Breakers finish tough year on strong note

The end of the season might have come to an end this week for the Laguna Beach High girls’ basketball team, yet the Breakers will head into the offseason playing their best ball of the year.

Laguna ended its Orange Coast League schedule by beating host Costa Mesa on Tuesday, 53-46. That allowed the Breakers to finish their 2008-09 campaign with three victories in their final five games of the season.

“We didn’t play our best but we played with intensity and, as demonstrated by the last few weeks of the season, have learned how to win,” Laguna Coach Jon Hendrickson said. “It took our young team awhile, but we won three out of our last five games and have something to build on for next year.”

Emily Writer led the way for Laguna with 27 points and 11 rebounds. Sam Garner played a “great game,” Hendrickson said, contributing 18 points and 10 boards. Katie Daff’s all-around solid performance included six points, eight rebounds, seven steals and four blocks and Christina Crowley capped Laguna’s scoring with two points.

Previously, the Breakers closed out their homestand Feb. 5 with a 61-55 victory over Estancia on Senior Night.

Writer topped Laguna again in scoring, this time getting 32 points to go along with 10 rebounds. Hendrickson said that Daff played “her best game” of her four-year career, hitting six three-point shots to finish with 18 points. She also hauled in 12 rebounds and had five steals.

Garner contributed 10 points and 13 rebounds and Ahllam Berri finished off the scoring with one point.

“It was a great effort on the girls part from start to finish,” Hendrickson said. “It feels great to knock off the first place team in our league and to do it on our last home game of the year was an added bonus. Every girl played in the game and they all played their best. It was a great team victory.”

The two wins in the final week of the season gave Laguna a final league record of 3-5, good for a fourth-place finish.

The Breakers concluded the campaign at 4-16.

“It’s been an interesting season,” Hendrickson said. “We peaked a little too late in the year, but nonetheless, the girls got better and better as the season went along, which made the season successful, regardless of wins and losses.”