STATE BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT : Mission Viejo Runs Faster and Further Than Reseda in 75-56 Victory

The Mission Viejo High School girls basketball team’s 75-56 victory over Reseda in the first round of the Southern California Division I playoffs offered little in the way of surprises.

And even that was no surprise.

Just four days earlier, each team had won its respective section championship--Reseda the City 3-A, Mission Viejo the Southern Section 3-A--in close, emotionally draining games.

With little time to prepare or re-energize, the game plans were basic and the play sometimes sloppy.

Each team ran, something each has done all season.

Reseda guard Dana Jones scored a team-high 22 points, the majority coming on drives.

But the fact was, Mission Viejo ran better. The Diablos (29-2) were favored to win the game because of a much deeper bench that allowed John Hattrup, the Mission Viejo coach, to keep fresh players on the floor.

Mission Viejo, using a full-court, trapping defense, scored 16 first-half points directly off steals. The Diablos forced nine Reseda turnovers to build a 22-14 lead by the end of the first quarter. Guard Tricia Stringam had 8 points in the quarter, and point guard Christie Wile had 6. Stringam scored 17 points in the game, and Wile had 8.

The Mission Viejo lead grew to 44-25 by the end of the first half, as the Diablos ran a little less and started to force the ball inside to center Colleen Amaya. Amaya, who scored a game-high 27 points, had 9 points in the second quarter, and Mission Viejo outscored Reseda 22-11.