Santana Will Meet Mt. Carmel : Team Endures Tough First Quarter to Beat Vista, 50-40

SAN DIEGO â€”  The first quarter of the Division I semifinal girls’ basketball game between Santana and Vista high schools will be remembered as a conquest and a failure by the two teams.

For Santana, the quarter will be remembered as an obstacle it overcame in order to defeat Vista, 50-40, at Mira Mesa High School and earn a trip to the Sports Arena for Friday’s Division I final against Mt. Carmel.

For Vista, it will be remembered as a stumbling block it could not overcome, not even with a 32-rebound, 10-block and 16-point game from 6-foot 4-inch center Chris Enger.

“I thought we could pressure their guards,� said Wade Vickery, Santana coach. “Our guards are very, very good defensively. Our full-court pressure hurt them.�

Vista committed 14 turnovers in the first quarter, 23 by halftime, and finished with 35.

Santana had a less than stellar first quarter, committing seven turnovers and missing numerous shots from under the basket, but still managed an 8-4 lead.

Santana (25-1) then got set in its game plan early in the second quarter, while the Panthers (23-6) were still struggling to find theirs.

“Their defense was good,� said Joe DeMaria, Vista coach. “We just couldn’t break their pressure and get into our offense.�

Despite Enger’s stats, Santana did not let the junior dominate the game in the most important category--scoring. The county’s leading scorer with a 27.9 average, she was held to 16 primarily because of an excellent transition game by Santana.

The Sultans played man-to-man full court pressure, then switched to a 2-3 zone in order to collapse on Enger.

Santana led, 25-17, at halftime, and the closest Vista would come was 38-32 with 5:58 left in the third quarter. Santana then scored two consecutive baskets to make it 42-32 and was never threatened again.

Guard Rebecca Aase scored 13 points and forward Barbara Bennett added 10 for Santana. Guard Renee Richardson had 16 points for Vista.