (5-8) and Talia Crooks (5-9).

“Talia has averaged in double figures in points and rebounds for us,” Abraham said. “Debbie Fischer (the tournament’s most valuable player) has been stealing the limelight, but Talia is the reason we are able to play teams with big posts.

“We have the luxury of having five people who can run the lanes.”

The pace wore down Ocean View, which usually looks forward to a footrace.

“We couldn’t quite keep up today,” Martin said. “Edison played really well. They hit a lot of shots, rebounded well. We seemed a little tired at times.”

For the third game in a row, the Chargers received balanced scoring, with Erika Miller leading the way with 18 points. Three-point specialist Fischer had only two three-pointers but finished with 14 points. Crooks added 12 and Vinch 10.

Abraham, who was named the coach of the tournament, said the victory is his biggest in his first year as head coach and establishes his program as a winner.

“It’s a real big win,” he said. “It makes a lot of our kids realize they’re a good team. We’re a real good team, even though we’re not ranked. We beat a solid, good team. It feels real good to beat an Ocean View team.”

In other Marina tournament games:

Loara 42, Fountain Valley 37--Center Traci Titus led Loara (6-7) to a fifth-place victory with 19 points. Jennifer Barbaro led Fountain Valley (9-5) with 14 points.

La Quinta 71, Marina 63--Amy Jalewalia, the tournament’s leading scorer with 122 points, scored 32 to lead La Quinta (8-2) to the consolation championship. Melissa Sortino, who had 100 points in four games, scored 26 for Marina (10-4).

Mission Viejo 54, Valencia 48--Carrie Burt scored 17 and Jennifer Rohrig added 13 to lead the Diablos (10-4) in the seventh-place game. Hollie Keeton had 13 and Cathryn Sweet and Sig Lo 12 each for Valencia (5-6).

Foothill 50, Huntington Beach 38--Melisa Wielandt scored 14 and Shannon Ebert added 13 for Foothill (4-7), which finished 11th. Dana Jahr and Amber Ambrose each scored 12 for the Oilers (4-8).