Warriors’ Plate Is Full Now

The door to the press room was flung open and a voice came through loud and clear.

“Is there food in here?”

Ah, the Woodbridge girls’ basketball team is back in the state playoffs. Lock the cupboards.

Yes, it’s the team that stays hungry on the court, then scrounges for food afterward. But unlike on the floor, this time the Warriors were denied. Seems they couldn’t have their cake and eat it too.

“Remember, we ate so much two years ago that they took the food out last year,” forward Melanie Pearson reminded her teammates Saturday after they beat Brea Olinda to advance to the state Division II final.

Boy, they bring you in to meet the press without any meat to press between some bread? Life can be cruel.

But it seems state officials have become familiar with the Warriors, right down to their voracious eating habits. Put it down to repetition.

Three years, three Southern California regional titles. Haven’t the Warriors learned to pack a lunch by now? After all, their schedule runs like Mussolini’s trains, only the pasta isn’t as good.

* February, win league title. Eat.

* Early March, win Southern Section title. Eat.

* Mid-March, win Southern California regional. Eat.

After three years--and one state title--you’d think they’d be full. Not so. There were some new mouths to feed.

* Cathy Joens, a freshman forward who stepped in when Krissy Duperron went down with a knee injury. Joens averaged 8.3 rebounds.

* Pat Quinn, the former Saddleback High boys’ coach who replaced Eric Bangs. Bangs built the Warrior program, Quinn had the uneasy role as caretaker.

* Lyon the Lion, Carly Moss’ stuffed animal. A gift from her grandmother, who saw Carly play for the first time Saturday.

None of them have been to a state championship game before.

“Yeah, but he’s going to this one,” Moss said, hugging the inanimate pet.

You mean Coach Quinn?

“Oh, I guess he can come too.”

This team seemed awfully loose for a group sentenced to win a state title from the moment they won their last one. With four returning starters, how could they lose? Expectations, being what they are, can weigh a team down.

Yet, they never stumbled, no matter the obstacle.

Not once this season did they have a practice with the entire team. Erin Stovall, a first-team All-Orange County pick, missed seven games with a knee injury. Duperron, a second-team all-county selection, has been out since Dec. 29.

But these were mere speed bumps. Stovall returned. Joens developed. Quinn assimilated. Lyon arrived.

The only one who seemed under stress was Quinn.

“It can feel like you’re carrying the whole community on your back,” Quinn said. “It seems like everyone was ready to make plane reservations all week.”

Forgive him, girls, he’s new at this.

“Actually, we had fun,” Pearson said. “We had something to prove last season. We had lost in the state title game the year before. This year, we could relax.”

Said guard Tami Weaver: “It was never, ‘We have to get back to state.’ It was, ‘Let’s go have fun.’ ”

It’s the first time a team was more experienced than its coach.

“They have been telling me what to expect all week,” Quinn said.

The only thing that didn’t pan out was the postgame chow. So, Pat, they don’t know everything. Gives you food for thought.