Woodbridge girls clinch PCL title outright

By TIM BURT / Staff Writer

Woodbridge High’s girls basketball team had already clinched a share of the Pacific Coast League title entering last week’s game with University.

But the Warriors wanted to win it outright, and they did with a 42-38 victory over University on Feb. 11 at Woodbridge.

It was the 25th league title for the Warriors (21-5, 9-1), who are seeded third in this week’s CIF 2AA playoffs. Woodbridge opens the playoffs tonight, hosting Saugus at 7 p.m. The second round is Saturday.

University (14-10, 4-6) also earned a playoff berth and will meet on the road tonight to take on Katella at Katella in the 1A division.

In the Woodbridge-University league finale, Woodbridge was led by Anjali Ghadi with 16 points and Lauren Baffo with 14 points. Laura Nolan and Yasmine Choroomi led University with nine points each.

“That was a really rough game,” Woodbridge coach Eric Bangs said. “I just thought we were unbelievably flat and all three games we played University, they were tough. They played hard the whole time and we didn’t play as hard, so it was very close.”

Bangs credited senior guard Sierra Vaglica for running “the club.”

“It wasn’t easy; Uni had a great matchup defense against us again,” Bangs said. “But Sierra making her last two free throws and three of the last four and holding their top player (Allison Piper) to four points was huge for us.

“Anjali and Sierra have been solid all year.”

Bangs was proud of his team for rebounding from an opening-round loss to Corona del Mar and winning nine straight after that.

He said the program’s success is a result of hard work by many.

“It’s always been a team effort with coaches and staff and parents and kids,” Bangs said. “To look up there and know we get to add another one is pretty sweet and to know we don’t have to share it, so that’s pretty good.”

He hopes the squad can have a solid playoff run.

“One through eight are really good,” he said of the playoff field. “Anybody can beat anyone.”

Contact the writer: tburt@ocregister.com

Warriors alone in first after win over CdM

Woodbridge’s girls basketball team unleashed a relentless defense Jan. 28 against Corona del Mar and came away with a 32-23 Pacific Coast League victory that put the Warriors on top of the league race.

Woodbridge pressed from the start, causing huge problems for CdM. The teams went into the game tied for first place in the league and CdM (16-5, 4-2) won the first-round game, 50-45.

“We sat with the team after the opening loss in league and said, ‘All you got to do is win four straight which isn’t easy, and then you have a chance to beat them here,’” Woodbridge coach Eric Bangs said.

The Warriors, who shared the league title with CdM last year, wanted the title outright, and the Jan. 28 victory was a big step toward that goal with just under two weeks left in the regular season.

“We had to tweak it,” Bangs said of the game plan compared with the first- round game. “All we did was really switch our two forwards; we put Anjali Ghadi on (Natalia) Bruening because she guarded (Krista) Anderson the first time and she had 18.

“We thought Lauren Baffo would do a nice job (on Anderson). And we went to full court man-to-man pressure. With six players (including the starters) it’s kind of hard to do, but when it’s for a championship game, you got to do it, so we picked up full court the whole time.”

CdM’s two big players were limited offensively. Bruening had 10 points, and Anderson 4 points.

Ghadi led the Warriors with 15 points. Baffo added 9 points.

“Nobody played really well (offensively),” Bangs said. “But it’s kind of hard to defensively all-out and play offense really well. Ghadi, Sierra (Vaglica) and (Lauren) Lum ran the show.”

“It was not a pretty offensive game,” Corona del Mar coach Mark Decker said. “First one to 30 wins, I guess, which is not exactly high-powered offense. But it was a frustrating night for us.

“Our post players were in foul trouble, and we weren’t getting them the ball enough. We really just didn’t do the things we needed to do on offense at all. We just did not want to handle the game the way we wanted to.”

Contact the writer: tburt@ocregister.com

Warriors top T'wolves, share top spot in PCL

By TIM BURT / Staff Writer

 

Woodbridge High’s girls basketball team led from the start and went on to defeat Northwood, 54-35, in a Pacific Coast League game Friday night at Northwood.

