Laguna Hills Girls Clinch Their First League Title

Laguna Hills clinched its first Pacific Coast League girls’ basketball title since the school opened in 1978, with a 51-35 victory over University on Thursday night.

Tayyiba Haneef led sixth-ranked Laguna Hills (20-2, 8-0) with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Tamara Inoue had nine points and eight assists and Whitney Houser added 13 points. University, an early season favorite to win league, is 14-9, 5-3.

In another Pacific Coast League game:

Aliso Niguel 40, Laguna Beach 38--The Artists (8-14, 2-6) hit a three-pointer at the buzzer, but it wasn’t enough. Senior Amy Burchette scored 12 points and had 11 rebounds for Aliso Niguel (8-14, 2-6).

In the Empire League:

Cypress 46, Loara 44 (OT)--Kirsten Wong (14 points) made two free throws with nine seconds left to give Cypress (10-13, 2-6) a two-point overtime victory.

Century 54, Kennedy 39--Alli Napier scored 18 points and Aprile Powell scored 12 points for Century (20-2, 8-0).

In the Freeway League:

Sonora 53, La Habra 43--Aiyana Nash scored 32 points as Sonora swept La Habra in the season series and dropped the Highlanders (11-10, 6-2) out of a tie for first.

Sonora (17-5, 7-1) remained tied for first with Troy.

Troy 52, Sunny Hills 25--Heidi Hardeman scored 22 points for Troy (14-7, 7-1).

In the Golden West League:

Ocean View 81, Santa Ana 18--Jennifer Tuiolosega scored 22 points as eighth-ranked Ocean View (17-7, 7-1) remained tied with Westminster for first.

Westminster 65, Tustin 37--Kristin Schult scored 18 points for ninth-ranked Westminster (20-3, 7-1).

In the Orange League:

Magnolia 53, Western 50--Andrea Picchi had 21 points, 10 rebounds and a season-high seven assists for second-place Magnolia (15-7, 7-1).

In the Sea View League:

Woodbridge 74, Irvine 38--Erin Stovall had 16 points for second-ranked Woodbridge (21-2, 8-0).

Santa Margarita 47, El Toro 39--Katie Toman scored 16 points, all on free throws, to lead Santa Margarita (11-12, 2-6). Kristen Kopp scored 14 points for El Toro (7-17, 2-6).

In the South Coast League:

Mater Dei 78, San Clemente 60--Melody Peterson scored 20 points and Allison Luckey had 12 for top-ranked Mater Dei (20-2, 8-0).

Capistrano Valley 59, Mission Viejo 30--Natasha Combs scored 20 points and Jenny Jennings 18 for Capistrano Valley (15-7, 6-2). Mary Anderson had 11 assists for the Cougars.

Dana Hills 51, Trabuco Hills 38--Jennifer Hass had 17 points and five steals for host Dana Hills (7-16, 2-6), which was tied with Trabuco Hills after three quarters.

In the Sunset League:

Marina 57, Esperanza 50--Sonya Bryant and Kristen Cappel combined for 44 of Marina’s 57 points in the victory over No. 10 Esperanza (17-5, 4-4). With the score tied, 39-39, after three quarters, Sonya Bryant scored 11 of her 24 points in the fourth to lead fourth-ranked Marina (19-3, 7-1).

Edison 51, Huntington Beach 28--Senior forward Marie Philman had 11 points in 11 minutes to become the fourth player in Orange County history to score more than 2,000. She has 2,009.

In South Coast League boys’ basketball:

Dana Hills 53, Trabuco Hills 52--Jeff Barnett made three of four free throws in the final 40 seconds to lift Dana Hills (12-12, 2-6).