Morningside Falls Short in Bid to Gain State Championship Berth

For the first time in the school’s history, Garden Grove Rancho Alamitos High is in the state championships. The girls’ team will face Brea Saturday night at the Los Angeles Sports Arena, after a riveting 86-78 victory over Inglewood Morningside.

The Vaqueros (23-2) fell behind, 16-9, in the first quarter, and with 3:42 left in the second, were looking at an 11-point deficit, 32-21. But three steals and five layups later, Rancho Alamitos had closed the gap to one, holding Morningside scoreless for almost three minutes.

But Coach Bob Becker said he hadn’t needed to motivate his team, but just switched his defense to a triangle-and-two.

“They know they deserve to be here,” he said. “They had me scared at the beginning--I think we were intimidated.”

The defense allowed Rancho Alamitos to contain Morningside forward Tina Thompson and guard Kameisha Prewitt, holding Prewitt to only six second-half points. And while Thompson pulled down 19 rebounds, that total was short of her season-high 29.

Morningside (18-11) usually unnerves its opponents early on. But Rancho Alamitos refused to buckle under, instead giving the Monarchs a dose of their own medicine. And by the game’s end, four Morningside players were in foul trouble.

Point guard Shannon James contributed eight steals to Rancho Alamitos’ 24, and she hit five three-pointers. James and center Anita Stecker led the Vaqueros with 21 points each.

Leading by as much as 12 in the fourth quarter, Rancho Alamitos allowed Morningside to tie, 78-78, with 2:38 left in the game but then went on an eight-point run and eliminated the Monarchs’ chances for a comeback.