Girls’ Player of the Week : She Gets Emotional Over Record

Stacey Hisaka of Fountain Valley High School is known to her teammates as a heroic, but always stoic, team leader.

Hisaka, a junior point guard, has shown courage in critical situations. But she rarely shows her feelings.

“Stacey generally doesn’t get too happy or too mad out there,” said Donna Hisaka, her mother. “She’s usually even-tempered no matter what happens or how she plays.”

That changed last Tuesday when Hisaka, The Times’ player of the week, set a school single-game scoring record of 38 points in Fountain Valley’s 81-70 come-from-behind victory over Huntington Beach in a Sunset League game.

Hisaka broke the school record of 37 points set by Chris Wycinowski in 1981.

Huntington Beach led, 42-30, at halftime, but Fountain Valley--sparked by Hisaka’s 29 second-half points--outscored the Oilers, 51-28, in the second half for the victory at Fountain Valley.

Hisaka was 4 of 5 on three-point shots, and 18 of 20 from the free-throw line.

“I know I don’t usually show my emotions,” Hisaka said. “But when I heard 38 points, I had to. I mean I couldn’t stop smiling.”

Said off-guard Kami Bigler: “It was funny. She was so excited. She’s usually so serious about everything, you can’t tell if she’s happy or mad or what.”

Thursday, when Fountain Valley lost to Edison, 49-47, Hisaka scored a team-high 13 points, but she wasn’t smiling.

Hisaka said that after Tuesday’s performance--which boosted Fountain Valley into first place--the team had a difficult time preparing to play Edison. The loss dropped Fountain Valley into second place.

Hisaka, who averages 18 points and 6 rebounds for Fountain Valley (14-10, 6-2), said she learned more from Thursday’s loss than from Tuesday’s victory.

“I’m not going to strive for those (record-setting) games,” she said. “It just throws off the other parts of your game if you force it too much.”

Stacey Hisaka

Fountain Valley High

Position: Point guard.

Height, Class: 5-7, Jr.

Last Week: Set a school single-game scoring record of 38 points to lead the Barons to a 81-70 victory over Huntington Beach Tuesday in a Sunset League game. Hisaka scored 13 points to lead Fountain Valley in a 49-47 loss to Edison Thursday.

Season: Hisaka is averaging 18 points and 6 rebounds for Fountain Valley (14-10, 6-2).