3-A : Mission Viejo Triumphs in 2 Overtimes

Christie Wile connected on a pair of free throws with one minute remaining in the second overtime Saturday night to lift Mission Viejo High School to a 58-55 victory over Fontana in a girls’ Southern Section 3-A quarterfinal game at Mission Viejo.

The Diablos (26-2), the fourth-seeded team in 3-A, had been knocked out of the quarterfinals last season by eventual champion Louisville. They will face Louisville, a 54-39 winner over Palos Verdes, in the semifinals.

“I’m happy but very tired,” said Diablo Coach John Hattrup. “We hung in there when it counted, and I told the girls not to be afraid to make things happen.”

Down the stretch, Diablo guard Tricia Stringham made the difference.

Stringham, who was playing with four personal fouls the entire second half, scored 10 of her team-high 16 points in the fourth period and overtime. The Diablos fought back from a five-point deficit with a little more than five minutes remaining in regulation.

For unseeded Fontana (24-3), the Citrus Belt League champion, guard Kristen Bruich, the game’s leading scorer with 17 points, drove the lane with two seconds remaining in regulation and tied the game at 44-44.

With 10 seconds left in the first overtime, and with Fontana down by one point at 52-51, Bruich made only the front end of a one and one to tie the score at 52-52 and send the game into a second overtime.

In other 3-A quarterfinal games:

Katella 62, Alemany 50--Serenda Valdez scored 22 points and Joni Easterly 20 to lead the Knights at Alemany. Katella (26-2) will play Brea-Olinda in the semifinals. Jennifer Kroll led Alemany (22-6) with 19 points.

Brea-Olinda 70, J.W. North (Riverside) 42--Susan Tousey scored 20 points and Kristen McPhee had 18 as the Wildcats (23-4) won easily at Riverside. Carrie Egan added 12 points. Brea, the No. 2 seeded team, will play No. 3 seeded Katella Tuesday in the semifinals.