Collins-Led North Torrance Outmuscles St. Joseph, 50-41

North Torrance center Laura Collins doesn’t miss 10 shots in a half without someone paying for it.

Saturday night at Long Beach City College, St. Joseph High was at the wrong end of vengeance.

After making just two of 12 first-half field-goal attempts, Collins came back to score 19 second-half points and lead North Torrance (16-7) to a 50-41 win in the second round of the Southern Section girls 4-A playoffs.

Collins, who signed a national letter of intent with UCLA last November, scored 25 points for the game on 11-of-26 shooting. She also had 18 rebounds and blocked four shots.

She suffered a bloody nose and went scoreless in the first quarter, although North managed a 9-4 lead.

Usually double-teamed by the smaller Jesters (16-10), Collins said the physical play ended up working to her advantage.

“I definitely thought they got intimidated, eventually,” Collins said.

With 2:53 left in the third quarter and North holding on to its one-point halftime lead, Bev Stigibauer, who led St. Joseph with 14 points, was in tears with a bloody nose of her own. The Angelus League champion Jesters were outscored 24-16 from that point.

“I was mentally rushing my shot,” said Collins, explaining her early difficulties. “I just calmed myself down and made sure that when I got the ball I would gather myself and go up hard.”

North’s Carolyn Hiramoto took up the slack for Collins by scoring seven points in the first quarter. She also scored off an offensive rebound to give the Saxons a 44-37 lead with 4:44 left in the game and finished with nine points.

Terry Inn and Faith Hirayama added four points each for the Saxons, who will play a quarterfinal game Wednesday. St. Joseph’s outside shooting-oriented offense also featured Michele Ourique (13 points) and Jennifer Garcia (10).

North Coach Rich Rosato said he felt relieved to have a 20-19 halftime lead with Collins contributing just six points by that time.

“She just got started a little slowly,” he said. “But in the second half we knew where we had to go: inside to her.”

Rosato added that Hiramoto and Hirayama did a good job of slowing down the Jesters’ offensive attack.