Esperanza Clinches League Title With 75-51 Victory Over Oilers

Esperanza, thanks to some help, clinched the Sunset League girls’ basketball title by defeating Huntington Beach, 75-51, Thursday night.

The help came when Los Alamitos beat second-place Marina, 51-50, Thursday.

Esperanza (18-5, 7-1) jumped out to a 20-8 lead in the first quarter and outscored No. 8 Huntington Beach (15-8, 4-4), 38-25, in the first half.

The sixth-ranked Aztecs extended the lead to 20 points with four minutes left in the third quarter. Leah Combs scored nine of her team-high 21 points in the quarter for Esperanza.

In other Sunset League games:

Los Alamitos 51, Marina 50--Ninth-ranked Marina (16-6, 4-4) missed four shots in the final 34 seconds as Los Alamitos (9-12, 2-6) held on to upset the Vikings. Kristin Geoffroy scored 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and Christa Ellis scored 11 points for the Griffins.

Edison 53, Fountain Valley 48--Shauna Steward had 20 points for host Edison (16-7, 4-4).

In the Century League:

Foothill 43, El Modena 40--Foothill (15-8, 8-0) clinched the league title after Gabrielle Kuehn made two free throws with eight seconds remaining to give the Knights a three-point lead.

Orange 61, Canyon 42--Randi Perry scored 19 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for Orange (8-12, 1-7).

In the Empire League:

Century 56, Katella 18--Aprile Powell scored 14 points and had 12 rebounds and Nikki Love scored 11 points and blocked five shots for Century (18-6, 8-0).

In the Freeway League:

Troy 59, Buena Park 16--Heidi Hardeman scored 25 points to lead first-place Troy (19-3, 8-0).

La Habra 48, Fullerton 33--Nori McCrystal had 13 points for visiting La Habra (14-10, 6-2).

Sonora 49, Sunny Hills 39--Sarah Fister scored eight of her 20 points in the second quarter when visiting Sonora (13-9, 6-2) outscored Sunny Hills, 15-2.

In the Golden West League:

Rosary 82, Saddleback 53--Sarah Belavic had a Rosary single-game record 19 assists, 10 steals and 10 points for the host Royals (10-12, 5-3).

Ocean View 56, Tustin 39--Jennifer Tuiolosega scored 36 points to lead fifth-ranked Ocean View (20-4, 8-0).

Westminster 66, Santa Ana 31--Erin Moore scored a game-high 20 points and Janet Glasby added 14 for Westminster (18-6, 7-1).

In the Olympic League:

Calvary Chapel 72, Whittier Christian 22--Christy Ring scored 17 points, T.J. Gause had 17 points and 12 rebounds for Calvary Chapel (17-8, 5-3).

In the Orange League:

Brea Olinda 83, Valencia 27--Lindsey Davidson scored 16 points, had 10 assists and five steals for No. 2 Brea Olinda (20-3, 8-0).

Savanna 48, Magnolia 30--Shannon Pendergraft scored 11 points to help Savanna (9-13, 6-2) clinch a playoff spot.

In the Sea View League:

Woodbridge 73, Irvine 32--Cathy Joens had 20 points and 16 rebounds for third-ranked Woodbridge (19-4, 8-0).

Newport Harbor 80, Corona del Mar 38--M.E. Clayton scored 20 and Desiree Talley added 19 to lead Newport Harbor (13-10, 5-3).