Laguna Beach girls’ basketball beats Canyon Springs, returns to CIF semifinals
The Laguna Beach High girls’ basketball team has been rolling in the playoffs, and Wednesday night was no different as the Breakers played in front of their home fans for the first time this postseason.
Senior forward Sophie Marriner had 20 points, 14 rebounds and three blocked shots, leading Laguna Beach past Moreno Valley Canyon Springs 62-45 in the quarterfinals of the Division 4A bracket.
Laguna Beach (22-9) returns to the section semifinals, a round it suffered a 53-50 defeat at Bermuda Dunes Desert Christian Academy in the Division 5AA draw last season.
“It was very frustrating,” Marriner said, reflecting on the Breakers’ previous semifinals appearance. “That game is definitely still in my nightmares. It’s probably one of the most mentally challenging games we’ve ever had, especially because usually when you lose a game, you’re able to pinpoint certain things that you know you could have done.
“I feel like that game last year, we were all working so hard, and when it came down to that final score, it was just really frustrating because we all did what we were supposed to. It just came down to the couple shots they made.”
Needless to say, the Breakers have their source of motivation going into Saturday’s semifinal, scheduled to tip off at 6 p.m. They will be at home this time against North Hollywood Oakwood, a 44-42 winner at Santa Monica Crossroads in its quarterfinal game.
Kate Cheng scored 17 points to go with five rebounds and three assists for Laguna Beach. Sabrina Yang added 14 points, six rebounds and four assists. Alexandra Grombchevsky chipped in with five points and three assists.
Freshmen Mila Davis and Kyli Kanter combined for six points off the bench.
“I think it’s because we’ve had a core group of girls for a while,” Cheng said of the ascendant Laguna Beach program. “We’re all really driven to work really hard, and we all have this goal in mind, so because we have this same goal, we’re able to work really hard for it.”
Izabella Tejada had 15 points, nine rebounds, three assists and three steals for Canyon Springs (17-7), which was the Inland Valley League champion. Angel Romero and Riley Plastaras each had eight points for the Cougars.
CIF Southern Section Division 4A
Laguna Beach 62, Moreno Valley Canyon Springs 45
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Canyon Springs 9 - 5 - 10 - 21 — 45
Laguna Beach 14 - 14 - 18 - 16 — 62
CS — Tejada 15, Romero 8, Plastaras 8, Williams 5, Morton 4, Nicholson 3, Rojas 2.
3-pt. goals — Plastaras 2, Romero 1, Tejada 1, Nicholson 1.
Fouled out — None.
Technicals — None.
LB — Marriner 20, Cheng 17, Yang 14, Grombchevsky 5, Davis 4, Kanter 2.
3-pt. goals — Cheng 3, Yang 2, Grombchevsky 1.
Fouled out — None.
Technicals — None.
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