THE PREPS : Girls’ 3-A Basketball Playoffs : Swain’s Steal Gives Cougars Overtime Win

With 10 seconds to play and the score tied in overtime, Julie Swain stole a pass and raced the length of the court for a layup to give Capistrano Valley High School a 62-60 victory over Katella Wednesday in a Southern Section 3-A second-round girls’ basketball playoff game at Capistrano Valley.

The victory moves the Cougars (20-6) into the quarterfinals, where they will face Schurr on Saturday. Katella, the Empire League champion, ended its season at 17-9. The loss snapped an 11-game winning streak.

“The way the game was going, I thought a great defensive play would win it,” said Stan DeMaggio, Capistrano Valley coach. “Swain made the big play tonight.”

Joni Easterly sent the game into overtime for Katella when she made the front end of a one-and-one with 12 seconds remaining. That tied the score, 56-56, but she missed the second free throw that could have given the Knights a one-point lead.

Staci Johnson gave Katella a 60-58 lead in overtime with two free throws, but Capistrano Valley answered with Shelly Zierhut’s baseline jumper to tie the score with just over a minute to play.

Katella tried to get a pass inside to Easterly with just under 15 seconds to play, but Swain anticipated the pass and stole it and drove for the winning layup.

Capistrano Valley’s Heather Schoeny lead all scores with 23 points, and Zierhut added 14. The Knights were led by Easterly, who had 15 points.

El Toro 66, Alemany 54--Elaine Youngs returned to the El Toro lineup with 35 points, 14 in the fourth quarter, at Alemany. Youngs has not played since she sprained her ankle on Jan. 14. Sylvia Castaneda led Alemany (21-4) with 17 points. El Toro (23-5) Valencia in the quarterfinals Saturday.

Valencia 57, Charter Oak 37--Lauren Rich scored 23 points to lead host Valencia into the quarterfinals. Valencia (17-9) led, 31-16, at halftime. Micah Hagemeister scored 13 points and Kristen McDonald 10 for Valencia.

Palos Verdes 45, Esperanza 43--Heidi Burge scored 23 points, as Palos Verdes rallied in the fourth quarter, then held off host Esperanza (15-13), to advance to the quarterfinals. Burge’s basket with 30 seconds left gave Palos Verdes (21-8) a 44-40 lead. Jamye English hit a three-point shot to pull Esperanza within one with seven seconds left. English had a chance to win the game but missed another three-point attempt at the buzzer.

Brea-Olinda 83, North Torrance 48--Aimee McDaniel scored 32 points to lead No. 1 seeded Brea-Olinda at North Torrance. Susan Tousey had 14 points and Tammy Blackburn 13 for Brea, which will host Los Altos in the quarterfinals Saturday night.