Breakers' Girls Win, Keeping Alive Their Postseason Hoops Dreams

Emily Writer and Sam Garner celebrated Senior Night in style Thursday at Laguna Beach High, as the dynamic inside-outside duo led the Breakers' girls basketball team to an important 51-36 Orange Coast League victory over Costa Mesa.

With the win, Laguna Beach now heads into the final week of the regular season tied with Godinez for third place at 5-4. If both Godinez and the Breakers finish with identical records, they would meet in a play-in game to determine the league's third and final postseason participant.

For a while Thursday it appeared as though the second-place Mustangs would steal the spotlight from Writer and Garner, especially after a solid first quarter that Annie Sturm capped with a jumper to make it 12-7, Mustangs.

Sturm finished with a team-high 17 points for Costa Mesa, but was upstaged by Laguna Beach sophomore Lola Cowie, whose three-pointer with 1:02 left in the second quarter gave the Breakers their first lead at 22-19.

Laguna Beach never trailed from that point, as Cowie sent home four triples to finish with a game-high 18 points, and provided the Breakers with a lethal third scoring option that ultimately proved to be the difference.

"We need Lola, we need a third scorer," Laguna Beach coach Jon Hendrickson said. "The last couple of games, she's been that for us. She hit five three-pointers in the last game and four tonight. She's stepped up her game, and she's only a sophomore, so she's going to be great."

And while the future looked bright Thursday, both Writer and Garner did more than enough to remind the Laguna Beach crowd on hand that the present isn't too shabby either.

Writer, who showed no ill-effects of a cold she's battling through, finished with 13 points on a number of acrobatic dribble-drives, grabbed six rebounds, blocked two shots and picked up two steals.

Garner, meanwhile, was dominant in the post, finishing with 13 points of her own to complement 15 rebounds, four blocks, two steals and a team-high four assists.

"Me and Sam, we worked really hard. She had a great game, and I'm a little sick, but I played through it," Writer said. "But it feels good that me and Sam helped to build the program up, and I hope it continues."

Junior Holly Battle (four rebounds, two steals) had a nice night as well, finishing with five points, all during a third-quarter spurt in which the junior forward sent in a putback, hit a jumper and nailed a free throw to turn a seven-point game into a blowout at 32-19.

Cowie and Garner owned the fourth frame, combining to score 14 of Laguna Beach's 17 points.

"Huge. Huge. No matter what happens the rest of the way, this was a great win for the program," Hendrickson said. "Our two seniors deserve every accolade that they get. They're both four-year starters, they built the program, and they went out on top tonight."

Laguna Beach (10-9 overall) now faces its biggest game of the season, as a victory at Godinez (13-13) Tuesday would go a long way in securing a playoff berth.

"Godinez is really well-coached," Writer said. "They move the ball fast. They lost a lot of seniors off last year's team, but they're back-to-back champions, so they're pretty good. But I think we can beat them."

Godinez won the first meeting between the teams, 56-41, on Jan. 18 at Laguna Beach High.

The Breakers finish up at Saddleback (2-5 in league) next Thursday, a team they beat 45-39 at home on Jan. 25.

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Costa Mesa       --  12   7   5  12  --  36
Laguna Beach  --   7  17  10  17 -- 51

Laguna Beach (10-9, 5-4) -- Lola Cowie 18, Emily Writer 13, Sam Garner 13, Holly Battle 5, Mandi Wisbaum 2.

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In the junior varsity game:

Laguna Beach 27, Costa Mesa 17 -- Kyra Humphries paced the victorious Breakers with 12 points and Jane Wallin finished with six. Syreena Strickland had five points for Laguna Beach, while both Kendra Overstreet and Olivia Lopez turned in two.