Edison Outmanned by Terri and Team in Point Loma Win

Dave White, Edison High School coach, thought he had a solid game plan against All-American Terri Mann and Point Loma in Saturday’s Southern California Division I girls’ regional final in the Los Angeles Sports Arena.

That was his first mistake.

White and his Edison players underestimated the rest of the Pointers as Point Loma won its fourth Southern regional title with a 56-45 victory over the Chargers.

The Pointers (33-0) have won the Division I title three straight years and the Division II championship four years ago.

Point Loma will meet Sacramento Grant High for the Division I state title Saturday at Oakland in a rematch of last season’s finale.

Edison, the Southern Section 4-A champion, finished 31-2.

Before the game, White had said that Point Loma could be beaten if Mann, one of the country’s best high school players, did not have a strong game.

He even had one of his male assistants play the role of Mann during practice last week.

But Edison was not prepared for the rest of the Pointers, who more than compensated for the Chargers’ tough defense of Mann.

“Whenever Terri is out of the game, (the other players) know they have a job to do and buckle down well,” said Lee Trepanier, Point Loma coach.

The Pointers took a 13-4 lead late in the first period after guard Monica Filer scored six straight points. Mann, who also had six, began handing over the inside shooting duties to Filer and Liza Carrillo.

Carrillo had 17 points, 13 in the second half, and 8 rebounds. Mann, who was held to seven points in the second half, finished with 19 points and 18 rebounds.

“When people say that I’m the whole team, our team tries to go out and show that I’m not the whole team,” said Mann, whose point total was 19 below her average. “When people say I’m the whole team, I just look at them . . . and walk away.”

Said Trepanier: “I told (Carrillo) to become more involved for this game.”

While Carrillo became the dominant inside player, Mann assumed her duty of bringing the ball up court in the second half. Several times, Mann would launch a towering pass half a court’s length to find Carrillo open under the basket.

“She throws that baseball pass 90 feet,” White said. “We got burned on that a few times.”

Said Trepanier: “In the second half, as soon as we got the rebound, we looked down court right away. We got a couple of cheap baskets that way.”

In the opening seconds, Point Loma couldn’t get any kind of shot, missing its first six shots, including four by Mann.

But by the end of the first half, Point Loma was ahead, 32-24.

Edison did not fold, however, as Denise Ogburn (who led Edison with 17 points) made two baskets and Kristi Smith scored inside, cutting the Pointers’ lead to 34-30 early in the third quarter. But Edison, using a full-court press in the second half, couldn’t sustain its momentum, allowing Point Loma to score five straight points.

“When it was 34-30, I felt good, I thought we were making our charge,” White said. “But (Mann) got big-time rebounds. . . . She hovers above the rim. I felt she was too much for us tonight.”

Edison, which effectively kept the ball away from Mann, did not shoot well, making only 31.7% (20 of 63) from the field.

But in the end, Mann still caused Edison fits.

“She is just better than I thought. You can’t practice for her,” White said.