Girls’ Basketball: Ocean View steps up against Segerstrom

SANTA ANA — Helen Reynolds loves basketball and her team the same.

“So much.”

Inevitably, she would feel the pain when she was forced to miss games due to an ankle injury, especially when she had her wisdom teeth taken out during the same period.

To no one’s surprise, she was chomping at the bit to get back on the court, so much so that she returned ahead of schedule.

The sophomore center’s return could not have come at a better time, as it gave Ocean View High’s girls’ basketball team a huge emotional boost ahead of the biggest game of their season.

Combine Reynolds’ energy with sharpshooters on the outside, and Ocean View was able to reset the Golden West League with a 59-47 victory over host Segerstrom on Tuesday night.

Ocean View (17-4, 4-1) pulls into a three-way tie for first place with the second half of league remaining. Segerstrom (16-5, 4-1) and Westminster (12-8, 4-1) are the others.

“It feels great to be where I really want these kids to be,” Seahawks Coach Kim Morris said. “We’ve been just fighting confidence a long time with this group. This is a big confidence builder, so I’m very excited for them.”

Reynolds had five points and 12 rebounds, six of which came in the first quarter.

“Yesterday was my first day back at practice,” Reynolds said. “I was just so excited that I wanted to cry.”

Asked what compelled her to return ahead of her injury timeline, Reynolds responded humorously.

“I wanted to be back for my team,” she said. “[I needed] a lot of tape and a lot of Advil.”

Morris was pleased with Reynolds’ activity on the boards and the energy that it brought her team.

“It’s just a sigh of relief…to know that she was able to be that active,” Morris said. “She doesn’t have the lungs to be able to do it, but she fought through that today.”

From there, the Seahawks’ three-point shooters took over. Erica Almiranez hit five shots from distance for a game-high 19 points.

The junior guard was true on her first four shots of the fourth quarter. Her steal and subsequent layup with 2:08 remaining made it a three-possession lead for Ocean View, 55-47.

Almiranez seemed to liken her hot fourth quarter to a speeding train, saying, “You just get on and you keep going. You don’t stop.”

Moments before that, Jackie Moss stepped out on the left wing and drilled a three-pointer to make it 53-47 with under three minutes to go.

Moss finished with 15 points, six steals, five rebounds, five assists, and two blocks. The senior shooting guard has done it all for the Seahawks this season, and she drew the tough assignment of guarding Jaguars scoring guard Tati Zazuetta.

Although Zazuetta (15 points, five steals) was able to connect on some tough mid-range jumpers, Moss’ teammates felt she had done the job well.

“I think it was spot on,” Almiranez said of Moss’ defense. “She was good at shutting her down. [Zazuetta] is a good shooter.”

Moss received plenty of help from the team’s secondary scorers.

Almiranez had nine rebounds and three steals to go with her 19 points.

Emi Yamasaki scored all 11 of her points in the second quarter. She made three-pointers on back-to-back possessions, the second giving the Seahawks a 21-18 lead with 3:15 left in the half. Ocean View never trailed again.

“I think it’s just the adrenaline,” Yamasaki said of her streaky shot. “I want to win, so I just put my all into it.”

Another key for the Seahawks was their success late in quarters. They scored on their last possession of each period.

Moss beat the clock with an offensive-rebound putback in the first, cutting the Segerstrom lead to 12-9.

In the second, the buzzer sounded as Kelsie Newman’s three-pointer sunk through the net to give the Seahawks a 29-26 edge heading into halftime.

Moss extended the Ocean View lead to 39-34 on a three-pointer with seven seconds remaining in the third quarter. Two free throws by the senior accounted for the Seahawks’ final possession.

Zoe Morrison had 16 points and 15 rebounds for the Jaguars.

Golden West League

Ocean View 59, Segerstrom 47

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Ocean View – 9 - 20 - 10 - 20 – 59

Segerstrom – 12 - 14 - 8 - 13 – 47

OV – Almiranez 19, Moss 15, Yamasaki 11, Newman 5, Reynolds 5, Alani 4.

3-pt. goals – Almiranez 5, Yamasaki 3, Moss 3, Newman 1.

Fouled out – Yamasaki.

Technicals – None.

Seg – Morrison 16, Zazuetta 15, Vega 6, Jogwe 4, Zendejas 4, Vasquez 2.

3-pt. goals – Zazuetta 3.

Fouled out – None.

Technicals – None.