Lady Crusaders advance to second round of state girls basketball playoffs

The Mater Dei Catholic High School girls basketball team  finished runner-up to Eastlake in this year’s Mesa League standings but went on to capture the school’s first San Diego Section championship by outlasting San Marcos, 55-54, in the Division I finals on March 4.

Mater Dei Catholic and Eastlake, which advanced as far as the Open Division semifinals, both qualified for the state regional playoffs.

Eastlake, which dropped a 50-42 decision to top-seeded Mission Hills in the Open Division semis,  received the No. 13 seed in the Southern California Division I regional field and traveled to meet fourth-seeded Brea Olinda in an opening round game on March 8.

Brea Olinda ended the Lady Titans’ otherwise exemplary season with a 52-43 victory as Eastlake finished 23-8 on the season.

Mater Dei Catholic received the No. 7 seed in the Division III regionals. The Lady Crusaders won their first game before being eliminated from further competition.

Mater Dei Catholic tipped 10th-seeded JSerra Catholic, 58-39, in a first-round game played on March 8 as part of a double-header with the Crusader boys team, which received a berth in the Division II regional bracket after qualifying for the section’s Open Division playoffs.

“Our state playoff games were two competitive games against JSerra Catholic and Camarillo,” Lady Crusader head coach David Monroe said. “Playing at home against JSerra was a big bonus. We have been a good home team all year and we probably played one of our better games against JSerra in getting that win.

“We had a four-hour bus ride to Camarillo in the loss to them (last Saturday, March 11). That game had many highs and lows — grant it we didn’t play one of our better games; the final score (a 59-45 win for Camarillo) doesn’t dictate the type of game it was.

“The game continued to be within four points until the last three minutes. The last three minutes we played tired and pressed and couldn’t score to close out the game.

“This has been a valuable experience for my young players and what a run for my seniors. I am so proud how hard we competed all year and am looking forward to another successful season next year.”

The Lady Crusaders used two big scoring outbursts — 15-7 in the first quarter and 15-5 in the third quarter — to subdue JSerra Catholic.

Sophomore Chloe Webb led the winners with 18 points while freshman teammate Marissa Sanchez poured in 10 points. Webb was active under the basket with 16 total rebounds, including nine defensive boards, while senior Joice Beda had 13 rebounds.

Webb also had five assists and two steals in the game.

Webb had 18 points and Beda had 17 points in the Lady Crusaders’ 55-54 San Diego Section Division I championship game win over San Marcos.

Mater Dei Catholic ended its season with a 22-12 record following the loss to second-seeded Camarillo, which improved to 30-4 in advancing to Tuesday’s regional semifinal match-up against sixth-seeded Serra.

The Mater Dei Catholic boys team, seeded eighth, lost its opening regional game, 59-51, to ninth-seeded Harvard-Westlake. The Crusaders finished the season 23-6 after capturing this year’s Mesa League championship in runaway fashion with a 12-0 record.

Harvard-Westlake proved to be the upset team in the bracket after eliminating top-seeded Alemany, 72-64, in last Saturday’s regional quarterfinals to advance to Tuesday’s regional semifinals against 13th-seeded Pasadena, another high achiever.

The Crusaders dropped a 64-57 match-up to fourth-seeded Foothills Christian in the Open Division quarterfinals.
Fifth-seeded Mater Dei Catholic won an ensuing state playoff seeding game, 61-40, against eighth-seeded La Costa Canyon.

Trey Anderson, the Mesa League Player of the Year, led the Crusaders with 19 points in the state playoff seeding game against the Mavericks while teammates Beon Riley (15 points) and Clifford Kidd (12 points) also scored in double figures.
Anderson also led the team with 11 rebounds.

San Diego Section Playoff Champions

Boys Soccer
Open Division: St. Augustine
Division I: Canyon Crest Academy
Division II: Montgomery
Division III: Del Norte
Division IV: Holtville
Division V: El Cajon Valley

Girls Soccer

Open Division: Torrey Pines
Division I: Eastlake
Division II: La Jolla
Division III: Our Lady of Peace
Division IV: San Dieguito Academy
Division V: Lincoln

Boys Basketball

Open Division: St. Augustine
Division I: Santa Fe Christian
Division II: Helix
Division III: Sage Creek
Division IV: Brawley
Division V: Health Sciences

Girls Basketball
Open Division: Mission Hills
Division I: Mater Dei Catholic
Division II: Rancho Bernardo
Division III: Lincoln
Division IV: Escondido Adventist
Division V: Maranatha Christian