GIRLS’ BASKETBALL / WOODBRIDGE TOURNAMENT : Pearson, Stovall Lead Woodbridge to Rout of Fountain Valley in Championship Game

On a night when it looked as if Woodbridge didn’t want to win, Melanie Pearson and Erin Stovall showed they didn’t want to lose.

Led by two scoring spurts by the standouts, Woodbridge won the championship game of the Woodbridge Tipoff Classic Friday, scoring a 61-37 victory over Fountain Valley.

Woodbridge, ranked No. 1 in The Times preseason poll, beat the No. 5 team behind Stovall’s 22 points and Pearson’s 11.

But it was the timeliness of their scoring that made all the difference.

Woodbridge held an 8-6 lead through one quarter, which was fortunate given that Fountain Valley made only one of 14 shots in the opening quarter. Then Pearson took charge. Three consecutive times she drove to the basket, and three consecutive times she scored, igniting the Warriors to a 23-12 halftime lead.

The difference in the first half was shooting--Woodbridge made 10 of 26 in the first quarter, Fountain Valley made four of 27 (14.8%). But the Barons made a run in the third quarter and closed to nine points, 37-28, with 1 minute 33 seconds left, when Stovall went off, making four straight baskets, and the rout was on.

“I felt hot,” said Stovall, who made nine of 14 shots, including eight consecutive at one point. “I just wanted to do what was necessary to keep the momentum going our way.”

That impressed Fountain Valley Coach Carol Strausburg.

“You’ve got to have kids who know when to step forward to make a difference, and they have that,” she said.

Angela Burgess had 12 points and 10 rebounds, one fewer rebound than tournament most valuable player Krissy Duperron (three points).

Woodbridge Coach Eric Bangs said his team successfully completed the first segment of the season and will now concentrate on the second--the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions.

“The eight days off will be good for us--we can put some new stuff in,” Bangs said. “We want to go to the next step, but right now, we’re right where we want to be.”

In the third-place game:

Estancia 49, Cerritos Gahr 47--Jill Black’s basket with 1:20 left gave Estancia a 48-47 lead, and Jessica Waltz added a free throw to put away Gahr. Waltz had 17 points, including four three-pointers, as Estancia (4-1) won the third-place game. Nicole Oliver had 20 points for Gahr (4-2).