DIVISION III-A GIRLS : Costa Mesa Deflates Rancho Alamitos, Wins Section Title

The words spilled out of Lisa McNamee’s mouth almost as fast as her mind could string together her thoughts.

Yes, she was concerned about Rancho Alamitos’ full-court press and its three-point threat. No, she didn’t relax until the final buzzer sounded. Yes, this is as satisfying, only in a different way, as the NCAA women’s basketball title she was a part of at Stanford in 1992.

And as for Olivia DiCamilli . . .

“No, I don’t know where Olivia is,” McNamee said.

Only then did Costa Mesa’s McNamee, coach of the just-crowned Division III-A Southern Section girls’ basketball champions, pause to take a well-deserved breath.

After all, Costa Mesa had just let the air out of defending champion Rancho Alamitos in a 72-55 victory at Loyola Marymount’s Gersten Pavilion Saturday morning, a triumph that vindicated the Mustangs’ one-point overtime loss to the Vaqueros in the semifinals a year ago.

But this postseason rivalry goes back further. In 1990, Costa Mesa defeated Rancho Alamitos, 51-49, for the 3-A title, when six members of the Mustangs’ current team were freshmen.

This one, they’ll tell you, is much sweeter.

“There’s no comparison,” said DiCamilli, who scored a game-high 27 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for the top-seeded Mustangs (27-4). “When we first won, I didn’t know what was happening. I didn’t know what it all meant. This was so much more important. I’ve matured a lot. This team has matured a lot. It’s a great feeling.”

Feeling empty were the Vaqueros (24-5), who started at a slug’s pace and never adjusted to anything Costa Mesa threw at them.

“We didn’t come out and play well,” Rancho Alamitos Coach Bob Becker said. “I don’t know how to explain it.”

What Becker couldn’t put into words was crystal clear on paper. En route to a 35-14 halftime deficit, Rancho Alamitos shot a bleak four of 25 from the field.

“Horrendous,” Becker said. “The difference was in the shooting. Everything just kept falling out of the rim.”

Rancho Alamitos improved its first-half shooting statistics after intermission, but nothing short of a complete turnaround could have helped the Garden Grove League champion keep pace with Costa Mesa, which was 13 of 26 in the first half and 10 of 27 in the second.

“We may have tried too hard,” Rancho Alamitos’ Timerie James said. She scored 15 points and pulled down 13 rebounds, and teammate Akikah Rogers had 23 points and 15 rebounds.

Costa Mesa’s largest lead was 25 points late in the third quarter, but the Mustangs led by as much as 22 in the second quarter. Rancho Alamitos went on a 7-0 run early in the fourth to pull to 56-42, but it was the closest the Vaqueros would come.

As much damage as DiCamilli did, she wasn’t the player singled out when Becker explained why his team fell short.

“It wasn’t just DiCamilli,” he said. “When you talk about Costa Mesa, everyone wants to write about DiCamilli. But Heather Robinson is one of their most underrated players. It was Robinson who was hurting us on the boards.”

Robinson’s 16-point, six-rebound output was a far cry from her performance of a year ago, when she turned the ball over 21 times.

“I do have a confidence problem,” she said. “Today I just shot with more confidence.”

Teammate Neiar Kabua was confident enough to add 15 points and four rebounds for Costa Mesa.

So the Mustangs can breath easily, but only until Tuesday, when the second half of the postseason--the Southern California Regionals--gets under way. Certainly not content to rest on their laurels, the Mustangs believe the road to respectability begins now.

“Everyone expected us to win CIF,” Robinson said. “But I don’t think anyone expects us to win state.”

Said DiCamilli: “This is great, but we’re not done. We’re still improving. We still have a lot to prove.”

Just let the Mustangs catch their breath.