The Warriors (13-5, 2-1) moved into a tie for first place with Northwood, Beckman and Corona del Mar, who are also 4-1 in league.

Woodbridge was led by Anjali Ghadi, who had 25 points, including four 3-pointers. Lauren Baffo added 13 points.

But Woodbridge coach Eric Bangs said it was the Warriors’ defense, led by Lauren Lum and Tessa Shimizu, that was the difference.

“What made us look smart is that they did the things we wanted them to do,” said Bangs. “But anything can happen here. Last year, they just shot the lights out in the second half.

“It was a good effort by our kids. The defense was it. We had to hold them under 40. We reiterated that at the half and they only had 15 in the second half.”

Woodbridge led 30-20 at halftime, then outscored Northwood 13-7 in the third quarter to break the game open.

Kaityn Hsu and Lauren Ta had 11 points each for Northwood (9-8 overall).

“Woodbridge came out and played really well from start to finish,” said Northwood coach Ryan Bettencourt. “We got down early and just could not cut the deficit enough to make a difference.”

Orlando trip is finally here

We are heading to Orlando this Saturday. Here are a few important pieces of information.

• Meet at Woodbridge this Saturday 12/26 at 3:45pm, depart by 4:00pm
• We are flying out of LAX on Frontier Airlines
• Outbound flight #1180 at 8:50PM Dec.26th
• First game will be Monday 12/28 at 9:00am vs West Islip HS (NY)
• All games will be held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex
• 700 South Victory Way, Orlando, FL 34747
• The bracket is now posted in the tournament section of the web site.
• Return flight #1181 arrives at LAX at 7:35PM 1/1/16

Two returning starters lead inexperienced Woodbridge

By TIM BURT / Staff Writer

Woodbridge High’s girls basketball team returns two starters from last year’s team that was 20-8 overall, but the lack of overall experience is a concern for Coach Eric Bangs.

Woodbridge was 8-2, sharing the Pacific Coast League title with Corona del Mar.

The Warriors are led by two players who were second team all-league last year, senior Sierra Vaglica and sophomore Anjali Ghadi. Junior Lauren Lum, who was honorable mention last year, is also expected to make big contributions.

The Warriors started out the season with 10 players. But junior Alyssa Cadavona, who was expected to start, was helped off the court following an injury in Saturday’s third place game of the South Coast Classic and her status for the future was not know.

“Alyssa Cadavona had never played at all and she started to figure it out,” Bangs said after the game. “Hopefully, she’s not hurt too bad.”

The other starter is junior Lauren Baffo.

While the Warriors have experience, they don’t have a lot of depth.

“This year’s varsity team is not as deep as the last few years with only 10 members on the team,” Bangs said. “We actually have 11 players, but two-year letter-winner Alissa Niewiadomski (second team all-league) suffered an ACL injury in July and will not be able to play her senior year.

“The team has a couple of returners with experience, but there are also several girls playing their first year on varsity. If the team can stay healthy this year, it looks like all of the girls will be playing significant minutes, led by returners Sierra Vaglica, Lauren Lum and Anjali Ghadi.”

A number of other players are expected to contribute, including sophomore Tessa Shimizu, junior Abby Montplaisir, sophomore Sanarya Salem and junior Heather Fujii.

Bangs hopes the ingredients are there for another winning season, but acknowledges there are question marks.

“We’re really young and green,” he said. “We just try and get better every day. We are the least experienced team in the league.

“Lum and Vaglica have experience. Ghadi is a second year player. Baffo and Cadavona are first year starters with no experience.”

Bangs believes there will be plenty of challenges in the Pacific Coast League.

“CdM, Beckman, Northwood and Uni are all pretty good,” Bangs said. “I don’t know anything about Irvine.”

Woodbridge hosts Sonora at 7 p.m. Friday before competing in the Segerstrom Tournament next week

LINK TO ARTICLE

Team gear now available for purchase

Purchase your warrior gear by clicking here:

https://team.sportchalet.com/WHS_WBB

Website closes November 29th!

