GIRLS’ BASKETBALL DIVISION I SEMIFINALS : Mt. Carmel, Santana Advance to Showdown in Final

Minutes after the buzzer had sounded, Mt. Carmel’s Tara Schwerin was still shaking from the generous hugs she received and the emotion she carried.

Tuesday night in a semifinal of the Division I girls’ basketball playoffs, Mt. Carmel defeated Poway, 51-48, at Mira Mesa High.

“This shows how much guts and determination we have,” said Schwerin, whose team defeated a rival Palomar League team that it had lost to in three of four previous meetings this season. “This one was good. They beat us the first three times, but we beat them the last two.”

Schwerin finished with 11 points. The victory advanced Mt. Carmel (21-5) to Friday’s section final at Golden Hall. Mt. Carmel meets Santana, a 57-42 victor over Rancho Buena Vista in Tuesday night’s other semifinal.

Interestingly, neither team had defeated the other by more than six points. This three-point victory for Mt. Carmel was the closest of the five meetings.

“Fifty seems to be the magic,” said Mt. Carmel Coach Peggy Brose, whose Sundevils return to the finals for the first time since their 1988 victory (57-47) over Santana.

With 36 seconds left, and Mt. Carmel ahead, 48-45, Poway’s Dawn Gigstad, who had made five field goals in the second quarter but had managed only two points in the entire second half, raced downcourt and attempted a three-point shot.

But Mt. Carmel’s Vicki de Jesus was in perfect position, grabbed the rebound and was fouled. She hit both free throws, and extended the lead to 50-45.

Christy Fortney (16 points) got one last shot off, from three-point territory at the top of the key with 18 seconds left, pulling Poway (21-5) to 50-48. But Mt. Carmel’s Rachel Velasco was fouled underneath and made the front end of the one-and-one to end the scoring.

Mt. Carmel guards Velasco (13) and de Jesus (14) combined for 27 points. It was, as Brose remembered, the first time her guards have outscored her front line.