Southern California Division I Playoffs : Mission Viejo Girls Rout Reseda, 75-56

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.

But even that was no surprise.

Just four days earlier, each team had won its 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 because of a much deeper bench that allowed John Hattrup, 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 eight points in the quarter, point guard Christie Wile six. Stringam scored 17 points in the game, Wile eight.

“There’s no time to prepare or adjust,” Hattrup said. “You do what you do best. In the case here, both teams run. So you run and you hope you score more points than the other team. It’s that simple.”

Mission Viejo’s 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 nine points in the second quarter, in which Mission Viejo outscored Reseda, 22-11.

The outcome was decided midway through the third quarter as Mission Viejo outscored Reseda, 11-1, to take a 55-27 lead with 4:50 left in the quarter. Two Stringam layups and and six points by Amaya led the Mission Viejo attack.

If the play was somewhat predictable, where the basketball would fly next was not. Each team had its problems handling the ball. After three quarters Reseda had 23 turnovers.

“You’ve got to expect something like this,” Hattrup said. “You put your heart and focus everything into winning your (section) championship. Then you’re out here a couple days later. You’re going to have a letdown.”

The Diablos play Edison in the semifinals Thursday night at 7:30 at Huntington Beach High. Edison, Southern Section 4-A champions, received a bye in the first round. Mission Viejo lost to Edison, 51-45, in the final of the Edison-Marina tournament in December.

“I don’t think there will be any problem for my team to get up for Edison,” Hattrup said. “We know a lot about them, and we’ve always wanted another shot at them.”