El Toro's Girls Can't Keep Pace with Hawks in Battle for League Hoop Title

Jenny Michelman stood at midcourt with glittering golden streamers under her shoes and the chants of an enthused student section reverberating off the walls of Laguna Hills’ basketball gymnasium. The shooting guard’s grin couldn’t be contained in the wake of her team’s 58-39 Thursday night victory over El Toro that put the Hawks in prime position to lock up their fifth consecutive league championship.

El Toro handed Laguna Hills a 43-41 defeat in their first meeting on Jan. 11 to halt the Hawks’ 35-game league win streak, which dated back to Michelman’s middle school days. A senior with the long-distance shot of a sniper, Michelman didn’t try to sugarcoat the situation; payback was the primary goal.

“Revenge was definitely a factor,” said Michelman, who finished with 10 points. “Last time we played El Toro, we came out very slow on their home court, so we really wanted to take it to them here at our place in front of a packed gym. The vibe was good, the fans were cheering and we really wanted to win this game.”

A 23-18 halftime advantage did little to appease an impassioned Hawks squad. Laguna Hills (21-3, 5-1 in South Coast League) reappeared from intermission on fire, scoring the first 11 points of the third quarter en route to a second half dismantling of the Chargers (17-8, 5-2).

When the teams squared off on El Toro’s turf 23 days ago, Laguna Hills struggled to find any kind of rhythm. The Hawks trailed by 11 points after a first quarter in which the team tallied more turnovers (seven) than points (four).

Thursday’s rematch featured a radically different storyline. Led by junior Celia Marfone’s eight first-quarter points, Laguna Hills jumped to 12-9 lead in the opening frame.

Marfone struggled mightily during the Hawks’ trip to El Toro, failing to make a field goal until late in the third quarter and fouling out during the final stretch of a tight game. The six-foot forward savored her shot at redemption against the Chargers, according to Laguna Hills coach Jim Martin.

“There’s no doubt that Celia came out ready to play,” Martin said. “She pulled down a few rebounds tonight that were about as good I’ve ever seen from her. I think she learned something from the first game. This time she was much more aggressive and that made a difference.”

Matched up against Orange County’s third-leading scorer -- El Toro junior Alyson Doherty -- Marfone excelled, scoring 20 points on 19 shot attempts and grabbing 10 boards.

“I knew I had to come out a lot more aggressive in this game than last time we faced El Toro,” Marfone said. “I was pumped up from the beginning and it paid off.”

This time around, it was Doherty who dealt with foul trouble. The 6-2 center accounted for 16 points and six rebounds but played limited second-half minutes before picking up her fifth personal foul and exiting with three minutes remaining in the game.

Laguna Hills’ victory likely wouldn’t have come so easily had it not been for the Chargers’ costly shooting woes at the charity stripe. El Toro shot 6-of-18 from the free throw line in the first half, while the Hawks converted on 14 of their 17 attempts.

The Chargers weren’t much better from beyond the three-point arc. El Toro struggled to sink shots from long distance, making only two of its 14 three-point attempts.

Laguna Hills added to the Charges' misery by shutting down guard Reanna Karp. The sharpshooting senior sank five three-pointers on her way to a game-high 17 points during the first matchup between the teams, but a concerted Laguna Hills defensive effort limited her to three points on 1-of-7 shooting.

“The girls were very aware of [Karp] throughout the night,” Martin said. “She had such a big game when they beat us at El Toro. We were so worried about Doherty that night but then she stepped up and buried all those threes. We dedicated time in practice to working on our awareness.”

Crippled by the Hawks’ perimeter defense, El Toro lacked the necessary balance to compete with a charged-up Laguna Hills squad.

"They took our best three-point shooter away with their defense ," Chargers coach Erin Schimeneck said. “They were on her all game and denied her the ball. It hurt us.”

The Hawks outscored El Toro 35-21 in the second half, paving the road to yet another league title for Laguna Hills. The team rounds out the regular season with a trip to Mission Viejo on Monday and a Wednesday night home finale versus San Clemente. 

Laguna Hills has beaten each team once already this season. If the Hawks can complete the season sweep, Martin’s squad will secure the South Coast championship in its inaugural year as a league member.

“This team has to understand that nothing is set in stone,” Martin said. “If you don’t show up in this league, you get beat. We can’t afford to let down our guard in these last couple games if we want to finish strong, and I’ve preached that to the girls.”

El Toro has only one league contest remaining, a Monday home matchup with Dana Hills. Though the Chargers’ championship aspirations took a major blow on Thursday, Schimeneck asserted that her team must maintain its focus.

“Laguna Hills turned up the intensity in the second half and we didn‘t match it,” she said. “We fought to get to this point and even though it didn’t come out the way we wanted it to tonight, I’m still proud of my team. We’ll go back to the drawing board tomorrow and get ready for Dana Hills. The best thing we can do is move on."

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