Girls’ Basketball: CdM grabs share of first
Tia Grippo had not seen the court much in recent games for the Corona del Mar High girls’ basketball team.
Grippo, a 5-foot-6 guard and the Sea Kings’ only freshman, is not exactly the player that opponents game plan to try to stop. Coach Mark Decker mostly puts her in for her defense.
When Decker inserted her in the first quarter of the biggest game of CdM’s season so far, Grippo knew it was an opportunity she couldn’t squander.
“I really had to prove myself,” she said. “I just had to give my all.”
Grippo showed she could play, matching her season-high with seven points. In a way, it was a good representation of a deep CdM team for which different people seem to step up every night.
The result Tuesday was a big 66-56 Pacific Coast League victory over Beckman at home, pulling CdM into a three-way tie for first with the Patriots and Woodbridge with a single game to go.
CdM (18-7, 7-2 in league) can clinch a share of the second league title in program history, and first since 1999-2000, by beating Northwood at home on Thursday. Beckman plays at Woodbridge, so the winner of that game would share the title with the Sea Kings.
“We’ve just got to win on Thursday,” said CdM junior post Natalia Bruening, who had 21 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks Tuesday. “It’s very exciting. We’ve never been in this position before.”
Beckman (15-9, 7-2) came into Tuesday’s game alone in first place in league, but the Sea Kings did a solid job slowing down the Patriots’ up-tempo, three-pointer heavy offense.
On offense, CdM showed it could produce more than in the teams’ first meeting, a 47-37 Beckman win on Jan. 20. In the rematch, CdM had matched that 37-point output by halftime.
A 20-6 lead after the first quarter set the tone for the Sea Kings. It included 11 points from Bruening, who had scored just nine the entire game in the teams’ first meeting.
“I just know that last time was a little bit more sluggish when I played them,” Bruening said. “I really wanted to come out and show them how I actually play. I think it was good for me to come out and show them how I want to play, instead of how they want me to play.”
CdM capped the first quarter with a three-pointer at the buzzer by junior guard Kelly Tam, who scored 11 points. Senior forward Maria King had 10 points for the Sea Kings, including two three-pointers, while senior guard Brianna Westrup scored eight and junior center Krista Anderson had seven points and two blocks.
Grippo grabbed the crucial offensive rebound that led to Tam’s buzzer-beater. Two quarters later, Grippo again would come up big at the buzzer. An out-of-bounds play with six seconds left in the third quarter resulted in two missed shots for CdM, but Grippo grabbed the rebound and made a short jumper as time expired.
It gave the Sea Kings a 50-35 advantage headed into the fourth quarter. Beckman couldn’t get closer than nine points the rest of the way.
“She’s been practicing really well, and she has no fear,” Decker said of Grippo. “She’s fun.”
The CdM coach liked the energy that Grippo and junior forward Kat Hess (seven rebounds) brought off the bench. It was indeed a team win for CdM, which has won six straight games. The 66 points represented the most that the Sea Kings have scored in league.
“We scored 37 points last time, and we are way more capable of scoring a lot more than that on them,” Decker said. “We did that tonight. I thought that was kind of the difference. They’re a really good shooting team. You’re not going to shut them out, so you’ve got to put some points up.”
Junior forward Farah Manneh led Beckman with 16 points, while junior guards Janessa Paredes and Kiara Quinn each scored 11.
CdM knows not to underestimate Northwood in the league finale Thursday. The Timberwolves feature junior guard Kaitlyn Hsu, who is averaging 20.5 points per game, second in Orange County. Northwood also upset Woodbridge last week, a game in which Decker said the Timberwolves made 14 three-pointers.
Northwood will be looking to play a spoiler role. But CdM, with only the one league title in program history, will be looking for a landmark win.
“We’re excited,” Decker said. “Same philosophy as this [Beckman] game. We feel like, if we stick to our game plan and we’re strong inside, we should be happy with the result.”
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Pacific Coast League
Corona del Mar 66, Beckman 56
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Beck 6 – 18 – 11 – 21 — 56
CdM 20 – 17 – 13 – 16 — 66
Beck – Manneh 16, Quinn 11, Paredes 11, Hamada 10, Metcalf 5, Ebisuya 3.
3-pt. goals – Paredes 3, Metcalf 1, Hamada 1, Ebisuya 1.
Fouled out – Quinn.
Technicals – None.
CdM – Bruening 21, Tam 11, King 10, Westrup 8, Anderson 7, Grippo 7, Pridemore 2.
3-pt. goals – King 2, Tam 1, Bruening 1, Grippo 1.
Fouled out – None.
Technicals – None.
