Laguna Hills’ Finishing Kick Nets State Title

Laguna Hills Coach Lynn Taylor reflected on his team and his expectations when this group of seniors arrived on campus four years ago.

He and his assistant, Jim Martin, recognized the talent.

“Our hope,” Taylor said two weeks ago, “was that they would stay together and we could see how far we could go with them.”

Friday night at the Pond, Taylor found out. They went all the way.

Laguna Hills opened a 16-point lead and then withstood a furious fourth-quarter rally to defeat Newark Memorial, 41-40, and win the state Division II girls’ basketball title.

“Like Tayyiba [Haneef] said, it’s a dream come true,” said forward Whitney Houser, one of five Hawks starters who played at least three years on the varsity. “When the season began, we knew winning the Pacific Coast League and Southern Section titles were a realistic goal. The state championship was on our mind, but we didn’t know we could win--that we would win.”

Houser (11 rebounds) and her teammates now know. She and 6-foot-6 center Haneef (17 rebounds, four blocks), each scored 10 points, and senior point guard Tamara Inoue (seven assists, four steals) scored 15.

They played critical roles in building the lead that would help them join Brea Olinda, Woodbridge and Mater Dei as the only girls’ basketball state champions from Orange County.

The trio also played a major role when the game was decided in the final minute.

Newark Memorial (30-2) scored 22 points in the fourth quarter after scoring only 18 the first three. The Cougars’ run was sparked by their full-court press, and it wiped out the 31-15 lead Laguna Hills held with 43 seconds left in the third quarter.

Tied at 37 with 51 seconds remaining in the game after Lee Esther Anderson’s steal and layup, Inoue made two free throws with 41.5 seconds left to give the Hawks a 39-37 lead.

Haneef blocked a shot underneath the basket by Ami Forney (16 points) and grabbed the rebound. She got the ball to Inoue, who was fouled.

After Inoue missed the free throw, Houser jumped out on the wing and blocked Amber Donn’s three-point shot. It was Houser’s fourth block.

The rebound went to Inoue, who was fouled. She made both free throws with 2.5 seconds left for a 41-37 lead, rendering useless Chrissy Gritzke’s three-point basket at the buzzer.

“They can talk about running out of time,” Taylor said, “but the point is, at the end of the game, when we needed the defensive stops, we had the composure and our kids came through.”

It was the 23rd consecutive victory for Laguna Hills (31-3), which won only two tournaments this season: the Southern Section II-AA title and the state title. It stopped Newark Memorial’s 27-game winning streak.

Erin Larsen, Laguna Hills’ only junior starter, also came through in the clutch. She hit a 12-footer on the baseline with 2:49 left to give Laguna Hills a 37-33 lead; it ended a 15-4 run by Memorial and set the stage for the dramatic finish.

It was one of only three baskets that weren’t made by Houser, Haneef or Inoue.

“It was probably the biggest basket of my life,” said Larsen, who was the most emotional of the Hawks afterward.

Forney’s 21 rebounds broke the Division II championship game record for rebounds, set last year by Woodbridge’s Melanie Pearson (18).

Forney, a 6-2 center, was the only Cougar with more than seven points. Newark Memorial, the North Coast Section champion, shot 25.9% from the field (15 of 58). The Cougars were two for 23 from beyond the three-point arc. Laguna Hills shot 32.1% (17 of 53).

There were two critical periods in the game. In addition to the closing minute, Laguna Hills went on an 11-0 run the final 2:50 of the first half after being tied at 12-12. It was capped by Houser’s three-pointer, and gave the Hawks a 23-12 halftime lead that reached 31-18 going into the fourth quarter.

“Words can’t explain how we feel,” said Inoue, who will continue her career at California next season. “This is what we’ve been working four years for.

“As long as we live, we’re going to remember this moment right here.”