St. Monica Academy girls’ basketball dispatched by top seed

Having won the International League championship, the St. Monica Academy girls’ basketball team found itself saddled with a monumental challenge when it began the CIF Southern Section Division V-AA playoffs.

The probability of playing the top seed in the 16-team bracket loomed for the hungry Crusaders, who moved up from Division VI.

That possibility came to fruition when St. Monica met Heritage Christian in a first-round contest Saturday at Robinson Park.

St. Monica handled itself well in the beginning, jumping out to an early lead in the first quarter before ultimately suffering a 75-41 defeat.

“They are no doubt the best team we faced all year” said St. Monica first-year Coach Owen Keenan, who was an assistant on the Crescenta Valley girls’ team that captured the Division I-A championship last season. “We knew coming in that we could play them and they have so many good players.

“We gave it our best shot and we got a lot of things done during the season. There’s no shame losing to the team that’s picked to win the division.”

St. Monica (14-10) jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first quarter by forcing Heritage Christian (21-9) into four turnovers. A layup by Kristina Turicchi completed the run with 6:08 left.

Then Heritage Christian, which received an at-large berth out of the Olympic League before recording a 50-44 wild-card win against Workman, regrouped. The Warriors, who tied for third in league with Whittier Christian, closed out the quarter on a 21-7 run to build a 21-14 lead. A three-point play by Savannah Fauria, who finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks, gave the Warriors a 15-14 lead with 1:34 to go in the first quarter.

St. Monica, which made it to the quarterfinals last season, would never lead again.

The Crusaders, who finished 4-10 outside of league, climbed to within 28-18 on a basket by Molly Hagan with 4:20 remaining in the second quarter. The Warriors then received a three-pointer from Cynthia Fuentes from beyond half-court as time expired in the first half to make it 40-22.

Heritage Christian controlled the pace throughout most of the second half, taking a 50-33 lead into the fourth quarter.

The Warriors received a game-high 27 points and three steals from Amanda Tirado and 17 points, six assists and three steals from Fuentes.

“We just didn’t have the horses to compete against a team like that over 32 minutes,” Keenan said. “They had a lot of players involved and it made it difficult for us to sometimes defend.

“We had a great year and there’s a lot to look forward to heading into next season.”

St. Monica got a team-high 12 points from senior guard Brigit Grimm, nine points and eight rebounds from Hannah Acosta, eight points from Turicchi and seven steals from Hagan.

“We knew there was a chance we could play them,” Grimm said. “We weren’t intimidated going up against them and we tried our best.

“It turned out to be a fun season. We learned a lot under coach Keenan and we were able to win league.”