Division I Girls : Mira Mesa Shoots 10% in Loss to Point Loma

The story line for Saturday’s sloppy San Diego Section Division I girls’ basketball championship--or, more appropriately, the Betty Crocker Game of the Day (41 turnovers were produced)--was set by halftime.

And by game’s end, the theme was clear.

Mira Mesa made just three field goals. Three.

Not surprisingly, Point Loma won the title, 44-25, at the Sports Arena.

What was surprising was that Mira Mesa, after making just one first-half field goal, trailed by just four at halftime, 16-12. And for all intents and purposes, the Marauders were in the game until the end of the third quarter.

But the final numbers were haunting: Mira Mesa was three of 30 from the field (10%). The Marauders made more three-point attempts (two) than two-point attempts (one). And pestered by a tight Point Loma man-to-man defense throughout, they turned the ball over 25 times.

“It was an ugly, ugly game, but it was a great defensive game for us,” Point Loma Coach Lee Trepanier said. “They had no man-to-man offense, which was really too bad because they’re a better team than that.”

Indeed, when unguarded, Mira Mesa shot very well: 17 of 22 from the free throw line (77%). That’s why the Marauders were able to hang with Point Loma as long as they did. Tweet Castillo made a three-point shot and a two-pointer, and Carrie Carambas added another three-pointer. Other than that, it was all free throws.

Mira Mesa Coach Gary Blevins was at a loss to explain.

“We took a lot of shots, they just wouldn’t fall for us,” he said. “Point Loma was very aggressive, so we shot a lot of free throws. But the other shots just rolled off the rim for us.”

Point Loma wasn’t all that much better. The Pointers were 17 of 54 (32%) from the field and seven of 15 (47%) from the free throw line.

But Point Loma had Monica Filer, a slick 5-foot-6 point guard, to direct the offense and Tyeast Brown, an aggressive 6-0 center, to control the inside. Filer was the game’s leading scorer with 20 points, and Brown grabbed 21 rebounds to go with 10 points.

“I was real nervous,” Filer said. “I didn’t settle down until halfway through the first quarter.”

Chris Drumm added 10 points for Point Loma.