Costa boys, girls hit the end of the road
Mira Costa had its last hope of bringing home a CIF title for the winter sports season quashed Wednesday when its girls basketball team lost in the quarterfinals.
Jasmine Rutlede led the charge for Mira Costa this season. The Mustangs finished with a 22-8 this season after losing in the quarterfinals Wednesday. Photo
Coach Don Braunecker’s Lady Mustangs ended their season with a 65-49 road loss to No. 4 Summit. Jasmine Rutledge scored a team-high 17 points, Joelle Herron added 16 and Kylie Nakamine had 12 points for fifth-ranked Mira Costa.
Mira Costa began its quest for a CIF Division 1A title with a 54-23 home victory over Los Alamitos when Jordyn Priestley hit 6-of-8 of her 3-point attempts and scored a game-high 22 points for the Mustangs. Rutledge recorded 10 points, 14 rebounds and five steals and Nakamine added 11 points.
In the second round Saturday, Priestley was held to just seven points, but nailed her second 3-pointer of the game with just eight seconds left in regulation, giving the Mustangs a 33-30 victory over visiting Chaparral.
Rutledge scored a team-high 11 points and grabbed eight rebounds and had four steals. Joelle Herron added eight points for the Mustangs.
The girl’s loss came a day after Mira Costa’s boys basketball and soccer teams saw their seasons end with disappointing losses.
Coach Henry Myar’s boys basketball team, which entered the Division 2A playoffs as the No. 10 seed, gave second-seeded Pasadena a battle for most of the game, much to the delight of the overflow crowd at Fischer Gym some who were shooed away from standing in front of the shot clock.
Elliott Ozer scores two of his game-high 25 points during Mira Costa’s quarterfinal loss to Pasadena. Photo
But fouls and turnovers led to a 77-68 loss, costing Mira Costa what Myar believes would have been the program’s first appearance in the semifinals. The Mustangs reached the quarterfinals for the first time in six years.
“I thought I was going to try new ground and get to the semis,” Myar said after congratulating his players on their season. “I thought our guys had a terrific year. I’m really proud of them. They started out by winning the Pacific Shores Tournament, which we’ve never done before and they won three out of four games in their other two tournaments.”
Mira Costa kept pace with the aggressive Pasadena team that Myar said resembled Bay League champion Leuzinger, the No. 3 seed in Division 1A.
“Our scouting reports showed they are similar teams,” Myar said. “They have a lot of athletes and players that do well.”
In the first half, Mira Costa fought off a high-pressure defense to create breakaways and hang with the favored Bulldogs. Elliott Ozer hit one of his three 3-pointers at the buzzer giving the Mustangs a 32-29 lead at halftime.
“I couldn’t see the shot clock but had a pretty good idea of the time left,” said Ozer, who finished with a game-high 25 points. “We outplayed them (Pasadena) most of the game but the change of tempo and the mistakes in the fourth quarter hurt us. We did a lot better than I thought we’d do this season. We made a good run.”
The physical contest created a number of infractions but the disparity in fouls (Mira Costa made 12-of-14 free throws while Pasadena connected on 33-of-40) hindered the Mustangs, who held a six point advantage midway through the third period.
As Thomas Johnson sat on the bench with foul trouble, Pasadena outscored Mira Costa 8-2 to tie the score at the end of three quarters.
The Mustangs regained the lead before what Myar believes was the turning point of the game.
“It’s a two-point game and we get called for an offensive foul,” Myar related. “Then we have a couple of turnovers and all of a sudden it’s an eight point game.”
Eric Mochalski scored 20 points, including an electrifying dunk to cap off a steal, and Johnson added 12 points and eight rebounds.
Mira Costa's bench sums up the outcome of the Mustang's quarterfinal game. Photo by ray Vidal
Mira Costa began its quest for a CIF title with a 54-50 road victory over Del Rio co-champion La Serna. Ozer scored a game-high 21 points and gathered five rebounds, Johnson added 12 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks and Mochalski contributed 10 points and five rebounds for the Mustangs.
The Mustangs kept the ball rolling Friday, beating No. 7 Sergerstrom 64-57 to reach the quarterfinals for the first time since 2004. Johnson played a stellar game at center scoring 20 points, grabbing 20 rebounds and blocking seven shots. Ozer added 18 points and Mochalski contributed nine points, seven rebounds and three blocks for Mira Costa.
Boys Basketball
Redondo entered the post season as the Bay League’s No. 3 team and defeated visiting J.W. North 65-51 in the opening round of the Division 2AA playoffs.
