Sargent Takes Charge

On almost any other girls’ basketball team in the region, Lauren Sargent would be a star.

But at Buena High, where the lineup includes three All-Americans, Sargent quietly goes about her business as an efficient shooting guard.

On Saturday night, she stepped into the spotlight, making five three-point baskets and scoring a career-high 19 points in the Bulldogs’ 74-40 rout of Harvard-Westlake in a nonleague game at Buena.

The 5-foot-7 senior picked the perfect game to erupt.

Sargent, who coaches a third-grade team in Ventura, had her players in the bleachers for the first time.

“[Buena] usually plays on weekdays and they have to get to bed early,” Sargent said of her players, who had the Bulldogs sign autographs after the game.

The youngsters were not the only ones in awe.

The Bulldogs (17-0), ranked No. 1 in two national polls, bolted to a 16-0 lead after four minutes and were throttling the Wolverines (15-4), ranked No. 2 in the region by The Times, 46-18, at halftime.

“They walk on the floor with confidence, command a certain presence and put it to you early,” Coach Melissa Hearlihy of Harvard-Westlake said.

North Carolina State-bound forward Kelly Greathouse had 18 points and 10 rebounds, forward Courtney LaVere had 17 points and nine rebounds, and Tennessee-bound guard Courtney Young scored nine points and made several dazzling no-look passes for easy layups.

Routs are common for Buena, which has won by an average of 32.5 points.

The Bulldogs have defeated Harvard-Westlake, No. 3 Ventura, No. 4 Hart and No. 9 Oxnard by an average of 35 points.

Guard Lyndsey Medders led Harvard-Westlake with 11 points, and Karina Siam and Stefanie Clark each had 10.