Woodbridge Wins Again, but Quietly

This time there was no finger pointing, no obscenities and no incident.

The only similarity to the last Woodbridge-San Clemente game was the way the Warriors ran away with the game, this time defeating the Tritons, 71-50, Wednesday in the Southern Section Division II-AA quarterfinals. It was the third time this season the Warriors had beaten the Tritons.

Woodbridge, the defending State Division II champions, dominated the second half, turning a one-point halftime lead into a rout. The Warriors (27-2) did the same in late December, when they defeated the Tritons, 66-37, in the Costa Mesa tournament.

But that game was marred by an incident late in the fourth quarter, after a Warrior player was injured. A Woodbridge parent came onto the court and shouted obscenities at San Clemente Coach Mary Mulligan.

A two-month investigation satisfied Southern Section officials that Woodbridge officials took proper action afterward. But as a precaution, officials from both schools met Wednesday to discuss crowd control.

That left only the game and, for one half, the Tritons were in it. San Clemente (17-12) led by as many as five points in the first half and was able to deal with the Warriors’ press-and-stress style.

That Woodbridge led, 30-29, at halftime was due to Melanie Pearson. She scored 20 first-half points, ranging from short jumpers to layups.

Pearson, who finished with 30 points, scored eight of the Warriors’ last 10 points in the first half.

Woodbridge’s defense sparked the Warriors in the second half. They broke a 35-35 tie with a 14-6 run to close the third quarter. Then they scored the first 10 points of the fourth quarter. Erin Stovall scored five of those points and finished with 13 points despite fouling out with five minutes left.

Cathy Joens also scored 13 points.

Kirsten Quade scored 12 points to lead San Clemente.