Peninsula, Morningside Win; Bishop Montgomery Loses : II-A Division: After taking a 36-32 lead, the Knights’ shooting goes cold. Alemany takes advantage for 56-51 victory.

For the past four years, the Alemany High girls’ basketball team has turned to point guard Rachel Corelli for quick relief.

And playing Mission League rival Bishop Montgomery in the Southern Section II-A Division final Saturday, the Indians went to that prescription one more time and came away with a 56-51 victory at the UC Irvine Bren Center.

Corelli scored 14 of her game-high 18 points in the second half and also sparked Alemany (26-4) defensively with three steals.

The victory was the Indians’ second in three meetings with Bishop Montgomery this season.

“Rachel had a great game,” Alemany Coach Melissa Melton said. “Today, she stepped it up and it seemed like she couldn’t do anything wrong.”

But one coach’s relief can be another’s problem.

“Rachel Corelli is a headache,” Bishop Montgomery Coach Cedric Hurt said. “She is a pain. With her quickness, she gives you trouble.”

Corelli said she was just following orders. “Coach Melton always says we have to play the toughest in the third quarter and that’s what she told us again during her halftime speech,” she said. “They were leaving me open for shots and I took them.”

In a game characterized by aggressive defense from both sides, all it took was one big run to tilt the balance in Alemany’s favor.

The lead changed hands nine times and neither squad could build more than a four-point advantage through the first two-and-a-half quarters. But when Mirlen Martinez scored on a drive with two minutes 45 seconds left in the third quarter to give Bishop Montgomery (24-7) a 36-32 lead, the Knights seemed on the verge of taking control.

But Alemany went on a 14-0 run that began when guard Samantha Rigley made a three-point shot. Corelli then out-hustled two Knight players for a steal and a short jump shot to give the Indians the lead, 37-36, with 1:51 left in the quarter. Before the quarter was over, Alemany had taken a 46-36 edge and Bishop Montgomery never got closer than five points thereafter.

Rigley, a freshman, had eight of her 13 points and two assists off the fast break during that span. She finished with 12 rebounds and seven assists.

Another Alemany freshman, forward Kelly McKay, added 11 points and five assists. Martinez led Bishop Montgomery with 17 points, but 10 came in the first quarter.

“I think the difference was (the Knights) were out of gas in the third quarter,” Melton said. “When Rachel ran down that ball, it gave us momentum.”

Hurt credited Alemany’s defense with frustrating his players in the second half.

“I think we were kind of confused with what offense we were in,” Hurt said.

Alemany held Bishop Montgomery to 35.5% shooting from the field (22 of 62). The Indians shot 54.2% (13 of 24) in the final two quarters to finish at 42.3% (22 of 52) for the game.