Shoe Drive Fundraiser Ends this Week

All shoes that are collected for the shoe drive are scheduled to be picked up this Wednesday (10/14/15) morning at 9:00am in the parking lot behind the pool. If you have any problems dropping off your shoes on Wednesday morning, be sure to talk with Coach Bangs or Coach Clarkson to plan on how to collect your shoes.

Angel Bins will also take any used clothes as well. Just make sure they are in separate bags from the shoes.

Help send us to Orlando, FL

We are currently raising money to fund our trip to Orlando Florida this December. We are asking for your support. You can go to the website below and make a donation. All donations are tax deductible. Please share this link to all Warrior Alumni.

https://app.snap-raise.com/fundraisers/3646

Summer Basketball

The 2015 summer basketball season is right around the corner. As summer league schedules and tournament schedules are received, they will be posted on the "Summer Schedules" page. The JV Mission Viejo bracket has been received and posted already. We are still waiting for the others to arrive.

Summer camp for all incoming 9th graders will start on Monday June 22nd.

All players that are planning on participating in summer basketball MUST sign up and pay the fee for summer camp by going to this link. This needs to be completed before playing in any summer league games or participating in summer camp.

Any questions, see Coach Bangs or Coach Clarkson.

CIF First Round this Saturday 12/21

CIF playoffs start this week, we will open up with Silverado High School from Victorville. Today we confirmed the game time. Game will be played at 5:00pm at Woodbridge HS this Saturday 2/21. Hope to see everyone come out!

Woodbridge back on top in PCL

February 12, 2015 10:07 PM

By TIM BURT

Staff Writer - Orange County Register

Woodbridge’s girls basketball team earned a share of the Pacific Coast League crown, defeating Beckman, 60-33, Thursday night at Woodbridge.

Woodbridge, Beckman and Corona del Mar came into the game tied for first place.

The Warriors share the league title with Corona del Mar, which defeated Northwood, 52-49, on Thursday at Corona del Mar.

A coin flip will determine which team will be the No. 1 squad in terms of the CIF playoffs, according to Woodbridge coach Eric Bangs.

Woodbridge was determined to bring home the title. The Warriors had a streak of four consecutive league titles snapped last year.

Beckman (15-10, 7-3) was trying to win its first league title. But Woodbridge settled the issue early, jumping out to a 16-5 lead after one quarter.

Woodbridge led, 38-12, at halftime and was in command the rest of the way.

“It’s not like we didn’t think we could win it (the title) but having Bonnie (Sarchet) out early and Jasmine (Rachal) for 15 games (after returning from an injury), it was a battle,” Bangs said.

“Defensively, wow, 33 points, that’s pretty good. Give that to (assistant) coach Pete Belanto and his game plan. We actually did an even better job than the first time we played them.”

Woodbridge (19-7, 8-2) was led by Annika Walker, who had 19 points. Anjali Ghadiyaram and Rachal added 11 points each for the Warriors.

Beckman was led by Kiara Quinn with 10 points.

“This is a really nice win for the kids because we go as either the first or second rep,” Bangs said. “The accomplishment of bringing a title back after all the injuries ... it’s pretty rewarding.”

Woodbridge defeated Beckman, 67-45, on Jan. 23 and was determined to win again.

“I’m so glad we won the league championship,” Walker said. “It’s great to do it my senior year and go out with a bang. We all played really well. We come ready to play Beckman every time. It’s a game we know we have to come to play to win. We did so both times thankfully.”

Contact the writer: tburt@ocregister.com

Key road win for Woodbridge

BY TIM BURT / Staff Writer
OC Register

Woodbridge’s girls basketball team has plenty of work to do before it can bring back the Pacific Coast League title to the school.

But the Warriors took a significant step toward that goal Tuesday night with a 40-37 PCL victory over Corona del Mar, a team that Woodbridge coach Eric Bangs called the clear favorite going into league play.

No. 10 Woodbridge (11-5, 2-0) held off a late comeback by the Sea Kings, who turned the ball over on their final possession and were unable to get a shot off in the game at CdM.

