GIRLS’ BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : Sailors Get Head Start on Tustin Before Heads Arrives

Genevieve Evarts scored 25 points. Dianne Pulido scored 14, had 17 rebounds and six steals. Melissa Schutz forced Tustin’s center, Alison Carr, out of the game with five fouls. Mandy Clayton kept Tustin’s best shooter, Katie Scheuerman, from scoring in the first half.

Newport Harbor is one team that knows how to pick up the slack.

The eighth-ranked Sailors virtually guaranteed they’ll finish no worse than second in the Sea View League by beating visiting Tustin, 57-47, Monday.

Gina Heads, their playmaker, entered the gym five minutes into the game after X-rays revealed her ankle wasn’t broken--a possibility suggested by her physical therapist two hours earlier.

By the time Heads entered the game, with 3 minutes 35 seconds left in the second quarter, Newport Harbor led, 19-14. The Sailors (16-5, 9-1) had just given up two baskets after scoring 13 consecutive points. Then they scored eight more. After trailing, 10-6, they led at halftime, 28-16.

“Our team is so balanced, we can distribute the responsibility,” Evarts said of Newport Harbor’s ability to pick up the slack left by Heads’ relatively minor contribution (two points, three rebounds, four steals).

Newport Harbor’s defense played a key role. Tustin had three stretches without a field goal that totaled more than 15 minutes of game time. The Tillers had 26 turnovers.