SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REGIONAL BASKETBALL FINALS : Lemoore Presses Advantage in Second Half to Finish Off Ramona, 50-35

For 16 minutes Saturday, the Ramona High School girls’ basketball team looked as if it wanted to confirm reservations for the state championship in Oakland.

Then came the second half.

Lemoore outrebounded, outhustled and outscored Ramona in the third and fourth quarters to win the Southern California Regional Division III title, 50-35, in the Los Angeles Sports Arena.

Ahead by just one, 23-22, at halftime, the Tigers outscored Ramona by 13-3 in a devastating third quarter and by 14-10 to seal things in the fourth.

“It seemed like we were flat-footed in the second half,” said Ramona Coach Joe Bess, whose team finished 19-8. “Maybe we were tired. It was a bigger court than we see at home.”

A relentless Lemoore full-court press was the root of some of Ramona’s problems. Though Lemoore (21-8) actually had one more turnover than Ramona, 20-19, the press caused problems.

“With their quickness, they took so much time off the clock (with the press) that we didn’t have a whole lot of time to set up on offense,” Bess said. “We made too many passes from side to side instead of going for the hoop.”

And because of the 30-second clock and Lemoore’s lack of size (none of its players was taller than 5-feet 11-inches; three Ramona starters were taller than 6 feet), that’s exactly what Lemoore planned to do.

“We are always outsized, so we try to compensate by the press,” said Karen Wood, Lemoore’s coach. “We don’t work hard for steals because then you get into foul trouble, but we try to take some time off the clock so they are impatient offensively and don’t get good shots.”

Not only did the Tigers hold Ramona to 23.2% shooting (13 of 56), they also outrebounded Ramona, 52-42.

Ramona was cold early in the game, falling behind by 6-0 and 11-2. But junior forward Kris Miller hit three consecutive shots to bring the Bulldogs to within 11-8. At the end of the quarter, Lemoore was ahead, 15-9.

Ramona was able to piece its game together long enough to dominate the second quarter. Nine unanswered points--two baskets by Miller, two more by Meleea Van Patton and a free throw by Gina Tamburrino --gave the Bulldogs an 18-15 lead.

Marie Grayson then came off the bench to score eight points and grab four rebounds as Lemoore took the halftime lead.

“I think we were our own worst enemy in the second quarter,” Wood said. “We made so many mental errors. We talked about that at halftime.”

Said Bess: “At halftime, the kids felt confident. We thought we’d take it to them in the second half.”

Instead, it was the other way around. Lemoore scored six consecutive points, and Ramona failed to score until Tamburrino’s free throw with 4:55 left in the third quarter. In all, the Bulldogs managed just three third-quarter points: the free throw and a layup by Tamburrino.

Tamburrino--who played the entire game with what Bess thinks is a broken or dislocated finger on her left hand (she’s right-handed)--had 12 points. Miller added 12 points and 8 rebounds.

Van Patton, who had 23 points in Ramona’s semifinal victory Wednesday against Highland, was held to 4 points.

Rachel Rossiter led Lemoore, which had eight players score, with 13 points.