Estancia steamrolls past rival Mustangs

Patrick Laverty

Rivalry games often bring out the best in both teams and individuals

and that was certainly the case for Estancia High and Trisha Wase

Tuesday.

The Eagles used a 26-5 run in the second half to pull away from

visiting Costa Mesa and capture their eighth straight win against

their city and Golden West League rival, 53-33.

“They’re a tough team,” Mustangs Coach Jim Weeks said. “They’re

the defending league champions and they’re playing like it.”

The win was another step toward an attempt to reclaim that crown

for the Eagles (7-11, 4-1 in league) who have won four straight since

being knocked off by Ocean View in the league opener. Estancia will

play host to the Seahawks on Jan. 29 and could also receive some help

if Saddleback is able to knock off Ocean View on Jan. 26.

“We’re going after Ocean View and we hope they lose to

Saddleback,” said Estancia Coach Tami Rappa, who is trying to lead

Estancia to its third straight league title after it shared the

Pacific Coast League crown two years ago.

The victory over the Mustangs will help in that regard and if

Estancia is able to repeat its second-half performance from Tuesday’s

win, it should have an excellent shot at another league title.

The Mustangs (7-9, 1-3) cut a six-point halftime deficit to 21-18

after Cassey Brick hit a 15-foot jumper with 6:24 remaining in the

third quarter. That prompted an Estancia timeout and the Eagles

returned to the court on a mission.

Less than 10 seconds later, Wase made a perfect pass to senior

center Nancy Castro on an inbounds play and Castro scored two of her

game-high 25 points and was fouled on the play. Castro missed the

free throw, but Wase grabbed the offensive rebound and scored a

putback bucket to extend the Eagles’ advantage to seven, their

largest lead of the game.

Another bucket by Castro and a 14-foot jumper by Wase pushed the

lead to double digits, 29-18.

The duo combined for five more points a minute later, three coming

on Wase’s lone three-pointer of the game after she had made a steal.

Wase then dished off to junior Imelda Pena for a three-pointer and

Castro finished the third quarter with a bucket with four seconds

remaining on the clock and the Eagles had a 39-23 advantage.

Estancia made nine of 11 shots in the quarter, with Wase hitting

all three attempts and Castro finishing five of six. Wase had seven

points, three assists, two rebounds and two steals in the quarter and

finished the game with 15 points, seven rebounds and six assists.

“She can turn it on whenever she wants to,” Rappa said. “It was a

rivalry game and she had to step up and be a leader tonight.”

The Eagles continued to extend their advantage, scoring the first

eight points of the fourth quarter, four each by Wase and Castro, and

extending the lead to 47-23.

Castro made 11 of 14 shots and is averaging 24.3 points in her

last three games. The majority of her points, including most of the

16 she scored in the second half, came on entry passes from Wase and

Krystal Mino, many of them over the top of the defense.

“That was there all day long and they didn’t recognize it until

the second half,” Rappa said.

Both teams were sloppy in the first half, each committing 11

turnovers, but Costa Mesa couldn’t get on track offensively, hitting

just three of 15 shots. Senior Susy Trujillo, who finished with 13

points, was the only Mustang to make a field goal in the first two

quarters.

“We created a lot of turnovers early,” Weeks said. “We did a good

job defensively in the first half. But we made a lot of turnovers and

that kept us from taking advantage.”

Estancia never trailed in the game, but Costa Mesa continued to

lurk within a few points throughout the first two quarters. The

Mustangs appeared on the verge of making a run after making two of

their first three shots in the third quarter, including a Brittany

Vergara three-pointer to open the second half, but finished just 11

of 38 from the floor.

*--*

Golden West League

Estancia 55, Costa Mesa 33

Score by Quarters

Mesa 5 8 10 10 -- 33

Estancia 9 10 20 14 -- 53

Costa Mesa -- Trujillo 13, Br. Vergara 6, Be.

Vergara 1, Brick 2, Kelly 0, Sanchez 0,

Bjelland 2, Enesi 0, Akansel 4, Cluff 5. 3-pt.

goals -- Trujillo 3, Br. Vergara 2, Cluff 1.

Fouled out -- None. Technicals -- None.

Estancia -- Mino 0, Flores 4, Becerra 0,

Maldonado 2, Castro 25, Wase 15, Neal 0, Pena 7. 3-pt. goals -- Wase 1, Pena 1. Fouled out

-- Wase. Technicals -- None.

*--*