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NEWPORT BEACH — Compared to the first game at the Holiday Cup, Coach Bill Barnett had an issue with how Newport Harbor High shot the ball early in the second game.
“I don’t think we shot the ball very well,” Barnett said after his Sailors wrapped up the second game on Wednesday by beating Santa Barbara, 12-4, to advance to the semifinals.
It was hard for the Sailors to top the morning’s scoring frenzy in which they put away 21 goals against Beckman. The opener in the girls’ water polo tournament turned out to be more of a Newport Harbor shoot-around than a game.
Getting up for the afternoon quarterfinal game against Santa Barbara was a challenge for the Sailors. Sheer talent allowed Newport Harbor to pull away in the final quarter.
The Sailors, ranked No. 2 in the CIF Southern Section Division I preseason coaches’ poll, are off to a 6-0 start. To continue their undefeated season, Barnett expects his players to take every game seriously.
The next round in the two-day, 16-team tournament is sure to be more competitive. Newport Harbor, the top seed in Group A, plays host to second-seeded Laguna Beach in the semis today at 10:40 a.m.
The Sailors should still prevail and qualify for the Holiday Cup title game for the second straight year. They will most likely meet Dos Pueblos of Goleta, the top seed in Group B, in the final at 4:05 p.m. The Chargers are the top-ranked team in Division I.
“That’s what we’re planning on,” Newport Harbor senior Kate Klippert said of seeing Dos Pueblos, which knocked out the Sailors last season in the semifinals of the CIF Southern Section Division I playoffs en route to claiming the title. “Tensions are always high [when we play the Chargers], considering our history.
“We are out to get them. We want to get them.”
Before the Sailors earn that chance, Barnett wants them to work on their attitude. At times against Santa Barbara, he said they were complacent.
“They actually thought it was such an easy game this morning that things are going to be easy again,” Barnett said.
Things have been relatively easy for the Sailors.
Newport Harbor has outscored the opposition, 78-27. The offense continued to roll on Wednesday, giving Santa Barbara and Beckman no chance in the rain.
For most of the game against Santa Barbara, it drizzled. In the first quarter against Beckman, the Sailors poured it on.
