Girls’ Basketball: CdM retains crown
LAGUNA BEACH — Nobody said it would be easy for the Corona del Mar High girls’ basketball team to repeat as champion of its host tournament.
The Sea Kings certainly didn’t find it easy in the first quarter of the title game against Westminster on Saturday night. They fell behind after committing 10 turnovers against the Lions’ press defense.
But things changed in the final three quarters. CdM settled down and used its own dominant defensive effort to claim a 43-31 win at Laguna Beach High and win its second straight CdM Tip-Off Tournament title.
Senior center Krista Anderson earned tournament MVP honors for CdM after recording 14 points, eight rebounds and seven blocks in the championship game. Senior forward Natalia Bruening (10 points, five rebounds and five steals) and senior point guard Kelly Tam (four points and five assists) also earned all-tournament accolades.
The Sea Kings held Westminster to 12-for-49 shooting from the field (24%), including just one for 16 from three-point range. The Lions came into Saturday night’s game averaging more than 54 points in their first three tournament wins.
“We played great defense,” CdM Coach Mark Decker said. “We talked about gang-rebounding because they’re so physical. We talked about not letting them get out in transition, because they love to throw the long ball, and we did a great job of it.”
Westminster had a 9-6 lead after a quarter, but the Sea Kings erupted for 17 points in the second quarter. Sophomore guard Tia Grippo’s three-pointer helped CdM (4-0) start a 7-2 run that forced Westminster Coach Dick Katz to call a timeout after Grippo buried another jumper.
CdM got six points from Anderson in the quarter as well to take a 23-15 halftime lead.
“I got some people [seniors Liz Sakamoto and Melody Thomsen] in foul trouble, and my players coming off the bench didn’t execute what we wanted to do in our press,” Katz said. “Then we lost our lead, and it affected our concentration … and we didn’t execute our offense. Their size bothered us. Obviously, they’re big, and they use it very well.”
Bruening also got into foul trouble for the second straight game. She picked up her fourth foul with 3:50 remaining in the third quarter, and Decker subbed in her sister, freshman Tatiana Bruening.
“It’s tough in these kind of tournaments, especially after having played club,” Natalia Bruening said. “They’re a lot more lenient. The kinds of calls they were calling, I don’t really consider them fouls … at this point it’s just me adjusting to how the refs call it and playing a lot cleaner than I used to.”
Natalia Bruening subbed back into the game with 6:34 left, after Westminster had trimmed its deficit to 32-27. But the Lions (3-1) couldn’t get closer, and it was Bruening who fouled out Westminster’s top scorer, Sakamoto, on a post move with 3:26 remaining.
Senior forward Kat Hess had four points, five rebounds and three blocks before fouling out late for CdM. Decker also highlighted his freshmen, Tatiana Bruening and Samantha Uehara, both of whom had a basket in the first half.
Westminster’s all-tournament selections were Sakamoto, a center who tied Anderson for game-high honors with 14 points, and Thomsen, who scored four in the championship game.
CdM returns to action with a game at Tesoro on Thursday. When the Sea Kings play again, it will be with another Tip-Off Tournament title under their belt.
“It’s our tournament,” Natalia Bruening said. “It’s nice to come in and live up to what we did last year, just perform.”
Decker would agree with that sentiment.
“We’re still finding our identity,” he said. “To me, it’s more gratifying [to win it this year].”
CdM Tip-Off Tournament
Final
Corona del Mar 43,
Westminster 31
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Westminster 9 – 6 – 6 – 10 — 31
CdM 6 – 17 – 9 – 11 — 43
Westminster – Sakamoto 14, Huynh 7, Thomsen 4, Johns 4, Green 2.
3-pt. goals – Huynh 1.
Fouled out – Sakamoto, Thomsen.
Technicals – Coach.
Corona del Mar – Anderson 14, N. Bruening 10, Grippo 7, Tam 4, Hess 4, Uehara 2, T. Bruening 2.
3-pt. goals – Grippo 1.
Fouled out – Hess.
Technicals – None.
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