Beckley Enjoys Her Room With Championship View

Sarah Beckley has this thing about big games.

She likes playing in arenas, and she will do almost anything she can to ensure Brea-Olinda plays in an extra-large building.

Whether it’s a playoff game or a championship game, Beckley has thrived in the spotlight.

Her big-game affinity continued Saturday, when she gave her blessing to Southern California’s newest arena by scoring a game-high 17 points and pulling down a game-high 10 rebounds.

Her performance was one of the key reasons Brea-Olinda defeated Newport Harbor, 67-39, to advance to the State championship game Saturday at Oakland Coliseum Arena.

The only thing lacking was her observation skills.

Question: Have you noticed that you seem to play better in big games?

“Not really,” she said.

Not so, said her coach, John Hattrup.

“She always seems to play better in an arena,” he said. “I think it’s because of the focus and concentration and the intensity of the game and what’s riding on the game. The measure of a good player is not by what they do against mediocre competition, it’s what they do against good teams in big games, and I think Sarah has proven that she is a big-time player.”

Beckley, a 5-foot-11 senior who is often overlooked on a team featuring Nicole Erickson and Colleen Hudson, had a game-high 18 points and 12 rebounds in last week’s 70-40 Southern Section championship victory over Newport Harbor.

Since the section semifinals, Beckley has averaged 13.4 points in seven games, a step up from her 10-point regular-season average.

This year’s excellence isn’t an isolated case, either. Consider:

--She was the second-leading scorer, with eight points, and the leading rebounder, with nine, in last year’s 42-41 State championship victory over Fair Oaks Bella Vista.

--She had a game-high 16 points and 11 rebounds in last year’s regional championship, a 45-39 victory over San Diego University City.

--She had 11 points in last year’s section championship game.

Get the picture?

“She is so powerful on her boards--unbelievable,” Newport Harbor Coach Shannon Jakosky said. “She crashes the offensive board beautifully. She’s strong and is able to position very well.