Woodbridge pulls away despite Harberts' efforts
At 6-foot, 3-inches, Cassie Harberts is usually singled out as the tallest player on the court.
But after scoring 23 points with 12 rebounds for San Clemente in a 50-30 nonleague loss to No. 6 Woodbridge on Saturday night, Harberts seemed even more alone.
“We’re asking her (Harberts) to do a lot,” Tritons coach Mary Mulligan said. “And we really haven’t had any other kids step up the last couple of games.”
Harberts’ effort notwithstanding, San Clemente (11-10) managed just three field goals, while the Warriors (18-5) found points from nine different players.
“We figure if we have four people scoring out of the five, we’re in good shape,” Woodbridge coach Eric Bangs said.
The Warriors started slowly, failing to score until Sara McCutchan made two free throws almost five minutes into the first quarter. By that time San Clemente had jumped out to a 5-0 lead, thanks to Harberts.
But Woodbridge reserve guard Sammy Doucette nailed two 3-pointers to jumpstart a 10-2 run in the second quarter.
"She (Doucette) can do that if it comes in the flow of our offense,” Bangs said.
Doucette’s second-quarter performance was a microcosm of Woodbridge’s night. When one player struggled, somebody else seemed to step up.
After Harberts rattled off six straight points to open the fourth quarter, cutting San Clemente’s deficit to six, the Warriors countered with consecutive baskets from McCutchan, Maddy Page, Sarah Lipton and Ashley Ward.
The flurry gave Woodbridge a 15-point lead with about four minutes to go. At that point, Mulligan decided to empty her bench.
“I thought we competed really, really well,” Mulligan said. “At 15 points, though, I thought, I’m just going to rest my kids.”
Harberts had played the entire game up to that point.
“That’s tough for Cassie to carry the load,” Bangs said. “She just plays so hard.”
Woodbridge point guard Erin Beadle, who was relegated to the bench with three first-half fouls, scored six points, including 4-of-5 from the free throw line in the second half. Lipton, Doucette and McCutchan finished with 10 points each.
“It didn’t look pretty, but they gave it their all,” Bangs said. “It’s a good win to hold (San Clemente) to 30 points.”
Ward played her second straight game wearing a plastic facemask after breaking her nose in practice on Thursday. She scored four points with five rebounds.
In other girls basketball:
Orange Lutheran 52, South Torrance 31: Savannah King scored 16 points and Krissy Karr added eight points to lead the Lancers (18-5) over the host Spartans in a nonleague game. Natalie Luzar had seven points and Autumn Koch contributed six points for the Lancers.
Troy 52, Etiwanda 43: Gabriella Hanson led the No. 3 Warriors (19-2) with 12 points as they defeated the Eagles (16-6) in a nonleague contest at Etiwanda. Madelene Barrett and Ashley Johnson each added 11 points for Troy, and Alex Sanchez dished out 10 assists.
Orangewood Academy 48, Eastside Christian 16: Rachelle Davis led the Spartans (15-2, 5-0) with 30 points and eight rebounds in a San Joaquin League game against the Eagles (3-11, 1-4). It was Davis’ second-highest scoring total this season. Jessica Hogsed added six points, including two three-pointers, for the Spartans.
