DIVISION III GIRLS’ PLAYOFFS : Stoping Lompoc Too Tall of an Order for Santana

It had been two years since Santana’s Stephanie Thompson had been singled out to guard a player who stood a good seven inches taller then her own 5-foot-10 frame.

Thursday night in a Southern California Regional Division III semifinal, she was bitterly reminded.

Visiting Lompoc (25-3) turned back Santana, 65-58, after the Sultan’s most successful season to date ended with lots of tears, and the haunting image of 6-5 Nicki Manzo batting away Santana’s shots like annoying flies.

Thompson, a Times’ All-County selection, is finished for the year, but has the satisfaction of ending her high school career outscoring Rice-bound Manzo, one of the top players in the West.

“It’s not the loss (that hurts), it’s the end,” said Thompson, who scored 31 points to Manzo’s 26.