Girls basketball: Eagles explode, 99-22

LAGUNA BEACH - Estancia High girls basketball coach Paul Kirby

called off the press in the second half and worked time off the shot

clock before initiating offense. But he still wasn’t successful keeping

his Eagles from what is believed to be a school single-game scoring

record in a 99-22 Pacific Coast League conquest Thursday at Laguna Beach.

Estancia sophomore point guard Trisha Wase produced a triple-double

with a career-high 25 points to go with 21 steals and 10 assists.

Tisha Gray (21 points), Nancy Castro (13), Crystal Mino (10) and Marie

Rodriguez (10) also produced career-high single-game scoring outputs,

while junior Xochitl Byfield added 18 points.

With only seven players available, and freshman Imelda Pena sidelined

nearly half the game with a strained neck, Kirby could not lighten the

load with reserves.

With Wase spearheading an aggressive defense, the Eagles (11-9, 4-0 in

league) built a 57-11 halftime edge, which ballooned to 81-13 after three periods, despite the lack of full-court pressure.

“We had 99 with about two minutes left and we had some shots at

getting 100, but I didn’t want to run the score up,” Kirby said. “I felt

bad, because I couldn’t sub in people. We could have scored 150.”

The 77-point margin of victory bettered the Eagles previous

single-game scoring best this season, a 73-20 December tournament triumph

over Steveston from British Columbia, Canada.

Byfield added eight rebounds and five steals, while Gray had seven

boards and six steals.

Laguna Beach (3-10, 0-4) has now lost 57 straight league games.

GIRLS

PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE

Estancia 99, Laguna Beach 22

Score by Quarters

Estancia 33 24 24 18 - 99

Laguna Beach 4 7 2 9 - 22

Estancia - Wase 25, Gray 21, Byfield 18, Mino 10, Rodriguez 10, Castro

13, Pena 2.

3-pt. goals - Byfield 3, Rodriguez 2, Gray 1, Wase 1.

Fouled out - none.

Technicals - none.

Laguna Beach - Shamy 2, Mestre 4, Sexton 1, Jones 5, Friedman 4,

Schmalzried 6.

3-pt. goals - Jones 1.

Fouled out - Schmalzried.

Technicals - none.