SOUTH COAST LEAGUE GIRLS’ BASKETBALL : Capistrano Valley Silences Mater Dei’s Fans With Victory

Capistrano Valley withstood a determined Mater Dei attack and a vociferous Monarch home crowd and kept its South Coast League record unblemished with a 40-37 girls’ basketball victory Tuesday night.

“That was a tough environment to play in,” Capistrano Valley Coach Harlan Peet said. “It’d be nice if we had a crowd like this at our games.”

The Cougars (20-3, 9-0 in league) led by nine with just over five minutes left in the second quarter, but Mater Dei (15-7, 5-4) went on an 8-0 run while pounding Capistrano Valley on the boards. The Monarch out-rebounded the Cougars, 8-2, during the two-minute span. The Cougars led, 24-21, at the half.

Mater Dei held Capistrano Valley scoreless for almost half the third quarter, taking a 25-24 lead, then did not let the Cougars get more than four points ahead for the rest of the game.

But four third-quarter steals by the Cougars and key baskets by Angie White kept Capistrano Valley from wilting.

“The difference is that Angie White can control a game,” Mater Dei Coach Brenda Yecke said. “We could be ahead, but nine times out of 10 she came down and hit the clutch shot. She’s just a great player.”

White, a senior guard, scored a game-high 22 points--on an off night. She made only eight of 25 shots from the field. Up 38-37 with 13 seconds left in the game, White sank both ends of a one-and-one to clinch the victory. Mater Dei’s Erin Collins took her first shot of the game--a three-pointer--and missed as time expired.

In another league game:

San Clemente 74, El Toro 54--Guard Michelle MacIntyre had 24 points, seven rebounds and six assists and broke the single-season scoring record for San Clemente (14-9, 6-3). MacIntyre, a junior, has 404 points this season, breaking Mary Mulligan’s record of 402, set in 1981. Mulligan is now San Clemente’s coach. Dana Netherby added 12 points for the Tritons, who are in second place in league. Kelly Bruce led El Toro (0-9) with 15 points.