Eagles outrun Marshall

In a game that had no conscience, the Estancia High girls basketball

team continued to build its confidence Thursday night.

The CIF Southern Section Division III-A wild-card clash featured

93 missed field-goal attempts, 24 missed free throws, 51 turnovers

and nearly three dozen fouls. But it ended in a commanding 68-49 win

for the host Eagles, whom Coach Tami Rappa said are playing their

best basketball of the season.

The Eagles (11-15) will need what Rappa termed their “A game”

Saturday, when they visit top-seeded Rosary in a first-round game

that tips off at 7:30 p.m.

“If we play the way we’ve played here at the tail end of the

season, we can give [Rosary] more of a challenge,” Rappa said. “If we

have our best players on the floor and they’re executing ...”

Both teams worried little about working the ball or the clock

Thursday, as the game consistently operated at a frenetic pace that

kept the statisticians immersed in the task of trying to keep up with

the end-to-end action.

“It was sloppy,” acknowledged Rappa, whose team never trailed, but

struggled to take command until midway through the third period.

“We handled the pace of the game in the first quarter, then, in

the second quarter, we fell apart a little bit,” said Rappa, who

watched both teams pressure relentlessly. The incessant defensive

aggressiveness created flurries of transition buckets of several

varieties -- either feeding the defense for convenient layins,

passing over the top of the press for concession buckets, or dribble

penetration leading to textbook fast-break action.

After a slow start that saw each team post just one field goal the

first three-plus minutes, Estancia kicked into gear to take a 15-7

lead at the end of the first quarter. Senior Imelda Pena hit a pair

of three-pointers and scored eight straight Estancia points to get

the hosts rolling, as they took some time adjusting to the different

environment of the boys gym.

The Eagles typically play in the girls gym, but were prohibited

from doing so, after game officials uncovered defective 30-second

shot clocks that Rappa said have failed to be repaired all season.

With Estancia senior point guard Trisha Wase sidelined the entire

second quarter with three fouls, Marshall, a Pasadena-based school

that finished third in the Delphic League, rallied to within 19-18

with 5:08 left before halftime.

Estancia committed nine of its 27 turnovers in the first three

minutes of the second quarter to help Marshall’s charge, before

righting itself to build a 35-30 edge by intermission.

Back at full strength, Estancia outscored the visitors, 24-10, in

the third period, including a 12-0 run that spanned just more than

three minutes, to helped produce an insurmountable edge.

Senior center Nancy Castro scored 14 of her game-high 25 points

after halftime, finishing 11 of 21 from the field and collecting a

game-high 14 rebounds.

Wase, despite the foul trouble, had 12 rebounds, nine assists,

five points and two steals, while Pena added 15 points and five

rebounds.

Senior starter Olivia Maldonado chipped in 11 rebounds and four

points, while reserves Anabel Becerra (13 points) and Be Diep (four

assists, two steals and two rebounds), also helped the Eagles produce

their season-high scoring output. Krystal Mino had six points and six

boards for the winners.

The 69 points were the most in 50 games for the Eagles, dating

back to a 71-16 triumph over La Quinta in the 2002-03 season opener.

Marshall appeared to fade under the pace of the game. It made just

6 of 37 second-half field-goal attempts (16.2%) to finish 20 of 69

for the game (28.9%).

*--*

CIF Division III-A

Wild card

Estancia 68, Marshall 49

Score by Quarters

Marshall 7 23 10 9 -- 49

Estancia 15 20 24 9 -- 68

Marshall -- Adams 12, Strings 12, Patterson 5, Chase 4, King 4, Morgan 10, Brown 2. 3-pt.

goals -- Morgan 2. Fouled out -- Adams.

Technicals -- None. Estancia -- Pena 15,

Maldonado 4, Castro 25, Mino 6, Wase 5,

Becerra 13, Diep 0, Hallock 0, Neal 0, Arroyo

0. 3-pt. goals -- Pena 3, Wase 1. Fouled out

-- None. Technicals -- None.

*--*