Girls’ Basketball: CdM earns rematch with La Cañada

Corona del Mar High girls’ basketball Coach Mark Decker knows that over the years his team typically finishes strong in a close game.

Decker saw that Wednesday night in CdM’s opener of the CIF State Southern California Regional Division IV playoffs. He maybe also saw some desperation, with CdM trailing in the fourth quarter.

That’s not a bad thing for the No. 7-seeded Sea Kings, who used their finishing push to top No. 10 Carlsbad La Costa Canyon, 56-46, at CdM. They’ll need it in the next round too.

“Hopefully they’re feeling that desperation a little bit,” Decker said. “If we don’t go to La Cañada and play with that desperation, we’re not going to walk out of there with a win.”

An anticipated rematch will go down Saturday night at 6 at La Cañada High, as CdM travels to face the No. 2-seeded Spartans. La Cañada eased past No. 15 Caruthers, 66-39, in another first-round game Wednesday.

Corona del Mar (24-7) will be playing at La Cañada for the second time in two weeks, the first being the Spartans’ 55-52 victory on Feb. 27 in a CIF Southern Section Division 3A semifinal game. The Sea Kings erased a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit in that one, only to lose on a buzzer-beating three-pointer by La Cañada junior guard Kristina Kurdoghlian.

Problem was, video replays suggest that Kurdoghlian’s last-second heave might have been released just late. But the referees counted the shot.

“We’re excited for that game,” CdM senior center and co-captain Krista Anderson said of the rematch. “We did not deserve to lose that way, and we’re going to do everything we can to win.”

The Sea Kings, who are in the regional quarterfinals for the second time in as many seasons, used a balanced effort to get past La Costa Canyon (23-10). The scrappy Mavericks held CdM senior post Natalia Bruening to a playoff-low 16 points, but she still led all scorers and contributed 10 rebounds and five blocked shots.

Senior forward Kat Hess had 14 points, and Anderson also had a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Senior point guard Kelly Tam scored 11.

But the scrappy Mavericks looked like they might pull out the win on the road. They forced CdM into 23 turnovers, as freshman guard Alexis Machain had six steals and senior guards and co-captains Jessica Curtis and Cassie Amundson had four each. The visitors led by a point, 39-38, headed into the fourth quarter. The score was tied at 41-41 when CdM got aggressive and took control.

First, Hess was fouled shooting a three-pointer, and she made two of the three free throws. Then she was fouled on a baseline drive. This time she missed both free throws, but an offensive rebound by Anderson turned into a basket and three-point play, giving CdM a 46-41 advantage with 5:28 to play.

“It was like, ‘This is not our last game,’” Hess said. “Definitely. None of us really had that feeling throughout the game. I think we knew that we could pull through.”

After La Costa Canyon committed its eighth team foul, Bruening made both ends of the one-and-one to give the Sea Kings a 48-41 advantage. La Costa Canyon countered with a steal by Curtis that turned into a layup by Machain, but Bruening nailed a three-pointer then Tam made a pair of free throws with 1:51 to play. They again stretched the lead to double-digits, at 53-43.

“We looked like we hadn’t played in 10 days,” Decker said. “Glad it wore off eventually ... We have to attack the press, and that’s what we wanted [Hess] to do. It just opens so many things up. That was big, and Krista kept us in there for a while. If we can get her the ball, she’s going to score. It just took us a long time to do that.”

Sophomore Kaylee Berry led La Costa Canyon, the San Diego Section Division 1 runner-up, with 14 points.

CdM doesn’t really need too much extra motivation for its next game. Along with the satisfaction of beating La Cañada, a victory would put the Sea Kings into the SoCal Regional semifinals for the first time in program history.

“It’s probably going to be the same crowd,” Bruening said. “They know us, and we know them. It’s going to be exciting, for sure. We know how close we were last time and how much it hurt, and we don’t want to feel that again.”

—

CIF State SoCal Regional Division IV Playoffs

First round

Corona del Mar 56, La Costa Canyon 46

SCORE BY QUARTERS

LCC 12 – 12 – 15 – 7 — 46

CdM 15 – 14 – 9 – 18 — 56

LCC – Berry 14, Haggerty 9, Curtis 6, Amundson 6, Eibel 6, Machain 4, Wilson 1.

3-pt. goals – Amundson 2, Haggerty 1.

Fouled out – Amundson.

Technicals – None.

CdM – N. Bruening 16, Hess 14, Anderson 13, Tam 11, T. Bruening 2.

3-pt. goals – Tam 1, Hess 1, N. Bruening 1.

Fouled out – None.

Technicals – None.