“To me, this is the most talented team in the league,” Woodbridge coach Eric Bangs said of CdM. “They (his team) did a good job to get the win. They were actually outrunning us, so if they’re a lot taller and they’re outrunning us, then we were in trouble.

“But I think what we did is we tried to play all 10 or 11 kids in the first half and then settle on seven or so in the second half. The kids that came in in the first half all did a nice job.”

Anjali Ghadiyaram led Woodbridge with 16 points. Annika Walker added 11 points for the Warriors.

Woodbridge, without a player taller than 5-foot-11, faced a significant height disadvantage trying to guard Corona del Mar’s 6-foot-4 Natalia Bruening, who had 12 points, and 6-foot-2 Krista Anderson, who was limited to 2 points.

“If you’re standing there under the basket, we have no chance,” Bangs said. “When the ball is outside, we got a chance because we can front and do some things. If we can get them to miss and get a defensive rebound, one shot and out, that would really be good.

“Let’s just say we used our guards to help out and until they (CdM) hit a couple shots outside at the end of the game, we will live with that, and not let (Krista) Anderson and (Natalia) Bruening hurt us inside. It’s a total team effort.”

Woodbridge led, 17-16, at halftime and had a 29-26 lead going into the final quarter.

The Warriors extended their lead to 8 points twice in the final quarter before CdM began forcing turnovers.

The Sea Kings cut the lead to 38-37 when Maria King made one of two free throws with 34 seconds.

Corona del Mar (11-6, 1-1) got the ball back after the missed free throw but was unable to convert. Ghadiyaram was fouled going for the rebound and sank two free throws with 9.3 seconds to clinch the victory.

“I have to hand it to Corona del Mar,” Bangs said. “They started trapping and getting tips. We didn’t take care of the ball very well, not by design. We were just hoping to cruise in for a 12-point win. Hopefully, we build a little character on that one.”

Contact the writer: tburt@ocregister.com

Woodbridge regains upper hand in PCL

BY JEREMY BALAN

STAFF WRITER

OC Register

IRVINE – Last season, University loosened Woodbridge’s stranglehold on the Pacific Coast League by snapping the Warriors’ four-year run of league titles.

After Friday’s league opener between the two teams, it appears Woodbridge has regained its grip.

The Warriors re-established themselves as the league favorite with a commanding win, 46-29, at Woodbridge High.

Woodbridge (10-5, 1-0) dominated throughout on the defensive end, limiting University’s leading scorer, Allison Piper, to a single point and held the Trojans (10-7, 0-1) to 11 second-half points as the Warriors pulled away steadily. Piper went into the game averaging 12.3 points per game.

University went 0-for-11 from the field in the fourth quarter and 1-for-22 in the second half.

“We’re going to struggle to find points,” Woodbridge coach Eric Bangs said. “We’re down kids and we didn’t have the depth I thought we’d have, but the defense is always there.”

Without their returning leading scorer from last season, Bonnie Sarchet, who is out with an ACL injury, as well as standout sophomore Jasmine Rachal, the Warriors have had to rely on balance for much of the season and Friday was another example.

Four Woodbridge players scored nine points or more, led by junior guard Alissa Niewiadomski, who had a team-high 13 points on 3-of-5 shooting from 3-point range. Fellow guard Anjali Ghadiyaram added 11 points, forward Annika Walker had 10 and Lauren Baffo came off the bench to score nine.

“Everybody is capable and that’s how you have to do it,” Bangs said. “I always say, if you can put four or five people out there who can score and contribute, you’re a pretty good girls basketball team.”

Woodbridge also controlled the offensive boards with 17 offensive rebounds, allowing the Warriors to take twice as many shots (32 to 16) as University in the first half. Woodbridge took a 28-18 lead into the break.

“Today I was upset, because I felt they outhustled us and that’s something that I never thought I’d (see) from my team,” University coach Nicole Bradshaw said. “We got killed on the offensive boards.”

As poor as the Trojans played offensively – their point total was a season low – senior forward and captain Kiara Warren did her best to keep University in the game.

