Ocean View Defense Snuffs El Dorado

Ocean View relied on its seniors and pressure defense to overcome poor shooting as the Seahawks knocked off El Dorado, 57-48, in a Southern Section Division II-A quarterfinal game Wednesday at Ocean View High.

The second-seeded Seahawks (21-7) will face third-seeded Laguna Hills (24-2) Saturday in a semifinal game. Laguna Hills defeated Ocean View, 51-46, in double overtime in December in the semifinals of the Marina tournament.

The first three quarters of the game belonged to Ocean View, which forced 26 turnovers. The Seahawks scored 14 of their 32 first-half points off Golden Hawk turnovers, running off an 11-0 run at one point in building a 32-18 halftime lead.

El Dorado chipped away at that lead in the second half, scoring the last six points of the third quarter to narrow Ocean View’s lead to five points. El Dorado then made the deficit two points on a Beau Bryant basket with 5:51 left to play.

Ocean View conceded the Golden Hawks two field goals over the next 5 1/2 minutes as the Seahawks won their sixth consecutive game.

Seniors Andrea Tuiolosega and Becky Fraser led the way. Tuiolosega had 16 points and Fraser, the Golden West League most valuable player, had 15 points, 11 rebounds and six steals. Jennifer Tuiolosega, the Seahawks’ leading scorer on the year, hit only four of 16 field goals and finished with 10 points.

“Our defense was the main thing for us,” Coach Ollie Martin said. “Our shooting was off tonight, but defense kept us in the game.

“The girls came out ready to play and, other than our shooting, everything was there. Our seniors really came through and got some big points inside.”

Heather Cunningham had 18 points and 14 rebounds to lead El Dorado (19-6), which saw its seven-game winning streak snapped. Bryant added 12 points for the Golden Hawks, who used just five players in the contest. The Empire League co-champions finished the season on a bittersweet note as they fell in the quarterfinal round for the third consecutive year.

“Our goals were to win league, advance farther than we did last year in CIF, and win the Gary Raya Classic,” El Dorado Coach Tara Brown said. Raya was the El Dorado coach until his death before the start of the basketball season.

“Our turnovers killed us tonight. We knew Ocean View would play a very disciplined game, and they did. I’m very proud of this team.”