Beckman girls basketball overcomes a few bumps to beat San Juan Hills

IRVINE — As league play is just getting underway, the Beckman girls basketball team is still adjusting to a new style of play under first-year coach Myron Jacobs.

Jacobs, who is having to adjust as well, said he isn’t overly concerned when the Patriots are less than flawless in a particular game.

That was arguably the case in the Patriots’ South Coast League game against San Juan Hills on Thursday.

But the Patriots, who are ranked No. 8 in Orange County, went on enough mini-runs and made enough stops on defense to come away with a 49-40 victory at at Beckman High School.

It has been a perfect week for the Patriots (14-4, 2-0), who had one day to prepare for the No. 14 Mustangs (12-9, 0-1) after opening league play with a 59-45 victory over defending league champion San Clemente on Tuesday.

“You come in here and you have a two-and-a-half-hour practice to prep, watch film, and then come back the next day to play,” said Jacobs, who guided Whitney of Cerritos to the CIF State Division IV championship last season.

“That’s hard on kids. And I’m new to this league. I came from a league where we play on Tuesday and won’t play again until Friday.”

The Patriots made multiple passes around the perimeter on nearly every possession, and then either got the ball to an open player for a 3-point shot or passed inside to get a shot close to the basket.

But 3-point attempts weren’t falling the way they did against the Tritons, when the Patriots hit 11 from beyond the arc.

The Patriots hit 6 of their 20 shots from 3-point territory against the Mustangs.

“I stress teamwork,” Jacobs said. “The ball moved good in the first quarter. I tried to put the bench in and get them a little burn. And we kind of started settling and started jacking up shots and turning over the ball.”

Beckman led by two after the first quarter and then opened the second period with a 12-0 run to go ahead 22-8.

The Patriots were up by 10 in the final seconds of the quarter when the Mustangs’ Adelyn Boberg hit a 3-pointer and a free throw after being fouled on the shot.

The four-point play got the Mustangs to within six at the half.

Beckman sophomore Aksharaa Prakaschander, who led all players with 13 points, opened the scoring in the third with a 3-pointer to kick off a 7-2 run.

Prakaschander then closed out the quarter with a 3-pointer to lift the Patriots to a 41-30 lead.

A 3-pointer from Finley Campbell, a pair of baskets from Boberg and a basket from Katie Schafer got the Mustangs to within six with one-minute, 20 seconds remaining.

But the Mustangs were held scoreless from there, with Prakaschander and Ellasyn Hunter each coming up with a steal for Beckman in the final minute.

“I know we’re going to work hard in practice for the next game and just focus on the little details,” Prakaschander said. “And we’re going to come back even stronger for the next game.”