DIVISION II GIRLS’ BASKETBALL : Carlsbad Doesn’t Fall Short This Time, Tops UC

The memory of last year’s haunting loss crept into the Sports Arena about the same time the Carlsbad girls’ basketball team arrived for the San Diego Section Division II championship Saturday afternoon.

It took the Lancers until the second half to shake it off, but when they did, it signaled the end of University City’s run for the title.

Carlsbad rebounded from its tentative first half to grab a 53-43 victory over UC and the divisional crown, which had eluded the Lancers last year in the championship loss to El Cajon Valley.

Before the game Carlsbad Coach John Duperville said his team would approach this game like any other. But the apprehension that followed the Lancers onto the court early in the game was hardly typical of their 22-2 record and their top seeding.

“We still had a mental block from last year,” said junior forward Vanessa Nygaard, who paraded through the arena with the net around her neck after the game. Not only last year, try last week. Carlsbad met El Cajon in a tough semifinal four days ago that the Lancers won in overtime.

“We still might have been a little tight from that game,” Duperville said.

Seniors Charlene Legaux and Shanda Edwards and junior Jennie Gross joined forces and scored 17 points to give University City (24-4) a 17-10 lead after one quarter. Carlsbad started to unwind during the second quarter, but the Centurions hung in and led at the half, 26-23.

“We had been played up so much, it was hard to get out there and play well at first,” said Nygaard. “We didn’t play good until the second half.”

Duperville was worried up to that point, but his chat with the team at the break quelled his fears.

“I could see they were ready to play,” he said. “Their legs were loose, they were ready to do what was expected of them. I knew once we started playing our game, (UC) wouldn’t be able to beat us in our game.”

Even the Centurions fully expected the resurgence.

“That was as fine as first half as we could expect to play,” said UC Coach Steve Vukojevich. “We knew they could come back. They weren’t seeded No. 1 for nothing.”

The Lancers didn’t get their offense in gear much as they did their defense. Carlsbad outscored UC 13-5 in the third quarter for a 36-31 lead.

Carlsbad switched from a 2-1-2 first-half defense to a 3-2 in the second half to keep UC’s outside shooters in check.

“I think that’s what helped bring us back in,” said Nygaard, who led her team with 16 points, 11 rebounds, seven steals and one assist.

The Centurions pulled to 42-39 with 4:04 remaining, but Edwards’ shot from three-point range fell short. Then Sarah Pavich hit a field goal, and Renee Demirdjian scored five consecutive points for the 49-39 Lancer lead.

Still, Carlsbad couldn’t relax. Not yet. “We had a lead against El Cajon and they came back. . . . I was working on feeling not confidant,” Nygaard said.

Demirdjian, a junior forward, finished with 13 points, eight rebounds, four blocks, five steals and nine assists. Holly Gerdes, who sat out part of the third quarter and the beginning of the fourth because of foul trouble, scored 10 points.