Girls’ Basketball: CdM makes history

IRVINE — Maria King counts a game at Woodbridge High in 2011-12 as one of the worst experiences of her Corona del Mar High girls’ basketball career.

CdM already trailed that game by 17 points after the first quarter. The Sea Kings ended up losing by 28.

“When I was a freshman, this gym was hell,” King said. “It was terrible ... It was madness in this gym. It was one of the worst games I’ve ever played. So finishing off with a really strong win is something I was looking forward to, and really enjoyed.”

Three years later, King is now a senior forward, and how much the program has grown in that time.

On Tuesday evening, she returned to Woodbridge High. This time, she experienced one of the best wins of her four-year career.

Senior guard Brianna Westrup tied a season-high with 16 points and King added 11 as the Sea Kings earned a 46-31 upset victory over the Warriors, handing Woodbridge its first loss in league.

Decker said it’s the first time the program has ever won at Woodbridge, the perennial powerhouse which has won 19 league titles in Coach Eric Bangs’ tenure. This one was big, as it pulled CdM (16-7, 5-2 in league) within a game of Woodbridge (16-6, 6-1) with three league games to play.

The Sea Kings are in third place. Beckman, which defeated University on Tuesday, is also tied for first in league at 6-1.

CdM had lost a close game, 40-37, to the Warriors in the teams’ first league meeting on Jan. 13. What changed, Decker and King agreed, was energy. The Sea Kings held Woodbridge to four single-digit quarters.

“I think it’s about toughness,” Decker said. “The last game, every loose ball seemed to go their way. They were taking the ball from us a little bit ... we were just tougher tonight and we wanted it more. I’m really proud of our effort and intensity tonight.”

Junior center Krista Anderson had eight points and five blocks for CdM, ranked No. 6 in CIF Southern Section Division 3AA. Decker said it was probably Anderson’s best game of the season. As it had done in the first game, Woodbridge made it a point to try to slow CdM’s 6-foot-4 junior forward Natalia Bruening, who finished with eight points, eight rebounds and two blocks on Tuesday night.

Bruening, to her credit, did not force it against Woodbridge, ranked No. 10 in Division 2AA. Instead, the Sea Kings’ wing players lit it up from outside. Mostly, it was King, who made a trio of three-pointers.

“They didn’t respect our guards last game,” Decker said. “This game was about confidence, about stepping up and making some shots that we could make. That was the difference. They weren’t going to let Natalia get a lot of easy points, so there were a lot of openings there. Bri and Maria took advantage of that. Those are the shots that we weren’t confident taking the last time we played them.”

CdM led nearly wire to wire. Woodbridge took its only lead midway through the second quarter on a steal and layup by senior forward Annika Walker, who had eight points and six steals. That made it 13-12, Woodbridge, with 4:10 remaining in the half, but CdM was undeterred.

The Sea Kings closed the half by scoring eight straight points, capped by King’s corner three-pointer with two seconds left. Junior guard Kelly Tam had the assist as CdM went into intermission with momentum.

“Definitely, pulling away at the end of the half added to our confidence that we had already been working on,” King said. “We knew that we could destroy them, and that was what we were out to do.

CdM also started the second half strong. By the time Westrup hit a corner three-pointer (assisted by King) with 5:55 left in the third quarter, the Sea Kings had opened up a 27-13 advantage by scoring 15 straight points.

“They just played a lot better,” said Bangs, whose team’s 31 points easily was a season-low. “They were not only tall, but they were quick and aggressive. We couldn’t shoot the ball, so [the result] definitely went the way it should. They outplayed us ... they couldn’t afford another loss [in league] and they played like they should. My kids just couldn’t quite match their intensity. When you’re not only the tallest, but you’re the quickest team out there and the most aggressive, you’ve got a lot going for you.”

Woodbridge cut the deficit to 31-26 on another steal and layup by Walker early in the fourth quarter, prompting a CdM timeout. But CdM immediately scored nine straight points, the dagger being another three-pointer by King on Bruening’s assist, to put the game out of reach.

Freshman guard Anjali Ghadyaram led Woodbridge with nine points. The Warriors don’t expect to slip up again in league. Of their three remaining opponents, none got closer than 15 points in the first round of league.

But for CdM, which plays at University on Friday, the win against Woodbridge nevertheless brought a lot of confidence.

“I think it’s more than just a statement win,” said Westrup, who led CdM with four steals. “I think we proved to ourselves that we could hang with them, that we could make those shots. That’s what I think helped more than making a statement to everyone else. We proved it to ourselves.”

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Pacific Coast League

Corona del Mar 46, Woodbridge 31

SCORE BY QUARTERS

CdM 11 – 9 – 11 – 15 — 46

Wood 9 – 4 – 9 – 9 — 31

CdM – Westrup 16, King 11, Bruening 8, Anderson 8, Tam 3.

3-pt. goals – King 3, Westrup 1.

Fouled out – None.

Technicals – None.

Wood – Ghadiyaram 9, Walker 8, Sarchet 6, Rachal 4, Vaglica 2, Niewiadomski 2.

3-pt. goals – Ghadiyaram 1.

Fouled out – None.

Technicals – None.