Mira Costa Girls Crush Leuzinger

The game was no contest from the beginning and Mira Costa’s girls basketball team showed an admirable level of maturity in a 66-17 victory Friday night at Leuzinger.            

Although there were more smiles on the bench than usual, the Mustangs stuck to the business at hand and passed the ball often, allowing everyone to share the wealth in a game where baskets were easy to come by.

Senior guard Kylie Nakamine and freshman guard Shaylin Austin both scored a team-high 10 points. Senior forward Jenna Stephanoff had nine points, while freshman guard Camille Mills, senior center Joelle Herron and senior guard Marie Lauzon had eight points each.

“In a game like this you work on all the little things you need to improve on to get better as a team,” Nakamine said. “It’s always a good thing when a lot of players get to score. That shows you’re playing basketball the right way."

The victory raised second-place Mira Costa to 16-9 overall and 6-2 in the Bay League. Leuzinger is winless in league.

“I don’t like games like this because you tend to come out a little complacent the next game,” Coach Craig Takahashi said. “I thought we started to lose our focus in the second quarter. But it was good to get an easy win after (losing to) Redondo.

“It’s been a long season. I guess we needed an easy one like this. We’ve got to get to 18 wins.”

Although it’s unlikely the Mustangs can catch first-place Redondo, they still need to keep winning, Takahashi said, to get a decent seed in the CIF-1AA playoffs. They finish the season at home against Peninsula and Palos Verdes.

“Peninsula is not a bad team when they’re on and Palos Verdes is a talented team,” Takahashi said. “We’d like to win them both so we don’t have to face too tough of an opponent in the first round of the playoffs.

“That’s why it was good to get a win, but the girls have to understand they will need to play well next week.”

Mira Costa’s top inside player, Herron, had a decent night of preparation for the final week of the regular season. Like Nakamine, she showed leadership on the court.

“You have to play hard, even in a game like this,” Herron said. “This season has gone pretty well for the team. We want to keep it going.

“I think tonight we just tried to get everybody involved and look forward to next week.”

The Mustangs outscored the Olympians, 25-2, in the first quarter. Lauzon hit two 3-point shots to highlight the one-sided quarter. The second quarter was closer as Takahashi began subbing in his bench. The Mustangs outscored the Olympians, 14-9 for a 39-11 lead.

Leuzinger scored just six points in the second half. Mira Costa’s subs continued to play hard and run the floor, scoring 27 points.

“It’s kind of sad,” Takahashi said, “because the Leuzinger girls are trying really hard. You don’t want to keep pushing, but you also don’t want to pick up any bad habits. I believe in playing hard no matter what the score is.”

The game did feature a rarity. Nakamine missed a free throw, going 3-for-4. She’s only missed 11 all season, Takahashi said, and is at 93 percent for the season.

Editor's Note: Nakamine tied the record books on Jan. 28 against West when she went 18-for-18 at the free throw line. That feat put her in a tie with Candice Wiggins, who went 18-for-18 from the line in a game for La Jolla Country Day.