With a final score of 38-39 against Beckman High School, CdM’s varsity girls’ basketball put in their best efforts in this close game. This was also the final Pacific Coast League game before CdM enters CIF.

Junior Gabby Rapp scored a total of eleven points and eight rebounds. Junior Ellie Nadal also played well, scoring seven points along with five steals in the game. Beckman came back in the end, scoring their final points in the last five seconds of the game.

“The game was mostly in favor of us,” said sophomore player Melanie de Arakal. “But after the first half I feel like we sort of gave up and let them think that they had a chance.”

However, the Sea Queens aren’t about to let one close defeat get in their way for they are currently 14-12, 4-6 in league and finished fourth in league. The girls are also about to enter the CIF championship games and hope for undefeated success.

When the Sea Queens girls basketball team lost to Irvine two weeks ago, they knew they did not play their best. The score then was 50-35. However, on Friday night it was time for payback. The girls played their hardest the entire game and defeated Irvine 32-30, earning their third league victory.

The first quarter was an offensive struggle for both teams who had issues with spacing on the floor. A three point shot from Irvine’s Brittnay Ballard broke the ice on the 0-0 score, and shortly after, both teams’ offenses began to work. Then score at the end of the first was 8-4 in favor of Irvine.

In the second quarter, Irvine began to pull ahead, but CdM refused to quit then. They caught up with a few fast break lay-ups, making the score at halftime 14-12, with Irvine still ahead.

After haltime, the Sea Queens kicked both their offense and defense into gear. They began attacking Irvine in the paint, taking advantage of their post players Caroline Van der Velde, standing at six feet tall, and Bergsma who is five feet eleven inches. Even the guards were driving to the hoop picking up fouls. The score after the third was 28-22 in favor of Corona.

The fourth quarter started, and the Sea Queens could almost taste vicotry. But a quick scoring stretch from Irvine made the game a little too close for comfort. The score was 30-30 with about two minutes left. A foul from Irvine’s star player Kristin Liddle put CdM’s junior Gaby Rapp on the free throw line, Liddle had fouled out. Gaby hit one of her two freethrows putting Corona del Mar up by one. After several time outs, quick plays, and another foul by Irvine to put junior Saylor Schroff on the free throw line, Corona del Mar found themselves the victors. The final score was 32-30, with leading scorers being Van der Velde (11) and Bergsma (8).

After winning two straight games, the Sea Queens were taken down my the Pacific Coast league’s number one seeded team, Laguna Hills. The game started close with the Hawks’ star player Lauren Engeln out with a knee injury, but the Sea Queens didn’t put enough effort in to take down the Hawks. The final score was 44-21.

The first quarter started off in the Sea Queen’s favor who scored the first two points of the game. The Hawks, who just couldn’t find their rythm in this quarter, gave up many turnovers and easy points.

The second quarter was different however. the Sea Queens began to doze off and let Laguna Hills beat them on the fast break. The halftime score was 19-11 in favor of the Hawks.

As the third quarter started, it was clear who came to play, and unfortunantly, it was not the Sea Queens. With several sloppy plays and turn overs, CdM scored only 2 points in the thrid, and gave up 14 to Laguna Hills.

The forth quarter was CdM’s only hope. However, another poor defensive effort cause the Hawks to only increase their lead. At the end of the game, the Sea Queens suffered a devastating 23 point loss in a game that could have gone their way.

The Sea Queens’ leading scorer was Junior Caroline Van der Velde with 7 points. Only six of CdM’s nine active players scored.

After an easy victory over San Juan Hills on Tuesday, the Sea Queens finished their first round of league opponents with a victory over Beckman High School. The Sea Queens and the Patriots both battling for the 4th place spot in League had plenty to lose and even more to gain with a victory. However, a poor offensive game by the Patriots gave the Sea Queens the 43-35 win.

The first quarter began with a poor offensive effort by both teams with a scoreless first four minutes. However, a three-point shot by CdM’s junior Saylor Schroff broke the ice, and the game soon belonged to the Sea Queens.

After another quarter of defensive excellence by the Sea Queens, the halftime score was 27-13. The Sea Queens who have struggled with giving up offensive boards all season kept the Patriots to only one offensive board, an impressive feat according to coach Mark Decker.

The second half started with two quick baskets for the CdM girls and the score became 31-13. The third quarter, however, brought some laziness for the Sea Queens, who doubled their turnovers in the second half.

The fourth quarter belonged to Beckman, who scored 16 points in the fourth alone. The game was close, but in the end it was the Sea Queens who prevailed. Senior Katie Bergsma led the way with 14 points, followed by junior Gaby Rapp with 8. The final score was, 43-35.

Next week will begin the second round of league games starting with a Sea Queens home game against top ranked Laguna Hills.

One of the only games not canceled due to rain this week, girls’ varsity basketball defeated San Juan Hills High School with a win of 58-10 on Tuesday. Senior Katie Bergsma was the leading scorer totaling 18 points throughout the game, followed by junior Caroline van der Velde who scored 10 points and junior Ellie Nadal with 8 points. The first quarter seemed to be the most productive part of the game for the Sea Queens in which most of the points were scored.

Senior Katie Bergsma said that the key to winning a game is “hard-work and dedication because there’s always an opportunity for the other team to make a come back.”

With the determination and drive of this team, it’s no wonder why these girls are currently 10-9-0 in the Pacific Coast League this season.

Keep up the good work Sea Queens!

After two losses in League to the two top teams, CdM needed a win against University High School in order to keep their dignity. However, on Friday night the Sea Queens failed to perform, receiving their third straight loss in league 35-33.

The first quarter was hard for the Sea Queens as University lead for most of the quarter. The second quarter was the same, with a little bit of catching up for Corona del Mar. After a hard fought battle, the halftime score was, 28-19.

After halftime, it was clear that defense was needed in order to spark the offense. The CdM offense was having trouble getting the ball into the paint where their leading scorers senior Katie Bergsma (12 points) and junior Caroline van der Velde (11 points) stood towering over the smaller University team.

At the end of the third quarter, the score was 29-33 in favor of University. The Sea Queens were close, and could almost taste their first league game victory. An excellent eight minutes of defense for the Sea Queens in the fourth quarter led to only two points for the University High School team, but it was the offense that caused an issue. Giving up only two points is great, but not when one receives only four in return. The fourth quarter scoring (two points for University and 4 for CdM) was what caused the Sea Queens to lose their closest game of the season 35-33.

The reason for this loss? Well, only three of CdM’s five starters scored, and only five of CdM’s nine players scored in the game. Offensive issues lost the game for the Sea Queens.