PREP BASKETBALL STATE TOURNAMENT : After Shaky Early Season, Costa Mesa Found Solid Path to State

There was a time this season when the Costa Mesa girls’ basketball team was mediocre.

They had a 3-4 record and a bad attitude.

They were hapless and bumbling.

And Heather Robinson said what was exactly on her teammates’ minds after losing to Gahr in the Brea-Olinda Ladycat Classic.

“We heard you were a good coach,” Robinson said to Lisa McNamee, “and you would coach us out of a jam.”

McNamee’s jaw dropped. Then she spoke her mind.

“Once you get on the court, you’re responsible for executing what you have learned,” she said. “I only can only prepare you for the game.”

It was a long heart-to-heart talk that afternoon between first-year coach and players. It was the last time Costa Mesa lost.

It was 26 games ago.

The Mustangs leave at noon today for Oakland, where they will play Sacramento St. Francis at 5 p.m. Saturday for the Girls’ Division III State Championship.

It’s a long way from 3-4.

“We literally ran into each other at the Brea tournament,” McNamee recalled. “I told them, ‘You have to stop your old ways and trust me and the staff, do what we tell you to do and if it doesn’t work, it will be our fault.’ ”

It was a meeting that cleared the air. It was not only a turning point in the Mustangs’ season but a starting-over point.

“She really wanted us to move the ball and get a lot of motion,” said Olivia DiCamilli, a senior forward averaging 23.6 points. “She was really into the team concept--pass the ball around a lot and get everyone into the offense.”

It was in stark contrast to their style under former coach Jim Weeks, who still directed Costa Mesa to the Southern Section III-A final. DiCamilli called the offense during her junior season “a free-for-all,” in which players took it upon themselves to score. It bred selfishness, big egos and bad feelings.

McNamee understands the importance of team concept. She was an assistant at Stanford when the Cardinal won the NCAA women’s championship in 1992. And she had coached successfully at Estancia six years before that.

The Mustangs followed that post-Gahr meeting by winning for the first time its Costa Mesa Winter Classic. Then came the Pacific Coast League schedule, which was soft enough to give the Mustangs time to jell and remain unbeaten.

The final game of the regular season represented the team’s second turning point. McNamee was serving a one-game suspension while her players put the finishing touches on the PCL title.

McNamee served the suspension for using outside players to participate in scrimmages with her team. When the game ended, McNamee entered the gym, helped cut down the nets and went off to party. It was there McNamee saw what she had been looking for all season.

“I saw it in their eyes--they were ready to get after it,” McNamee said. “They had had enough, and them being a good team had nothing to do with those outside people coming in to practice twice against them.”

The performance--and attitude--was a self-defiant in-your-face to those who were out to get the Mustang program.

“That night was Senior Night and we were so intense,” DiCamilli said. “It was the first game where I felt everyone was really intense--everything flowed really well--and the chemistry was there. It was kind of weird because we never let down after that game. We kept the intensity and the teamwork going.

“Maybe we were so mad that it happened to us that we went out there more focused. We had heard that a lot of people around the county really wanted to get us and that made us mad, and that was the perfect time to show that we had something to prove.”

Costa Mesa has since reeled off seven playoff victories against competition that isn’t considered soft. Among those victories was a 49-46 decision over Inglewood Morningside to win the Southern California championship.

Hardly mediocre.

“I think we all realized we were going to have to put out all our effort to make things work,” DiCamilli said. “We couldn’t put out 50% and make things work. We had to give 100%.

“I think any team that’s not giving 100% is beatable.”

Which says something about Costa Mesa’s turnaround.

And now, Oakland.

Saturday’s Division III Girls

Costa Mesa vs. Sacramento St. Francis, 5 p.m.

SITE--Oakland Coliseum Arena

RECORDS--Costa Mesa (29-4), St. Francis (26-5).

COSTA MESA--The Mustangs have won 26 in a row and are now the top-ranked Division III team in the state--and ninth among all divisions--so what’s left to prove? In the Southern California championship game, they defeated Inglewood Morningside--which had an advantage in height and tradition--at its own game, outrebounding the Monarchs and beating their vaunted press. Olivia DiCamilli is averaging 30.6 points in seven playoff victories--46.3% of the team’s total points. The Mustang defense probably doesn’t get enough credit, but after shooting 29.5% from the field and still beating the state’s top-ranked Division III team, Morningside--which shot 28.8%--it should. Neiar Kabua probably won’t be prominent on the stat sheet, but her defensive contribution will play a major role in the outcome.

ST. FRANCIS--The Troubadours were the top-ranked team in Sacramento. Ranked fifth in the state in Division III, they defeated No. 2 Oakland Bishop O’Dowd in the Northern California regional and moved to third in the rankings, behind Costa Mesa and Morningside. They are ranked 16th among all divisions. St. Francis plays an up-tempo game and will try to force the issue on defense. Its scoring is balanced, with five players--including non-starter Colleen Gately--averaging more than 10 points. St. Francis averages 68 points and has won 17 in a row.

KEY TO THE GAME--Costa Mesa shot poorly inside the Sports Arena last week and will face the same type of cavernous arena background Saturday. Kabua and Yool Kim must successfully handle the press, and the team must not be content to stand around and watch DiCamilli run the show, as it was early in the Morningside game. Turnovers will likely determine the winner.

CONSENSUS--DiCamilli said after the Southern California semifinal these victories were just icing on the cake. That’s a lot of icing. After its first trip to the State championships, the team should have quite a sugar rush on the plane ride home.

*Starting Lineups

COSTA MESA

P Name Ht. Avg. G Heather Robinson 5-9 14.0 G Neiar Kabua 5-9 5.1 G Yool Kim 5-7 9.0 F Jessica Lurmann 5-10 6.2 F Olivia DiCamilli 5-10 23.6

Coach: Lisa McNamee

*SACRAMENTO ST. FRANCIS

P Name Ht. Avg. G Chris Delgadillo 5-7 8.1 G Kim Martinez 5-7 13.2 C Mindy Bagatelos 6-0 11.0 F Andee Whalen 5-8 12.5 F Camille Gutierrez 5-8 10.8

Coach: Dave Parsh