DiCamilli Scores 35, but Costa Mesa Loses to Santana

Santee Santana’s pair of aces--Stephanie Thompson and Desiree Weimann--proved enough to beat Costa Mesa, 70-62, Tuesday night in the first round of the Southern California Regional Division III playoffs at Santana.

Costa Mesa sophomore Olivia DiCamilli scored 35 points and had 22 rebounds, but her efforts didn’t stop Santana (23-5) from winning its first state tournament game in three attempts. The Sultans will play the winner of Tuesday’s Lompoc-Lemoore contest in Thursday’s semifinals.

“They’re a real good team,” Costa Mesa Coach Jim Weeks said. “They ran their plays and got the ball to their two good players for open shots. They created a lot of mismatches with good cuts.”

Costa Mesa (20-10) led, 32-31, at the half behind DiCamilli’s 18 points and Rachel Ward’s 10 points. But the Sultans broke the game open in the third quarter, outscoring the Mustangs, 22-11, behind the floor play and 10 points of Weimann, their point guard.

“Their defense did a really good job,” Weeks said. “Give their defense a lot of credit. They did a good job getting through our screens.”

Santana, with Thompson and Weimann leading the way, kept it up its assault in the fourth quarter, taking a 63-50 lead with 3:55 remaining.

Thompson led the Sultans in scoring with 31 points, and Weimann added 25. Santana shot 52.8% from the floor.

“Thompson, for a 5-9 1/2 girl, is pretty tough inside,” said Santana Coach Wade Vickery of his high-scoring forward. “She and Weimann are both pretty smart. They are four-year starters.”

Ward scored 14 points on seven-of-11 shooting. DiCamilli was 14 for 27 from the floor.