HB, Edison surpassed by Los Al
The Sunset League girls’ basketball race was to be decided this week and despite a clear-cut front-runner in that title chase, two local teams entered the final week of competition still in the mix.
Huntington Beach and Edison each still had Sunset League co-championship hopes in sight, but that title now belongs to Los Alamitos after Monday’s league action.
Huntington, ranked No. 3 in CIF Southern Section Division 1A, held a six-point halftime lead on visiting Los Alamitos but the Griffins rallied in the second half to come away with a 56-48 victory and an outright league championship.
Senior guard Sammy Gray led all scorers with 14 points, junior guard Kaylyn Nakaji had 11 points and junior forward Frankie Wade-Sanchez 10 points for the Oilers who fell to 6-3 in league and 21-6 overall.
Los Alamitos, which outscored Huntington, 29-15 in the second half, improved to 9-0 in league and 20-5 overall.
“This was a great game played by both teams in a classic Sunset League battle,” Huntington Coach Russ McClurg said. “We were up at halftime and lost some steam in the third and fourth quarters. Los Al is very deep and their press caused some crucial turnovers.
“I am proud of our second-half improvements and I believe we can carry this momentum into the playoffs.
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•Edison won its Sunset battle against Fountain Valley by defeating the host Barons, 77-23. Senior shooting guard Jenni Kwok nailed seven three-point shots and she and senior forward Jackie Bento both scored a game-high 21 points. Junior forward Ryane Bradbury had 10 points as the Chargers went to 6-3 in league and 11-13 overall.
Fountain Valley fell to 0-9 in league.
“It was a great team win and solid defensive effort,” Edison Coach Sara Brown said.
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•In the third Sunset game Monday, Marina went to Newport Harbor and lost to the Sailors, 46-38. The Vikings fell to 3-6 in league.
In a key Sunset game Feb. 4, Huntington opened up a 15-point lead at Edison but had to hold off the Chargers in the second half to claim a 53-52 victory to move into a second-place tie with the Chargers. Wade-Sanchez led all scorers with 23 points, her final two points coming on a pair of free throws with 10 seconds remaining to seal the win. Nakaji had 14 points.
Marina put four players in double-figures Nov. 4 and took a 69-57 win from host Fountain Valley. Junior guard Michelle Esparza had 14 points, senior guard Christina Mark 13 points senior forward Mary Dishoian 12 points, and junior guard Sadie Atwood 11 points. Junior Emily White posted a game-best 18 points and sophomore Monet Oncu had 15 points for the Barons.
The 10-game Sunset League season ended Wednesday. Scores from the league finales weren’t available at press time.
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•In a Tuesday Golden West League game, Ocean View was upended at Westminster, 50-31. Senior guard Sally Morris scored 10 points and senior guard/forward Treasure Robinson had eight points and eight rebounds for the Seahawks.
Ocean View, ranked No. 13 in CIF-SS Division 3A, is 6-3 in league and tied for second-place with Segerstrom, and 14-9 overall.
Westminster, ranked 12th in Division 1A, has won the league title. The Lions are 9-0 in league and 20-3 overall.
“Not the most stellar offensive performance, for as well as we shot last Friday against Orange, this was the antithesis of that game, which is unfortunate because I thought we played much more consistently competitive this game then our last outing (a 49-43 loss) with Westminster, but lost by a larger margin,” Ocean View Coach Kim Morris said.
In a league contest Friday, the Seahawks hit 12 three-point shots and cruised past visiting Orange, 74-25. Junior point guard Jackie Moss had a game-high 18 points, Morris scored 12 points, freshman center Helen Reynolds had 11 points and six rebounds, and senior guard Danelle Almiranez had 11 points.
The Seahawks close out their Golden West League schedule at 5:30 p.m. Friday when they host Santa Ana.
Ocean View ends its league season Friday hosting Santa Ana at 5:30 p.m.
The CIF-SS divisional playoff brackets will be announced Sunday. Division wild-card games are Wednesday and first-round games are Feb. 18 (divisions without wild-card games) and Feb. 20.
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CIF Weekly Rankings: Huntington Beach (No. 3, Division 1A); Ocean View (No. 13, Division 3A); Brethren Christian (No. 14, Division 6).
