Sailors use OT to edge Northwood
Newport Harbor High girls’ basketball coach Jillian Blackledge could feel the winds of change coming on Wednesday night.
Her team had responded to a bruising first half against Dana Hills with its most competitive half of the season.
She didn’t know what she said in the halftime locker room, but something seemed to click.
The Sailors found the answer on Thursday night, and they rallied around a character trait that is hard to find when a team has been on the wrong end of a couple of lopsided losses: Positivity.
Lisa Hamilton had 12 points and 26 rebounds, and Newport Harbor snapped a two-game losing streak with a 46-42 overtime victory over Northwood in the CdM Tip-off Tournament at Corona del Mar High.
“We just had a lot better attitude today, and I guess it cheered everybody up,” sophomore guard Lexi Alvarez said. “We talked about it last night and then earlier today.”
It showed in the tight situations late. Hamilton mentioned that the team used to have a tendency to get at each other’s throats when ill-advised shots were hoisted in crunch time, but they rallied around each other and came out with a win.
There were four lead changes in the fourth quarter. Alvarez had the first and the final say in the period. Her three-pointer on the opening possession of the final frame gave the Sailors a 35-33 lead.
Northwood took a 42-39 lead with under two minutes to go when Leila Mohammadi grabbed the offensive rebound and found Masah Habibeh at the free-throw line for a jumper.
Alvarez responded by connecting from the right corner to tie the game, 42-42, with 59 seconds remaining.
Newport Harbor held Northwood off the scoreboard in the overtime, with Alvarez providing the winning points on a driving layup. She finished with a game-high 22 points on six 3-pointers.
“I was just really focused, so I would just shoot,” Alvarez said. “There was a lot of positivity on our team. They just kept boosting me up. I just wanted to take my time to score.”
Early on, the Sailors struggled to find offensive flow. Senior point guard and captain Angelina Alvarez (10 points) appeared to be trying to take her team out of its offensive slump on her own.
She took eight shots from the field and added two free-throw attempts, but the Sailors emerged from the first quarter with a 13-6 deficit.
“We talked to her,” Blackledge said. “We calmed her down. She’s a senior captain point guard, and we told her, ‘Hey, it’s on you. Let’s go. Let’s focus.’”
The offense ran through her younger sister from there. Blackledge was trying to get Angelina Alvarez open off the ball, but Lexi Alvarez wound up having the hot hand. She scored 11 points in the second quarter, and the Sailors rallied to tie the game, 24-24, at the half.
Hamilton’s 26 rebounds were a career high. It stands out even more when one factors in that she had four fouls for the fourth quarter and overtime.
She pulled down three of her rebounds in the final two minutes of regulation and six more in the extra session.
“I have this little mantra in my head,” Hamilton said of playing in foul trouble. “‘Somebody’s shooting in front of me. Stand straight up, and fall down if they touch you.’”
“I had a goal. I really wanted to get 20 rebounds this game.”
Ashleigh McPhie produced in the intangible areas, providing three rebounds, three steals, and a block for the Sailors.
Also in the CdM Tip-off
San Juan Hills 45, Sage Hill 26: Heather Park led all scorers with 15 points on three three-pointers, but the Lightning (1-2) fell to the Stallions (2-1).
San Juan Hills spread out its scoring. Hadley Dayton had a team-high 13 points. Liza Hladek had 11 points and Jada Forsdick-Stevenson added 10.
El Modena 55, Corona del Mar 34: The Vanguards (1-2) got off to a blistering start, outscoring CdM, 23-2, in the first quarter.
Katherine Takagi scored 23 points, and Hannah Tjoa added 15 for El Modena.
The Sea Kings (1-3) were paced by Tatiana Bruening, who had 15 points and 12 rebounds.
