Area 51

She wears No. 13, but on the night of Jan. 22, Emily Writer’s number was 51.

That’s how many points she racked up during a 78-57 Orange Coast League victory over visiting Costa Mesa at Dugger Gym.

The 5-foot-9 sophomore point guard, a second-team all-league selection last year, finished two steals shy of recording a triple-double as she added 10 rebounds and eight steals.

Her 51 points didn’t just break the girls’ single-game scoring record, it shattered it. The old single-game mark, 36 points, was set in 1989 by Liz Stahl, said Laguna Beach Athletic Director Mike Churchill.

Writer’s total output was just six shy of tying the total points scored by the entire Costa Mesa team, which is the defending league champion.

“I didn’t have any idea that I was breaking a school record,” Writer said. “I was just playing the game and my shots magically went in.”

Writer said the full-court press used by the Breakers led to steals, which in turn translated to easy points.

“Our team caused a lot of turnovers and Emily was usually the girl that was able to finish the play,” Laguna Coach Jon Hendrickson said. “It was a great team effort that allowed her to score 51 and obviously a tremendous individual effort, as well.”

Writer scored seven of Laguna’s 20 first-quarter points, then followed by scoring 11 of the Breakers’ 13 points in the second quarter to give her 18 at the half. She nearly netted that total alone in each of the third and fourth quarters, scoring 16 and 17, respectively. If she wasn’t powering past defenders for shots in the key, she was hustling for offensive rebounds and getting put-back lay-ups.

She was 17 of 40 from the floor with a pair of three-point baskets and hit 15 of 24 free-throw attempts.

Her previous personal scoring high was a 31-point effort against Godinez on Jan. 8.

As important to Writer was that the win was the first by the Breakers in league play this year. It allowed Laguna to snap a six-game losing streak.

“It felt great to get that first win in league,” she said. “The team played really well. We hustled and the hard work paid off.”