Licensed to Shoot : Three-Point Specialist Hagman Given Plenty of Freedom by Coach but Not by Opponents

The teen-age girls come hurtling through the air toward Sarah Hagman. They try to distract her with piercing screams, or they push, jostle and wave a hand in her face.

“Aieeeeee!” One shrieks at Hagman.

Thud. Another one bumps into her.

Hagman is neither a rock star trying to navigate a hotel lobby nor a casting director at an audition.

Hagman plays basketball for Crescenta Valley High, and at the moment she is trying to shoot a three-point shot. The airborne girls play for rival Muir and are desperately attempting to prevent her from shooting.

Most three-point shooters don’t receive such manic attention from defenders, but such is life for Hagman since she made a Southern Section-record 13 three-point shots in a game last Friday. Now the 5-foot-9 senior plays under closer scrutiny, which is wearying, difficult and pressure-filled--yet a welcome change from the anonymity from which she burst free this season.

“She’s an incredibly skilled basketball player and has been for some time,” said Hagman’s father, Bob. “But skills don’t make the headlines. The three-point shot has been really good for her because it’s given her publicity.

“She needed something to get attention from the college recruiters, and the three-point shot is what has done it.”

Hagman’s three-point prowess has indeed made her a center of attention, and it was obvious in Tuesday’s contest against Muir. The Mustangs employed a rotating zone to defend against Hagman--”My assistant and I stayed up until 2 a.m. Sunday designing this defense,” Muir Coach Corinne DeJong said--and one or two defenders blanketed Hagman if she so much as looked at the basket.

The strategy worked, sort of. Because of Muir’s focus on Hagman, Crescenta Valley center Heather Brown was constantly left open near the basket and she scored 21 points, including several layups on passes from Hagman. But Hagman made only three of 11 three-pointers and Crescenta Valley lost, 62-59, its first Pacific League setback this season.

“Everyone is aware of where I go,” she said after the game. “It’s tough. Today I didn’t feel good shooting.”

But the disappointment from the loss will fade. Hagman’s aspirations will not.

“I want to get a (college) scholarship,” she said. “That’s my personal goal.”

As goals go, it didn’t look attainable until recently. Before this season, Hagman was a relatively nondescript point guard who mostly drove to the basket and sporadically shot from the outside.

But second-year Falcon Coach Marc Ward is a true believer in the merits of the three-point shot. After last season, he switched Hagman to shooting guard. Next season, he told her, you will shoot, shoot, shoot.

So last summer, her father spray-painted a three-point arc on a court at a local park. “I don’t know if that’s illegal or what,” Hagman said.

Who cares? A gunner needs to leave her conscience at home.

She spent her summer raining in jumpers at the park and further improved her game under the tutelage of her club team coach, Mel Sims, who also coaches the Ganesha boys’ team. Hagman returned to school and in the Falcons’ first game of the season made six three-pointers.

“That’s when I knew I’d have a good three-point season,” she said. “Before that my coach said I would but I didn’t really believe it.”

Believe it. Hagman has burst into Southland basketball prominence by averaging more than 25 points a game and sinking 105 of 234 three-point shots, tops in the state.

And one memorable game a week ago made everyone take notice. Earlier this month, Hagman tied the section record for three-pointers in a game with 11. But last Friday against Arcadia she sank seven of 10 three-point shots in the first half. At halftime, Ward told his team about the possibility of Hagman breaking the record.

“The team was all for it,” Hagman said. “But . . . I kind of had my doubts.”

Crescenta Valley already held a huge lead, so the second half became a contest to see how many bombs Hagman could hit. By the end of the third quarter, she had made 11 of 18. Her legs tired, she made only two of eight three-pointers in the fourth quarter. But she finished with 48 points and a record, bettering the one she shared with Nicole Erickson of Brea-Olinda. The state and national mark is 14, held by Danielle Viglione of Fair Oaks Del Campo.

Ward listed Pacific, Colorado State and Cal State Northridge, among others, as recruiting Hagman, and he has sent out highlight tapes to several other schools.

“They’re finally coming to see her,” he said.

They might see her break the section’s season record for three-pointers, 112, set last year by Chino’s Aimee Pina. Crescenta Valley has made 138 three-pointers this season, 13 short of the section record. Plus, the Falcons (16-5, 6-1 in league play) almost certainly will advance to the playoffs.

“Statistically, she has established that three-point shot,” Bob Hagman said. “Now that she’s got the attention, it’s important that she show the all-around skills.”

She is as much point guard as shooter, and behind-the-back dribbles and no-look passes are staples of her game. But Hagman knows that dialing in from long distance is paramount.

“Assists can be more fun,” she said. “But they don’t go down in the newspaper.”