Berfield Sizzles, Lapray Dazzles as Dubs Down Nobel

By Brandon Petersen

It was a moment of pure basketball beauty.

Westcliff sophomore forward Maggie Lapray was alone on the wing, just a few feet from a bustling home bench recently ignited by back-to-back Hayley Berfield steals Wednesday night at Golden West College in Huntington Beach.

Lapray crossed over then spun 180-degrees around her defender and glided through a wide-open lane to the bucket for two.

It made the score 50-18, Dubs, with five minutes and change left in the third.

The bench went berserk, but Westcliff head coach Andre Wallace showed no emotion, as if the NBA2K highlight Lapray just pulled off was exactly what he knew was coming.

The final ended up 65-42, as Westcliff let off on the gas in the fourth and cruised with Berfield and the rest of the starters watching.

"We played physical," Wallace said. "We played at the standard we are capable of, and we played in principles tonight. We stayed underneath the ball; we put a lot of ball pressure and forced a lot of turnovers.

"We finally – offensively – executed at a very high level. We got the right shots. Over the last couple of games, we've been shooting a horrible percentage from the three-point line. So, we put a heavy emphasis tonight on paint touches, drive-and-kicks, and second drives.

"When you can win six out of the eight primary (statistical) categories, night in and night out, you've got a great opportunity to put yourself in a position to win. And tonight, we did that, so I'm very proud of their effort."

He should be. The Warriors were fantastic.

All five starters contributed, with Berfield (25 points, eight steals) and Chloe Wright (11 and five) handling the bulk of the scoring, while Jayla Reliford (nine points, 10 rebounds, four steals) and Natalie Satamian (five rebounds, five assists) played smothering defense at the guards.

Lapray, as previously discussed, provided the magic moment in her first start of the season.

Meanwhile, Kalynne Mendez came off the bench and sacrificed her body on some hard drives while netting nine and three in a supporting role.

After a slow start to the season shooting-wise from range, the Warriors clipped at 36.8% from three.

Berfield, the Dubs' star point guard, found her rhythm early, and probably would have finished well above 30 points in a more competitive contest.

In just 29 minutes Wednesday, Berfield shot 50-percent from three and tied a Westcliff program record with her eight steals (Laura Tapia).

"She's a big-time player," Wallace said. "We've been trying to have her find the rim all season long – she's been taking great shots, a lot of them uncontested, she's been getting them out of the offense – I just want her to have a better understanding of when the three-point shot is lived-and-died upon, you're usually going to die on that, because it's not sustainable over a long period of time.

"So tonight, she took heed, watched a lot of film – kudos to the coaching staff, because they spend a lot of time clipping; showing her opportunities where she can get paint touches – and tonight she had a great ratio of threes, a great ratio of twos, and she got to the free throw line (8-of-9 from the stripe).

"There's no better dynamic than that."

Nor is there a better dynamic than a fired-up sideline that leaps off the bench in big moments.

That's exactly what happened when Lapray went Dwight Freeney on a Nobel defender.

"The chemistry is phenomenal because we don't recruit bench players here," Wallace said. "And for Maggie, she was holding onto what was, instead of looking at what's now. I treat every single player the same, the accountability is the same all the way across the board. The principles are the same, and the time we put in is the same.

"You see Maggie's in our starting lineup. The only reason she wasn't in the starting lineup in prior games is because she was sick. For me, this is what I expect from Maggie. And now it's just her expecting it from herself, and her teammates are doing a great job of just supporting her all the way through.

"That was a big-time move by one of the smartest players in the NAIA. And that is why she's a starter."

The Warriors (3-1) are back in action Thursday at Vanguard, where they will meet the Lions in an exhibition contest. Tip is scheduled for 7:30 pm.   

On Saturday, Westcliff heads north to The Master's (RV) for a 5:30 tip.