Kennedy Gets Mann-Handled : Point Loma Senior Scores 40 Points to Lead 56-50 Victory

With his team trailing by a point early in the fourth quarter, Point Loma High Coach Lee Trepanier made no secret of where the ball had to go.

“Take it to her, take it to her,” said Trepanier, referring to two-time All-American Terri Mann.

The Pointers took the ball to Mann, and she took it to Kennedy. Mann scored 11 of Point Loma’s 13 fourth-quarter points to erase the deficit and lead the team to a tough 56-50 victory over Kennedy in a semifinal game of the Southern California girls Division I basketball championships at Serra High. The victory was Point Loma’s 58th straight, and it was the 119th in the team’s last 120 games in which Mann has played.

Mann dominated the game by scoring 40 points. She had 25 of Point Loma’s 27 halftime points.

In its drive for a fourth consecutive state title, the Pointers will play Edison for the regional championship Saturday at the Sports Arena. Point Loma, ranked No. 1 in the state by Cal-Hi Sports, faced its first test of the season against No. 13 Kennedy, the City 4-A champion.

Kennedy played without its tallest player, 6-0 Diane DeCree, most of the first half because of foul trouble. DeCree was held to only four points, but Kennedy (23-4) still kept pace with the Pointers (32-0) and took a 50-49 lead with 1:03 remaining.

But Mann could not be stopped.

Point Loma guard Liza Carillo took an inbounds pass and lofted the ball to Mann, who scored underneath and drew a foul from DeCree. Mann made the free throw and Point Loma led, 52-50.

Mann intercepted a pass with 40 seconds left and the Pointers called a timeout. Guard Lois Guillory then hit a 16-footer from the top of the key with 22 seconds left to give Point Loma a 54-50 lead. Kennedy’s final hopes were dashed when Guillory stole the ball and flipped it down court to Mann alone under the basket.

“I was pleased the kids kept their composure,” Trepanier said. “We learned a lot, the kids really grew up.”

Tisa Rush led Kennedy with 20 points and Yolanda Lewis scored 13. The Pointers learned in a hurry that Kennedy was a lot different from any of the teams they faced in San Diego this season.

DeCree was called for an offensive foul 30 seconds into the game, and with 5:53 left in the first quarter she got her second foul when she crashed into Mann trying to take a pass outside the key.

“If the officials are going to allow Mann to shove and push they should at least let my girls get physical,” Kennedy Coach Craig Raub said. “But the officials didn’t beat us, Point Loma did. They’re a good team.”

Kennedy’s tallest player after DeCree is 5-9. With DeCree on the bench, the team tried to double team Mann, but nothing worked.

Point Loma looked as if it were going to pull away in the third quarter. Mann took an offensive rebound and scored underneath with two seconds left in the third quarter to give the Pointers a 43-38 lead.

But Kennedy took advantage of two turnovers by Guillory and two misses by Mann to score six straight points. Rush kept Kennedy in the game during that stretch. She hit five straight from outside 16 feet, and an 18-footer with 5:58 left in the game gave Kennedy its first lead, 44-43, since early in the first quarter.