PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE : DiCamilli, Costa Mesa Top Estancia

Estancia girls’ basketball Coach Russ Taff had one consoling thought in the wake of a 58-31 blowout at the hands of fourth-ranked Costa Mesa Thursday night at Estancia.

Next season he won’t have to worry about Olivia DiCamilli and her escapades.

In a showdown between the Pacific Coast League’s first- and second-place teams, it was Costa Mesa with the show and Estancia the down, primarily because of DiCamilli. The senior forward scored 28 points had a team-high six rebounds, all in the second half, and gave Estancia (11-9, 4-2) headaches all night.

“They’re very well coached, they have good athletes, and Olivia’s a great player,” Taff said. “She’s so strong. She just worked her way inside all night,” where she scored 10 of her 11 field goals.

Another source of misery for Estancia was poor free-throw shooting, of which the Eagles were 17-of-39, including a six-of-13 run in the second quarter.

“You can’t miss 22 shots against one of the best teams in the county,” Taff said.

You can’t score one field goal in two quarters and expect to make up a 40-21 deficit after three quarters in the fourth, either. After the Mustangs jumped to a 14-10 lead in the first period, they held Estancia to six points in the second and five in the third. Laura Czingula’s 12 points led the host team. Both of the Eagles’ league losses to Costa Mesa (19-4, 6-0) have been equally lopsided, which Taff said isn’t so much a reflection of a weak Estancia team as it is a strong Costa Mesa one.

“I would be surprised if they lose the rest of the season,” he said.

Although Costa Mesa has given Estancia a lesson in each outing, DiCamilli wasn’t worried about a letdown, in spite of what Coach Lisa McNamee said was a poor first half, in which the Mustangs scored well below their 20-points-per-quarter average.

“This is such a huge rivalry, you don’t expect a blowout against Estancia,” she said. “You don’t think much about getting overconfident.”

With its clear dominance of the league, Costa Mesa has taken measures to ensure it will be ready for playoffs. During the week, the Mustangs practice against area college players to stay tough.

“We’re used to playing high-caliber players,” DiCamilli said. “That keeps us going.”