Jamar Cannon scored 30 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, Austin Moore recorded 12 points, Brandon Boyd added 10 points and six assists and Dylan Irwin contributed nine points and seven rebounds in the Sea Hawks, but that’s as far as they would go.
After his offensive barrage in the first-round win, shooting star Jamar Cannon was held to nine points Friday and host Redondo fell to No. 5 Murrieta Valley 58-48.
Irwin did his best to make up the scoring deficit, recording 16 points while adding nine rebounds and two steals at the center position, but it wasn’t enough for the Sea Hawks, who ended their season with a 17-11 record.
Bay League runner-up Peninsula (19-8), suffered an 86-83 overtime loss to visiting Villa Park in the opening round of the Division 2A playoffs.
Leuzinger (22-6) earned the third seed in Division 1A and have had little trouble so far in the playoffs. The Olympians defeated Lancaster 90-65 and Capistrano Valley 76-60 before eliminating No. 11 Roosevelt 68-45 Tuesday. Leuzinger advances to the semifinals where it will face No. 2 Loyola (26-2) Friday at a neutral site to be selected by Leuzinger.
Palos Verdes (9-16) represented the Bay League in Division 3A, but was no match for second-seeded Harvard-Westlake, losing 79-43 in the opening round. The division’s top-seeded team, Serra (27-2) began its run for a CIF title beating Servite 78-47 and Pacifica/Garden Grove 88-53. The Cavaliers throttled No. 9 Golden Valley 102-63 Tuesday and will face No. 4 Gahr (25-5) Friday at a neutral site to be determined by Gahr.
Bishop Montgomery and North earned the ninth and tenth seeds, respectively, in Division 3AA. Bishop Montgomery defeated Artesia 56-48 and North survived a scare, beating Buena 75-72 in overtime.
The teams weren’t so fortunate in the second round. Bishop Montgomery (16-10) lost at No. 8 La Habra 59-52 and North (18-11) fell to No. 7 Arroyo Grande 72-64.
In Division 4AA, Pioneer League representatives El Segundo and Lawndale were seeded sixth and twelfth, respectively. After beating Santa Paula 76-61, El Segundo defeated No. 10 San Juan Hills 66-61 in the second round. The Eagles (19-11) lost to No. 2 Lutheran/Orange 69-52 Tuesday in the quarterfinals.
Lawndale (13-16) defeated host Estancia 47-36 in the first round and San Luis Obispo 58-44 last Friday. The Cardinals were eliminated by No. 4 Bishop Amat 63-49 Tuesday.
In Division 5A, No. 10 Vistamar (El Segundo) and No. 16 Chadwick lost their second-round games. After defeating Nuview Bridge 47-45, Vistamar (17-8) lost to No. 7 Bellarmine-Jefferson 56-38. Chadwick (12-11) beat Wildwood 74-60 before losing to top-seeded Renaissance Academy 63-42.
Boys Soccer
The first round of the CIF Division 1 playoffs was brutal for the Bay League teams, with Mira Costa being the lone survivor.
Bay League runner-up and ninth-seeded Mira Costa edged visiting Crespi 3-2 with a second-half comeback capped off by Mathias Gesser’s winning goal in the 59th minute. Nick Ziglio and Jake Wilson scored the first two goals for the Mustangs.
Mira Costa (18-3-5) advanced to the second round, playing at fifth-seeded Edison Tuesday. After the Chargers scored in the 12th minute, the Mustangs did all they could to catch up but failed to find the back of the net, suffering a 1-0 season-ending loss.
Mira Costa outshot Edison 4-3 and held a 9-2 advantage in corner and free kicks, but that was little consolation for the Mustangs and goalkeeper Daniel Caves, who recorded two saves to keep his team in the game.
Redondo concluded its season with a 3-1 loss to league champion West in the Bay League finale. The Sea Hawks finished 2-8 in league and 5-12 overall.
The biggest upset of the opening round occurred when No. 3 West (18-2-3) lost just its second game of the season, falling at home to St. Francis 2-1.
Leuzinger (15-5-4) lost at Esperanza 2-1 while wild-card winner Palos Verdes (11-9-5) gave top-seeded Millikan all they could handle, falling to the Rams 1-0 in two overtimes.
In Division 4, Pioneer champion North defeated Calvary Chapel 2-1 in overtime and upset No. 6 Diamond Ranch on the road Tuesday. Noah Nutter recorded six saves for his 13th shutout of the season. The unranked Saxons (19-5-5) host No. 4 Norwalk (15-4-2) Thursday at 3 p.m.
