SOUTHERN SECTION BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS : 2-AA GIRLS : Four-Minute Run Enough to Do In Santa Margarita

After stumbling and bumbling its way through three quarters Saturday, Santa Ynez High School finally showed the stuff that No. 1-seeded teams are made of. It was a brief flash, to be sure, but it was enough to advance the Pirates to the championship game of the 2-AA girls’ playoffs.

In a four-minute span at the start of the fourth quarter, Santa Ynez subdued Santa Margarita and then coasted to a 54-43 victory at Saddleback College.

“I don’t know what it was tonight, but our timing was off,” Santa Ynez Coach Jo Ann Reck said. “I’m just glad we were able to shake it off in the fourth quarter.”

The Pirates (21-3) went on a 12-0 run at the start of the fourth quarter to break a 28-28 tie. Jennifer DeMatteo and Amy Kisling each scored six points during the stretch.

But it was defense that turned the game around. After watching Santa Margarita’s Kristen Mulligan carve up the Pirates’ 2-3 zone through three quarters, Reck switched to a box-and-one.

Mulligan came into the game averaging 24 points and had scored 32 in the Eagles’ quarterfinal victory over Beaumont Wednesday. But reserve guard Denicia Dommeyer held Mulligan scoreless, and her teammates didn’t respond with any points of their own for the first 3:46 of the fourth quarter.

“I thought we were going to win because they were staying in that 2-3 zone,” Santa Margarita Coach Jeff Seckman said. “There’s no way that can stop Kristen. But I have to give their coach credit. She realized how to stop us.”

Mulligan, a sophomore, finished with 26 points, most of which came after the game had been decided.

“I didn’t think we would need a gimmick defense to stop her,” Reck said. “But she’s a lot better than I thought. I told Dommeyer to stop her. Brilliant coaching, huh?”

The Eagles (20-7), who have only one player taller than 5-foot-7, packed their defense in tight to take away the Pirates’ inside game. The ploy worked well for three quarters, but DeMatteo (18 points) sank two three-point field goals at the start of the fourth quarter to give Santa Ynez a 34-28 lead.

DeMatteo’s shooting loosened up Santa Margarita’s defense. Kisling (19 points) took advantage and scored nine points in the fourth quarter.