Corona del Mar settles for second place

Bryce Alderton

By the time the Corona del Mar High girls basketball team rattled

off its most impressive run of the game it was too late.

Trailing by as many as 20 points in the final period, CdM (5-8)

went on a 12-0 run through 3:44 of the fourth quarter, spurred on by

a pressing full-court defense. But the Sea Kings couldn’t keep up the

momentum and lost the championship game of the Cavalier Classic to El

Modena, 57-43, at Santiago High Saturday night.

CdM Coach James Barkalow second-guessed himself after the game

about the pressuring defense.

“I waited too long (to run the full-court defense),” Barkalow

said. “I told the girls to put it on and they played well for a

couple of minutes. They didn’t quit and they easily could have.”

Starters Madison Otterbein, Lauren Snell and Kelliann Klein

anchored the offense in the Sea Kings’ run. Klein scored eight of her

10 points in the spurt with Snell connecting on a put-back to score

her fourth point of the final period. Otterbein made a nice rebound

under the basket and flipped the ball off the glass with her right

hand while drawing a foul to get CdM within 51-43 with 2:28 left.

Then CdM hurried shots in the final two minutes and went

scoreless. The Sea Kings managed a 7-for-14 clip from the field in

the final quarter but managed only 31% (14-45) for the game.

El Modena didn’t fare much better from the field -- 19 for 57

(33%) -- but made 14 of 21 foul shots compared to CdM’s 8-of-11 mark

from the free-throw line.

Tournament-Most Valuable Player Norrelle Dickson scored a

game-high 22 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the victors.

El Modena ran an efficient half-court offense in which players

passed the ball around the perimeter before looking inside to Dickson

or Meghan Maxwell.

Four of El Modena’s seven third-quarter baskets came off layups as

the Vanguards went on a 9-0 run to grab a 33-16 lead with 4:41 left

in the period and the road was uphill for CdM from there. The Sea

Kings led once, a 4-3 cushion with 4:54 left in the first period,

following two McCoy free throws.

Corona del Mar became sloppy with the ball at times, with players

throwing the ball over their teammates’ heads or simply dropping the

ball along the baseline.

“We broke the press but became too eager,” Barkalow said of the El

Modena occasional full-court press defense. “(The turnovers) weren’t

a result of them being overbearing on us. They were trying to make

the plays and I can’t fault them for that.”

Lack of preparation wasn’t a factor, according to Otterbein.

“We knew what they were doing, we just need to show more

intensity,” Otterbein said.

Snell picked up two fouls in the first quarter and Barkalow sat

her for the remainder of the half and into the third quarter when she

came in and grabbed four of her six rebounds.

Klein, Otterbein and Jackie McCoy, who led the Sea Kings with 11

points, earned all-tournament honors for their efforts over the

course of the tourney.

Corona del Mar has some time off now, returning to the floor on

Saturday when the Sea Kings will host El Toro in their final tuneup

before the Pacific Coast League begins Jan. 14 at Laguna Beach.

Cavalier Classic

El Modena 57, CdM 43

Score by Quarters

El Modena 12 12 19

14 - 57

CdM 6 10 10 17

- 43

El Modena -- Maxwell 10, Walters 3, Dickson 22, B. Orand

6, Hurtado 6, A. Orand 4, Biesiada 6, Schlueter 0, Delgado 0, Dunn 0,

Armendariz 0.

3-pt. goals -- Maxwell 2, Hurtado 2.

Fouled out -- none.

Technicals -- none.

CdM -- McCoy 11, Klein 10, Snell 6, Otterbein 9, C.

Marks 4, Dimas 0, A. Marks 2, Heeschen 1.

3-pt. goals -- McCoy 1, Klein 1, Otterbein 1.

Fouled out -- none.

Technicals -- none.