Oilers halfway there, but race is not finished

It’s finals week at Huntington Beach High, but things are far from finalized for the Oilers’ girls’ basketball team.

At the halfway point of the Sea View League girls’ basketball race, Huntington sits alone at the top of the heap. The Oilers won their first five league outings and embark on the second round of league play beginning tonight with a 7 p.m. home date with Trabuco Hills.

If the first meeting between the two schools is any indication of what might come tonight — Huntington clobbered the Mustangs, 71-24, on the opening night of league play on Jan. 4 — then consider the Oilers to be a heavy favorite, despite hitting the books hard this week.

“I’m pleasantly surprised to be 5-0 in league,” Huntington Coach Russell McClurg said. “Our league is so tough from top to bottom that I think it’s one of — if not the — toughest league in Orange County.

“Every night we’re in for a dogfight. What we need to do is stay focused and hungry. There’s a lot more basketball to be played. We have unfinished business to attend to.”

Huntington’s last two challenges in league play were anything but easy as the Oilers held on for four- and three-point home-court victories over Woodbridge and Foothill.

The Oilers end the regular season on the road in February against those same schools.

Entering tonight’s game, Huntington is enjoying its finest season since 1991-92, when McClurg was head junior varsity coach and an Oilers varsity assistant. The Oilers currently are 17-3, and their three losses came by eight points to Bishop Gorman and five points each to Mater Dei (No. 16 Div. I-AA) and Norco (No. 3, Div. II-AA).

Huntington enters tonight’s game with a No. 7 ranking in Division I-A.

“First of all, in my four years as head coach here, I think that this group of girls has the best camaraderie of any team I’ve coached,” McClurg said. “They are team players who play unselfish basketball. Knowing their roles on this team has made them successful.

“There are a lot of overachievers on this team, and all of this combined has made it a great atmosphere to be around.”

In a 46-42 victory over Woodbridge on Jan. 16, Huntington rallied to outscore the Warriors by eight points in the final quarter to hand them their initial league loss. Jasmine Erving scored half of her game-high 16 points in the quarter. The junior center also had nine rebounds and three blocks.

Sophomore guard Noe Viloria contributed 11 points to go along with five assists, four rebounds and three steals.

In a 54-51 win over Foothill on Jan. 18, Huntington again staged a fourth-quarter comeback and outscored the Knights by eight points in the quarter to record the win.

Viloria had 13 points with five rebounds and five assists; Erving had 11 points, nine boards and two steals; senior forward Rebecca Murray 10 points, seven rebounds and two steals; senior forward Laura Bogglen seven points, five rebounds and three assists; junior guard Jena Klett seven points and five rebounds; and junior guard Jade Viloria six points and two steals.