Basketball Roundup: Laguna too much for Saddleback

Thirteen turned out to be a lucky number for the Laguna Beach High girls’ basketball team.

The Breakers played their first game of the New Year on Tuesday and earned their 13th victory by handling visiting Saddleback, 61-12, in an Orange Coast League opener for both teams at Dugger Gym.

Jackie Cenan led the scoring with 30 points and Mandi Wisbaum hit three, three-pointers and finished with 21 points. Alexandra Lewis and Francesca Cecutti led the Breakers, who improved to 13-1 overall, in defensive rebounding.

“Obviously, we are pleased with the win,” Laguna Coach Mark Lewis said. “It is a great way to kick off league play. But, it is only one game and we have a lot of work ahead to achieve our goal of competing for the top spot in league.”

Tuesday’s game was the first for the Breakers since they wrapped up play Dec. 29 by winning the title at the Desert Christian Academy Tournament.

“Though it was our first game in 10 days, I thought we came out of the gates strong,” Lewis said. “We have been practicing hard and I thought our intensity early in the game was pretty good.”

Laguna took on Estancia in league play Thursday. The score from the game wasn’t available at press time.

The Breakers have two OCL home games on tap next week. First, they take on Calvary Chapel on Tuesday, and then face Godinez Thursday. Both games tip at 7 p.m.

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Boys’ Basketball

The Breakers started their Orange Coast League schedule Wednesday at Dugger Gym and the defending league champions rolled to a 72-32 victory over Saddleback.

Laguna took an 18-7 lead after one quarter and outscored the Roadrunners, 23-9, in the second quarter to take a comfortable, 41-16 lead into the half.

The Breakers hadn’t played since Dec. 29, when they finished third at the Estancia Coast Classic.

“We came out ready to play,” Laguna Coach Bret Fleming said. “There’s always sort of a fear that kids could be rusty after a long break from playing, but I thought we played well.”

Alec Wulff led all scorers with 17 points. The junior guard, however, suffered a sprained ankle during the third quarter. Fleming said Wulff “might miss” the team’s game Friday at Estancia.

Senior guard Cole Kesler scored 14 points, senior forward Jake Dalke had 12 points and both junior forward Noah Blanton and junior guard Matt Jones scored eight points.

“It was a real good effort by all the kids,” Fleming said. “They played together as a team, and not individually. We defended real hard and forced a lot of turnovers. Everybody got to play, and everybody got some good minutes. Overall, it was a real good job by everybody.”

The Breakers have nine games, all league contests, left on their regular-season schedule. They start with a 7 p.m. game at Estancia Friday against Estancia. Next week, they play host to Calvary Chapel on Wednesday and Godinez on Jan. 18, both games starting at 7 p.m.

Estancia dropped its OCL opener Wednesday, 56-47, to Costa Mesa.

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Twitter: @MikeSciacca