Foothill Cruises in Opener

Foothill, ranked 10th in the county, scored the first 10 points of the third quarter en route to a 48-27 victory over Laguna Hills in pool play at the Edison Orange County Championship Tuesday at Edison High.

The Knights (8-3) led most of the game but were tied at halftime, 21-21. Megan Aaker scored all 14 of Laguna Hills’ second-quarter points as the Hawks outscored Foothill, 14-8.

However, Foothill changed its defense in the second half, outscoring the Hawks, 19-4, in the third quarter and holding Laguna Hills (7-6) to six points in the second half.

“We switched from a man-to-man to a zone, and I think it was pretty effective,” Foothill forward Kristin Mann said.

Mann, who led Foothill with 18 points and 18 rebounds, made all five of her field-goal attempts in the second half as the Knights shot 72.2% (13-18) from the field.

Conversely, Laguna Hills made only three of 30 shots in the second half, with Aaker making one of seven and finishing with two points.

“I give them credit, they made the adjustments they needed to make in the second half,” Laguna Hills Coach Jim Martin said. “We were getting looks, but we just couldn’t hit our shots.”

Aaker made seven of 21 shots and finished with 16 points for the Hawks. Lauren Biedebach scored eight points and had 10 rebounds for Foothill.

Both teams play No. 4 Esperanza next in pool-play games.