SEA VIEW LEAGUE GIRLS’ BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : Newport Harbor Recalls Past Mistake in Time to Defeat Tustin

Newport Harbor relearned a lesson it had been taught somewhere down the line. And the Sailors were lucky they didn’t have to learn it the hard way.

In a Sea View League girls’ basketball game Thursday night at Newport Harbor, the 10th-ranked Sailors had a momentary lapse of respect for visiting Tustin, but regained it in time to win, 54-50, in overtime.

“We underestimated them,” said senior forward Kala Ross, who lead all scorers with 34 points, including all six Newport Harbor points in the three-minute overtime period. “They lost two of their big players (from last year) and I think we weren’t mentally prepared for the challenge.”

Newport Harbor (7-5, 2-0) led most of the game, but a third-period surge by Tustin (5-7, 1-1) pulled the Tillers to within 39-37 going into the fourth.

“We let down a little in the third, but we were able to put it back together,” said Ross. With her team trailing 48-46, she made the crucial rebound, covered the length of the court and made the layup that forced the extra period.

Helping Newport Harbor’s cause in overtime was Tustin’s sudden cold spell. After the teams exchanged baskets, Ross nudged the layin to give the Sailors the 52-50 edge, at which point the Tillers missed four opportunities to score.

“We weren’t making any turnovers and (Tustin) was missing some outside shots,” Newport Harbor Coach Shannon Jakowsky said. “But I was real pleased with our overtime. We handled our last shots well.”

Tustin’s Katie Scheverman had a team-high 22 points, with teammate Sarah Davis contributing 14 points and nine steals.

This was a rematch of the final regular-season game last season, when Tustin upset the Sailors to spoil Newport Harbor’s chances of sharing a league title.

“You have to respect them for that,” Jakowsky said. “They lost some players and they’re still strong.”

In other league games:

Santa Margarita 61, Corona del Mar 54--Lesley Nolan scored 23 points for host Santa Margarita (3-8, 1-1). Mollie Flint had 26 and Rosalie Kane added 20 and 10 rebounds for Corona del Mar (0-2 in league).

Woodbridge 53, University 27--Angela Burgess scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds and Nicole Quinn added 11 points and eight rebounds for Woodbridge (9-4, 2-0). University fell to 5-6, 1-1.

Irvine 39, Saddleback 37--Shawnee Stevens scored 12 points to lead Irvine (2-7, 1-1) over Saddleback, which got 10 points from Nicole Wiora.