Skip to content
Author

DUARTE – The full-court press of the Huntington Beach girls basketball team was the difference as the Oilers shut down Duarte, 51-34, in the CIF-SS Division 1A quarterfinals on Wednesday night.

The third-seeded Oilers (21-7) will be at second-seeded Esperanza for the semifinals on Saturday night.

“I think our height advantage gave them a tough time,” Oilers coach Russell McClurg said. “We went after the weakness of their smaller guards and they had trouble throwing over the top of the press.”

Frankie Wade-Sanchez hit a long 3-pointer to beat the buzzer at the end of the first quarter. That seemed to spark her team, as Kaylin Nakaji and Wade-Sanche hit back-to-back 3-pointers as the Oilers went on a 15-0 run to start the second quarter.

Huntington Beach held the Falcons (27-5) scoreless for four-plus minutes.

“I’m super excited,” Wade-Sanchez said. “Our energy just built on those big shots and defense was one of our main focuses for us in practice this week.”

The third quarter was more of the same as the Oilers outscored the Falcons, 12-1, in the quarter.

“We knew their height was going to be an issue,” Falcons coach Scott Wiard said. “We didn’t do a good job against their press and then they got into our shorts, grabbing hold and that made it easier to press us.”

Wade-Sanchez, who had 32 points in a second-round game against Summit, led all scorers with 23 points, including three 3’s.

“Frankie played like the player she is,” McClurg said. “She took her outside game to another level tonight.”