Eagles clawing back

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CORONA DEL MAR — During a scoreboard malfunction late in the first half, the board went to all zeroes for a time.

It sounded good to Estancia High girls’ basketball coach Tommy Rausch, who glanced over at Corona del Mar Coach Mark Decker.

“Mark, you want to start over?” Rausch asked playfully.

Eventually, the problem was fixed and the game went on. But the Eagles as a team appear to be starting over in the new year, as they cruised in the second half for a 52-33 nonleague victory Friday night at CdM.

Estancia, which had suffered a 10-game losing streak before winning Thursday at Garden Grove, now has a modest two-game winning streak. Perhaps as importantly, the Eagles (3-14) have some semblance of momentum heading into the Orange Coast League campaign.

A large part of it, senior point guard Tiffany Monteiro said, is just having everyone back on the court. Monteiro was out sick earlier in the year, and various other players were either on vacation over the winter break or suffering from injuries. Estancia hadn’t had his starting five assembled since late November.

“We’ve got some girls who can play, there’s no question about that,” Rausch said. “It’s just getting five girls together at the same time who can play.”

But Friday, the Eagles were back at full strength, looking like they expected to win.

“The win we got [over Garden Grove] gave us a big boost,” said Monteiro, who scored a game-high 13 against CdM and added three assists. “It helped us out mentally. We feel more like a team, because everyone is there to help out and be their own piece of the team.”

After sophomore Katie Bergsma scored the game’s opening basket for CdM (7-11), Estancia immediately went on an 8-0 run, keyed by a three-point play by senior Julie Arreola.

The Sea Kings battled back, trimming the lead to 21-20 on a layup by junior Brittany Rhyme midway through the second quarter. But Eagles freshman Kassie Stratton immediately responded with a three-pointer, helping ensure Estancia would head into the locker room with a 26-22 halftime lead.

“We just need all of our girls there playing at a top level to be successful,” said Decker, whose team played without senior guard Susan Moheimani (illness). “... I thought at halftime we were in good shape. We had not played well and we were only down four.”

Instead, Estancia opened the second half on a 7-0 run, capped by sophomore guard Erika Soto’s three-point play after a steal. CdM missed its first 10 shots of the third quarter until Rhyme’s jumper in the lane with 2:10 left in the quarter.

“We had opportunities,” Decker said. “We had a lot of shots that I would say we’d like to take in games. We just didn’t make them.”

Following Rhyme’s score, Eagles senior guard Steffi Ramirez responded with a steal and three-point play of her own. That pushed the lead to 36-24, and CdM couldn’t get closer than eight points the rest of the way.

“We had all our players here, so I think everybody felt confident,” said Ramirez, who had eight points and three steals. “We’re just coming back stronger [from the losing streak].”

Soto finished with 10 points, three assists and four steals for the Eagles, at times giving them instant energy.

“I told her at halftime that her junior and senior year, she’s running the show,” Rausch said. “She does a lot of good things for us hustle-wise and energy-wise. She’s just got to make sure she finishes those layups every time.”

Bergsma finished with six points, 12 rebounds and four steals for the Sea Kings, who got nine points apiece from Rhyme and freshman guard Kayla Marolt. CdM opens Pacific Coast League play at home against Beckman on Wednesday.

Estancia opens Orange Coast League play at defending league champion Costa Mesa on Friday.

Nonleague

Estancia 52, Corona del Mar 33

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Est – Monteiro 13, Stratton 11, E. Soto 10, Ste. Ramirez 8, Koff 4, Arreola 3, Millan 2, B. Soto 1.

3-pt. goals – Monteiro 1, Stratton 1, Ste. Ramirez 1.

CdM – Marolt 9, Rhyme 9, Stern 7, Bergsma 6, Nadal 2.

3-pt. goals – None.

Fouled out – Brockett.

MATT SZABO may be reached at (714) 966-4614 or by e-mail at [email protected].