GIRLS’ BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES : A Freshman Woodbridge Can Count On

Woodbridge High’s Erin Stovall is only a freshman, but she’s not overwhelmed by it.

She already has shown a penchant for playing beyond her years and has established herself as one of the county’s best young clutch girls’ basketball players.

Desperate moments provide her cues:

* Stovall’s 17-footer in the final seconds put away Marina, 51-47; she scored six of her 10 points in the fourth quarter as Woodbridge outscored the Vikings, 18-14, to win its fourth in a row.

* She scored five points in the final 2 1/2 minutes as Woodbridge outscored Kirkland (Wash.) Lake Washington, 13-4, in a 43-39 victory, its ninth in a row.

* She had a team-high 12 points, and made two free throws with no time remaining to send the game into overtime, in the Warriors’ 49-44 quarterfinal victory over Oxnard Rio Mesa, their 27th consecutive triumph.

* She scored a team-high 15 points, and made six of seven from the line in the fourth quarter of a four-point game, as Woodbridge held off Ocean View, 49-38, in the section semifinals.

See a trend? Those are the closest games the Warriors have had this season. They are 28-0, one of only three unbeaten teams in the Southern Section. Stovall doesn’t appear to be a flash in the game plan, either.

“We’ve had about five outstanding freshmen in my 11 years here,” Woodbridge Coach Eric Bangs said, “and I think Erin has made the biggest impact out of all of them--as a freshman. Melanie (Pearson) did a great job last year but worked her way into the starting lineup. Erin was there from Day 1.”

Woodbridge has looked forward to Saturday since Day 1. When Stovall, Pearson, et al take the floor against Hemet (21-5) at 2:45 p.m. in the Division II-AA championship game, they will be trying to win the program’s second Southern Section title.

“I get psyched up for the bigger games,” she said. “It makes you feel like you have to step your game up another notch to come out on top.”

Hemet won’t be a pushover. The Bulldogs have won 11 in a row. They thrive on the inside with 6-foot-2 center Angela Darnell and 6-2 forward Jennifer Felger, and the penetration skills of 5-11 point guard Michelle Marshall. They get the most out of their defense, holding teams in the low-40 range. Every point will be an important one for the Warriors, especially those that come off defense--Bangs said Woodbridge has to create points off turnovers--and Stovall does a nice job of getting out in the passing lanes and disrupting opposing offenses.

“She’s shown an uncharacteristic quality of stepping up at crunch time in some tight games,” Bangs said. “Obviously last week, in both games, she was able to step up and make the free throws.

“It looks like she surveys things and then steps up. When we’re bogged down, she has the ability to slither through and create a shot for herself and draw the foul. She’s shot almost twice as many free throws as anyone on the team.”

The freshman has made 87 of 131 (66.4%). In the last two playoff victories, she is 19 of 23 (82.3%). And her big night at the line against Rio Mesa, when she buried the do-or-die free throws to send the game to overtime, came after a one-of-six shooting performance from the field.

“At first, I didn’t want to be there because it was the deciding factor, but after I made them, I was glad I was at the free-throw line,” Stovall said. “The key is to stay focused and keep your poise.”

Two skills she learned at an early age.