Peninsula Girls Overpower Morningside

Challenges have been few and far between for the Peninsula High girls’ basketball team this season. If an opponent comes within 10 points of the Panthers, it is considered a moral victory.

With that in mind, you can imagine how Morningside felt Wednesday night after dropping a 72-28 nonleague decision to host Peninsula.

There wasn’t much to feel good about, especially for a program that was once the class of the South Bay but now finds itself rebuilding with a new coach and an inexperienced group of players.

“I thought we’d play them a lot closer,” said Morningside Coach Roderick Tatum, whose team slipped to 6-8. “We came out a little tight and they came out hitting (their shots).

“After playing them and seeing them, they are better than I thought they would be.”

Peninsula (14-0) did nothing to damage its No. 1 national ranking in USA Today. The Panthers, smothering Morningside with a tenacious defense, took a 24-2 lead after the first quarter and extended it to 55-14 late in the third quarter before Coach Wendell Yoshida started to empty his bench. They led by as many as 49 points.

Center Jeffra Gausepohl, a 6-foot-5 senior, led three Peninsula players in double figures with 21 points. Sophomore forward Mimi McKinney had 15 points, and guard Raquel Alotis added 12, including two three-point baskets. Point guard Kristen Mulligan had eight points and a team-high seven assists, and forward Monique Morehouse was the game’s leading rebounder with 11.

Yoshida said the Morningside team Peninsula played Wednesday night was not in the same class as the team his Palos Verdes squad played three competitive games with last season.

“They’re not the same team,” Yoshida said. “But we’re not the same team either. I think we’re a little bit better.”

Aside from having a new coach, Morningside also graduated three starters from last season’s 32-3 team and was dealt a severe blow when Janet Davis, a 6-4 All-Southern Section center, transferred to Lynwood this fall.

“It’s kind of a big drop-off from last year,” Yoshida said of the Lady Monarchs. “I don’t think their younger players are ready for this level yet. It’s hard to fill Janet’s shoes and the other girls’ shoes.”

Junior forward Tina Thompson, who entered the game leading Morningside in scoring by averaging more than 20 points a game, had only three points through three quarters before finishing with 12.

Peninsula should have a tougher challenge Saturday night when it visits Brea-Olinda, which has lost only once this season. A partisan, capacity crowd is expected for the nonleague game.

“I told the girls tonight, ‘We’re just going to have to execute Saturday night. We’re not going to get easy baskets,’ ” Yoshida said. “I expect to play a team that is well-coached and not going to beat itself.”

It will be the first time Yoshida has taken a team to Brea-Olinda.

“I don’t think they’ve lost a lot on their home court,” he said. “It’s going to be a loud, hostile environment. But I think we’ll be ready.”