El Segundo (15-6-2) saw its season end when host University (13-5-1) shot down the Eagles on penalty kicks 6-5 after the teams were tied at 2-2 at the end of regulation.
Wild-card winner South (11-7-5) lost a 1-0 heartbreaker at No. 7 Santa Monica (14-5-3) in the first round. Bishop Montgomery (7-10-2) had its season end with a 2-0 loss to visiting Channel Islands in wild-card competition.
Vistamar (10-7), a freelance school in El Segundo, earned a berth in the Division 7 playoffs but lost to Rosamond 5-1 in the first round.
Girls Basketball
Redondo clobbered West 50-19 in its Bay League finale and, coupled with Palos Verdes’ loss, finished in a second-place tie with the Sea Kings with a 7-3 league record. Ella Mason scored 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds and Michelle Lowery added eight points for the Sea Hawks.
Unfortunately for Redondo, it was the final game it would win this season, losing to eighth-ranked Long Beach Jordan 58-40 in the first round. Shayna Stuart scored 10 points to lead the Sea Hawks who finished the season with a 13-15 record.
Palos Verdes represented the Bay League as the 5th seed in Division 3A and throttled visiting hosting San Marcos 60-27 in the opening round before beating Buena Park 66-49 Saturday. The Sea Kings (22-7) were eliminated Wednesday, falling to No. 4 Bonita 55-38.
West (11-17) earned an at-large bid in the same division and upset 16th-seeded Wilson of Hacienda Heights 40-38 in the first round before falling at No. 1 Santa Margarita 59-28.
In Division 2A, Peninsula (10-16) earned an at-large berth but lost to Pacific View co-champion Rio Mesa 60-55. Pioneer co-champion South (21-9) earned the 6th seed but was upset by No. 11 Rio Mesa 63-47 after downing Westlake 39-30 in the opening round.
Pioneer co-champion North (24-4) earned a 5th seed in Division 3AA and defeated Newport Harbor 58-41 in the first round. The Saxons went on to defeat Beckman 62-23 Saturday but lost at No. 4 Buena 60-50 in the quarterfinals Wednesday.
Torrance (11-14) earned an at-large bid and beat Marlborough 60-48 before losing a tough battle to second-seeded Inglewood 58-52 in the second round.
In Division 4AA, Del Rey co-champion Bishop Montgomery was granted the No. 2 seed while El Segundo earned a 15th seed. Bishop Montgomery ran all over Lompoc 71-28 and El Segundo held off Ocean View 50-46 in first-round competition before the two South Bay schools faced each other at El Segundo Saturday.
The host team was no match for Bishop Montgomery, which dominated El Segundo 72-25. El Segundo finished its season with a 13-15 record.
Bishop Montgomery (25-6) defeated Alemany 59-58 in the quarterfinals and will host No. 3 Lutheran/Orange at Redondo Union High School Saturday at 7 p.m.
Serra, of Gardena, is the top seeded team in Division 5AA and earned an opening-round bye. The Cavaliers ran over Ontario Christian 66-23 in the second round and beat No. 9 St. Bonaventure 66-42 Wednesday. Serra (22-6) plays No. 12 Brentwood (11-17) Saturday at a neutral site to be determined by Brentwood.
Seeded fourth in Division 5A, Chadwick beat Sherman Indian 61-29 and Aquinas 49-43 before eliminating visiting Saddleback Valley Christian 51-34 Wednesday. The Dolphins (18-9) play top-ranked St. Anthony (20-9) Saturday at a neutral site to be determined.
Girls Soccer
Reaching the playoffs for the first time in five seasons, Redondo hosted Edison Friday in the opening round of the Division 1 playoffs. The scrappy Sea Hawks remained in a scoreless battle until Edison (13-5-4) scored in the 65th minute to end Redondo’s short-lived playoff run. The Sea Hawks finished the season with an impressive 14-6 record.
Alex Marin helped Redondo reach the CIF playoffs for the first time in five years. The Sea Hawks lost a 1-0 Division 1 battle with Edison in the first round but finished the year with an impressive 14-6 record. Photo
Mira Costa defeated Calabasas 1-0 in its wild-card match Wednesday after Alex Rosen scored the game’s lone goal in the third minute.
In the second round of the playoffs, Mira Costa (16-6-3) fell behind 2-0 at the half to No. 4 Santa Margarita (17-2-3), rallying to tie the game on an Annie Curry with about one minute left. But with 10 seconds left in regulation, Santa Margarita scored to end the Mustang’s season. Morgan Hilby scored the first goal for Mira Costa.
