TONIGHT’S SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PREP BASKETBALL SEMIFINALS : GIRLS : Division III

Costa Mesa vs. San Diego University

SITE--Costa Mesa High School, 7:30 p.m.

RECORDS--Costa Mesa (28-4), San Diego University (17-9).

UNIVERSITY--Freshman point guard Alissa Murphy (5-9) averages only 11 points a game, but it’s her floor leadership that helped the Dons score an upset victory over Santee Santana for the San Diego Section Division III title. It was University’s first section title since 1989, under first-year Coach Sean Doyle. Senior forward Susanne Robertson (5-11) isn’t much of a scoring threat (6.6 average), but her 11 rebounds a game have been instrumental to University’s success. Sophomore guard Leslie Falante (5-9)--one of three Falante sisters on the roster--had 16 points Tuesday in her team’s 61-52 victory over Lemoore, but her forte is rebounding.

COSTA MESA--After a 17-point victory in the Division III-A Southern Section championship, the Mustangs’ Southern California playoff opener didn’t quite go as well, when they had to make up a 47-35 fourth-quarter deficit against Mission Hills Alemany. Costa Mesa pulled it off because of workhorse Olivia DiCamilli’s last-minute heroics, where the senior guard scored 15 of her game-high 28 points in the fourth quarter. Junior Heather Robinson and seniors Neiar Kabua and April Van Sweden scored in double figures in one or both of Costa Mesa’s last two games.

KEY TO THE GAME--Costa Mesa has a slight height advantage, which it must use to stop University’s rebounding, the Dons’ strongest weapon. At the section final, Costa Mesa Coach Lisa McNamee said her team is gradually improving. The Mustangs weren’t demonstratively better against Alemany, but a quick start against University could start the meter ticking again.

CONSENSUS--Third-seeded University has won seven in a row, but its nine losses are better than any other team in the division and more than the top two seeded teams combined, and they have generally come against lesser competition. The Dons’ biggest loss of the season came at the hands of Mater Dei, the No. 3 team from the South Coast League.