4-A Girls’ Basketball Playoffs : Marina Rallies From 13 Behind

Marina High School rallied from a 13-point third-quarter deficit to beat Muir, 51-50, in the opening round of the Southern Section 4-A girls’ basketball playoffs Saturday at Marina.

Marina (21-5) advances to play Lakewood (19-6) in the second round Wednesday. Muir ends its season 17-6.

Muir held a 30-17 advantage with 6:06 left in the third quarter, but Marina chipped away at the lead until Dee Dee Stigar made a jump shot in the lane, giving Marina a 38-37 lead with 5 minutes to play.

Marina’s Kathy Stuppy broke a 45-45 tie with two free throws with 1:21 left. Dawn Charroin’s basket with 51 seconds left extended the lead to 49-45. But Muir’s Holly Jones made a follow shot to cut the lead to two with 32 seconds left.

Stigar added two free throws with 14 seconds to go. The points proved to be the winning margin as Muir’s Rose Jong hit a three-point basket at the buzzer.

Stigar, a senior guard, had a team-high 15 points for the Vikings. Dawn, a senior center, added 14 points, and Liberty Brewster, a senior forward, scored 10.

Lisa Salsman, Muir’s junior center, had a game-high 21 points, and Tasha Bradley, a senior forward, added 14.

Fountain Valley 66, Long Beach Poly 59--Stacey Hisaka and Kami Bigler, junior guards, scored 20 and 19 points, respectively, for host Fountain Valley (17-10). Senior Melayne Green had 13 for Fountain Valley, which won the Sunset League. Long Beach Poly finishes 21-7.

Mater Dei 52, Alta Loma 33--Cori Martin, a junior, scored 15 points to lead host Mater Dei. Mater Dei (20-6) plays Lynwood, a 70-35 winner over Centennial, in a second-round game Wednesday. Alta Loma finishes 10-11.