Oilers Line Up 44-38 Win Over Villa Park

Huntington Beach defeated Villa Park, 44-38, in a Division I-A girls’ basketball first-round playoff game Thursday at Villa Park.

The Oilers (15-11) won with clutch free-throw shooting and without leading scorer and rebounder Amy Sanders, who missed her fourth straight game because of a severely sprained right ankle.

But Huntington Beach’s other players came through against Villa Park.

Center Kelsey Ball scored a game-high 18 points and Amy Shaw had 12, including six free throws in the final 28 seconds. No other player scored more than four points, but the Oilers forced 19 turnovers and never allowed the Spartans to get into rhythm.

Before fouling out, center Lauren Yadon scored 14 points for Villa Park (14-12). Sally Hoo had eight.

The Oilers put the game away at the free-throw line in the fourth quarter. Shaw made six of six in the last 28 seconds, and Ball was four for four. Overall, Huntington Beach made 14 of 21 free throws, but was 12 for 14 in the fourth quarter.

“It doesn’t get any better than that,” said Huntington Beach Coach Bill Thomson. “When they had to make the free throws, they did.”

The Oilers will have Sanders back Saturday when they face third-seeded Ventura (19-5), which had a bye. Sanders averages 20 points and 13 rebounds.

In other Division I-A games:

Foothill 62, Corona Centennial 54--Kristen Mann had 45 points and 20 rebounds for visiting Foothill (17-10), which will face Troy in the second round Saturday. Mann’s 45 points give her a career total of 1,844, breaking Anne Dean’s school record of 1,820 set from 1978 to 1982.

Anaheim 38, Alhambra Keppel 37--Brenda Gallardo made a three-pointer with 11 seconds left to win it for host Anaheim (16-10). Gallardo scored 15 points, eight in the fourth quarter. Anaheim faces undefeated Woodbridge on Saturday in the second round.

Edison 72, Santa Fe Springs Santa Fe 53--Junior guard Rachael Ziemann had 24 points and nine assists for Edison (18-11), which will play at Saugus at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in the second round.