Girls’ Basketball: Estancia’s Van Den Heever is league MVP

Estancia High junior point guard Maya Van Den Heever has earned Orange Coast League girls’ basketball MVP honors.

Van Den Heever is joined on the first team all-league by her Eagles teammates, senior guard Slade Garnett and freshman forward Finley Garnett, as well as Costa Mesa senior forward Aubriona Mathis and junior forward Katie Lawrence.

Van Den Heever averaged 10.2 points, 4.6 rebounds and a team-best 6.5 assists and 5.8 steals for the Eagles. She helped Estancia go 19-9, 10-0 in league. The Eagles won their third straight outright Orange Coast League title and advanced to the CIF Southern Section Division 4AA quarterfinals, where they lost at top-seeded JSerra, 70-37.

Slade Garnett returned from a torn ACL during league, giving Estancia a boost. She finished with averages of 6.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 4.8 steals per game.

Finley Garnett, the Eagles’ leading scorer, averaged 14.6 points, 7-2 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 4.4 steals per contest.

Mathis and Lawrence were leaders for the Mustangs, who finished 8-19, 3-7 in league. Mesa finished tied for fourth in the six-team league and advanced to the CIF Southern Section Division 4AA playoffs, where the Mustangs lost at Santa Monica Catholic, 67-25, in a first-round game.

Lawrence averaged a team-best 13.8 points per game, along with 5.3 rebounds, 2.2 steals and a team-best 1.7 blocks.

Mathis averaged 13.7 points per contest, along with team-best of seven rebounds and 3.2 steals.

Estancia senior center Eliza Jason and senior guard Gianna Guyot each earned second-team all-league accolades. Jason averaged 7.4 points and a team-best 9.3 rebounds per game for the eagles. Guyot averaged 5.2 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.2 steals.

— From staff reports