Warren finished with 17 points and nine rebounds – both game highs – and scored nine of the Trojans’ 11 points in the second half.

“No matter what, even if she doesn’t have a good scoring game, she’s always 100 percent working hard,” Bradshaw said. “There is never a time in a game where I have to say, ‘Kiara, you’re out of position’ or ‘Kiara, what are you doing?’”

Original Article

Holiday tournament brackets are now posted

We have received the final 2 tournament brackets. The Ayala Varsity bracket and the Villa Park JV bracket can be found under the "tournament brackets" link on the left.

Varsity will open up on Saturday Dec 27th vs Excelsior HS @ Ayala.

JV will open up on Friday Dec 26th vs Santa Margarita HS @ Villa Park

Warriors open season with win over Yorba Linda

By TOM CONNOLLY / Contributing Writer
Published: Dec. 3, 2014 Updated: 6:44 p.m.


The Woodbridge High girls basketball team youth movement got underway Monday night with a 44-26 victory against Yorba Linda in the opening round of the South Coast Classic at Woodbridge.
This season the Warriors roster includes seven freshmen and sophomores, who appeared a bit nervous in the first half. But in the second half, they turned it up a notch and finished strong.
Freshman Jasmine Rachal scored 13 points. Freshman Anjali Ghadi added 10 points and led an 11-1 run to start the fourth quarter, enabling the Warriors to pull away and win its season opener.
“We’re young and inexperienced, and we’re going to have to be patient,” said Woodbridge coach Eric Bangs. “Jasmine and Anjali had a little bit of nerves in the first half, but they played much better in the second half. We started making shots, and it’s a lot easier when you make shots.”
The Warriors’ defense, led by senior forward Annika Walker, forced 28 turnovers and did not allow the Mustangs to score a basket in the first and fourth quarters. Yorba Linda was able to muster only seven free throws in the opening and final quarters.

Walker was steady for Woodbridge as she pulled down 10 rebounds and scored six points.
Karah Griffiths’ basket beat the buzzer to end the third quarter as Yorba Linda closed the gap to 27-23 after three periods.

Ghadi and Lauren Lum (six points each) drilled a 3-pointer to open the fourth quarter as Woodbridge increased its lead to 33-23 with 6:30 to play.

The Warriors defense forced the Mustangs to turn the ball over on five of its first six possessions of the quarter and take control of the game. In the meantime, Walker hit a basket and Rachal nailed a 3-pointer. Woodbridge upped its lead to 39-24 with 3:31 left and eased to victory.
“I like the way we made defensive adjustments in the second half,” Bangs said.

Woodbridge's Annika Walker tries to block the shot attempt from Yorba Linda's Katlyn Ramos during a South Coast Holiday Classic game at Woodbridge High School on Monday.

, FOSTER SNELL, CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

Woodbridge's Jasmine Rachal reaches to catch a pass during a South Coast Holiday Classic game.

 FOSTER SNELL, CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

TIPOFF 2014

Original article located on OCRegister.com

Tournament Brackets Posted

Four out of the six tournament brackets have been received and are now posted under the TOURNAMENT BRACKETS link on the left. As we receive the last two, we will post them as well.

Warriors volunteer at the Irvine Hoops Classic

Many of the Woodbridge girls basketball players volunteered there time at the annual Irvine Hoops Classic. 

Sport Chalet Team Store has now been REOPENED! Order today!

The Woodbridge girl's basketball team store has now REOPENED and is now available to make purchases. Players, parents, siblings, relatives or others can purchase team gear such as hoodys, t-shirt, polos and more. All gear is optional and not required. The girl's basketball program will receive a small portion of the proceeds.

https://team.sportchalet.com/WoodbridgeWBB

The web store will close on 12/11/14.

Girls Basketball Parent Meeting

The Girls Basketball Kickoff Parent Meeting will be on Monday, September 22nd from 6:30-7:30 PM in the WHS Media Center.

Girls Basketball Tryouts

Tryouts for the girls basketball team will be held on Thursday July 24th from 3:00-4:15. All girls that are interested are welcome to tryout.