Despite completing its regular season undefeated, Palos Verdes could only garner a No. 10 seed in Division 1. Nevertheless, the Sea Kings were the only Bay League team to make it out of the first round after beating Rosary 1-0 Friday.
Palos Verdes’ season ended on a sour note, losing its first game of the season to unranked Murrieta Valley (15-5-4). Palos Verdes finished the 2009-10 campaign with a 21-1-4 record.
The final Bay League representative, West (10-11-4), fell to Dos Pueblos 2-0 in its wild-card match.
In Division 5, South earned a No. 2 seed and defeated Village Christian 2-0 before eliminating Ramona Convent 3-1 Wednesday. The Spartans (20-5-3)play at Warren Friday at 3 p.m.
Pioneer runner-up El Segundo (15-5-1) held the No. 4 spot but, despite outshooting its opponent 18-3, suffered a 2-1 upset at the hands of visiting Ocean View. Torrance (11-10-2) also failed to make it out of the first round, losing at No. 9 Lakeside 3-1.
North (13-13-1) saw its season end with a 3-2 loss at Santa Ana in a wild-card match.
In Division 3, Chadwick (15-4-2) began its postseason beating Artesia 1-0 and Righetti 2-1. the Dolphins play at Martin Luther King Friday.
Vistamar (17-3-1) began its Division 7 playoff run with a 2-1 victory over visiting Connelly. The team traveled to No. 4 St. Genevieve for a second-round contest but lost 2-1.
Girls Water Polo
Bay League champion Palos Verdes throttled Tesoro 19-5 in the first round and remained on a roll, downing Newbury Park 20-5 Saturday. The Sea Kings advanced to the semifinals where they eliminated San Clemente 9-7 . The win marks the first time the Sea Kings have reached a CIF title match in girls water polo. Palos Verdes (24-8) will face top-seeded Laguna Beach (20-5) for the CIF Division 2 championship at 2:45 p.m. Saturday at the William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center in Irvine.
Bay runner-up Mira Costa (14-14) traveled to South Coast runner-up Dana Hills in its first-round match but lost in triple overtime 8-7. Marissa Purcell scored five goals and Laura and Emily Milstead had one each for the Mustangs.
Redondo concluded its season with a 9-3 victory over West in its Bay League finale. Jaycee Baldus scored three goals and Devon Cohen and Tiffany Morales added two goals each for the Sea Hawks who finished 3-6 in league and 9-14 for the season.
Peninsula (5-14) fell to visiting Mission Viejo 12-6 in a wild-card game.
In Division 5, Ocean League champion El Segundo (13-6) earned an 8th seed but lost to No. 9 La Habra 5-2. Torrance (19-12) played its final contest of the season last week, losing at Alta Loma 12-5 in the division’s only wild-card match.
Prep League champion Chadwick earned the top seed in Division 6 and had little trouble defeating Cate 17-2. It was a different story for the Dolphins in their second round contest at Bonita Saturday. It appeared Chadwick’s season was over when Bonita went ahead 10-9 with just 1.6 seconds left on the clock, but Carlyn Robertson scored from mid-pool with 0.3 ticks left in regulation to send the match into not one — but five — overtime periods.
Dana Ayoob’s goal in sudden death propelled Chadwick (20-7) into the semifinals where it lost to No. 3 Los Altos 7-4.
Wrestling
No wrestlers from Mira Costa or Redondo finished in the top five at the CIF Inland Division Individual Championships at Fountain Valley High School, but three grapplers will represent the Bay League at the Masters Meet Friday and Saturday at Temecula High School.
West sends two athletes to the event after Kyle Taketa (140) took 2nd and Kyle Pivovaroff (171) placed 4th. Peninsula’s Mitch Seymour qualified with a 4th-place finish in the heavyweight division.
In the CIF Coastal Division, North will send five wrestlers to the Masters, including champion brothers Johnson and Kenny Mai. Johnson placed 1st in the 103-pound division and Kenny won the 112 weight class.
Other Saxons to advance are Daniel Wada (2nd, 119), Masato Fukushima (3rd, 125) and Matt Wasan (3rd, 130).
Torrance’s Sam Lee captured first place in the 160 division while teammate Eric Carrillo finished 5th in the 135-pound weight category. Charles Wood (285) qualified with a 5th-place finish for South.
Visit easyreadernews.com for updated game results. Complete brackets are available at cifss.org. ER