Sports DIGEST : One Mohr Attempt at a Crown for Former La Reina Standout

In her high school basketball career Margaret Mohr did just about everything except win the big one.

She was a four-time all-league selection on La Reina High teams that won four consecutive Tri-Valley League championships. She was a three-time all-Southern Section choice and made the all-tournament team in every high school tourney she played in.

But La Reina, a parochial high school in Thousand Oaks, never won a Southern Section championship.

Tonight, Mohr will have another chance to help a team move closer to a title game.

Mohr, a 1983 graduate of La Reina, now plays for Cal State Long Beach, and the third-ranked 49ers meet USC at Pauley Pavilion at 8:30 tonight in the semifinals of the NCAA Division 1 West Regional.

If Long Beach beats the defending national champion Lady Trojans, the 49ers will play either UCLA or Georgia in the West Regional final Saturday at 3 p.m.

The winner of the regional advances to the Final Four of the national championship tournament. Semifinal games will be played March 29 at the University of Texas at Austin, with the championship game March 31 at the same site.

Mohr, a 5-8 guard, has averaged four points and two rebounds in 16 minutes of playing time per game this season. She was a starter on occasion this season, but her role in the playoffs will be that of a reserve.

“We go fairly deep into our bench and Margaret will be one of the first subs in the game,” said Long Beach Coach Joan Bonvicini. “She’s not a flashy player, but she’s smart and she doesn’t seem to let pressure bother her, which will make her valuable in the playoffs.”

Last season, Mohr played a key role in Long Beach’s first-round playoff win over San Diego State, hitting eight consecutive free throws in overtime.

In one of her top performances this season, she made four free throws in the last 20 seconds of Long Beach’s 81-76 win over highly regarded Louisiana Tech.

Along with her exploits on the basketball court, she was an all-star softball player, while also lettering twice in volleyball and cross country.

Mohr was selected as the nation’s top Catholic high school basketball player her senior season after averaging 19.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 4.5 steals per game.

Although they are matched against the defending national champions, the 49ers will be a slight favorite against USC based on their Western Collegiate Athletic Assn. championship.