DIVISION I-A GIRLS’ BASKETBALL : Bad Week Doesn’t Hold Back Marina

It was an Excedrin kind of week for Marina Coach Pete Bonny.

He was grousing Monday about the Division I-A pairings, about winning the Sunset League title and having to play a team of Dana Hills’ caliber in the first round.

Then he simulated Dana Hills’ Karun Grossman at Tuesday’s practice and, shooting from three-point range, lit up his team, which prompted him to get in Shandy Robbins’ face about her defense: “Shandy, this girl’s better than me!”

And early Wednesday, starting point guard Traci Nakamura didn’t even show up at school because of a 103-degree fever.

But Marina showed no ill effects of any of that. The Vikings instead hounded Grossman, got a terrific performance from Nakamura and dispatched Dana Hills, 56-40, Wednesday to advance to the second round of the playoffs against Corona, a 62-61 winner over University, at a site to be determined.

“They have a couple of more horses to pull the wagon with than we do,” said Dana Hills Coach Mike Chapman. “They shot well from the floor and we were a little sluggish from the beginning and let them get ahead, and that was a huge deficit to come back from.”

Marina (20-6) scored the game’s first 10 points and, after Nakamura’s replacement, Norie Nakase, made a three-point basket to open the second quarter, the Vikings had a commanding 23-9 lead. The closest the Dolphins (17-8) got after that was eight points in the second quarter.

Nakase had only five points, but did a nice job of getting the ball to Robbins, Martita Emde and Sonya Bryant. Robbins had 19 points, and Emde and Bryant each had 12.

Bonny conceded that, in hindsight, the Vikings are better off having won a big game without Nakamura than coasting against a much lesser opponent. And, he knew he wouldn’t have to worry about his team getting up to play Dana Hills.

Robbins made her first five shots and Marina made 11 of its first 14. The Vikings finished 25 of 53 from the field (47%).

Robbins and Bryant switched off on guarding Grossman, who was averaging 23.4 points. She finished with 21 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks.

“Stopping Grossman in the second half was a big difference,” Bonny said. “We didn’t expect to hold her under her average. The idea was to have a fresh person on her the whole time.”

Grossman shot 37% from the arc this season, making 62 three-pointers; against Marina, she was zero for three.

“I got a little tired,” Grossman said, “but that’s just basketball.”

She wasn’t the only player fatigued. Guarding Grossman took a toll on Robbins’ shot in the second half. After making six of nine from the field, she was three of 13 in the final 16 minutes. Bryant, three of five in the first half, was two of seven in the second.

Dana Hills is clearly Grossman’s team, and she finished her career by leading the Dolphins to a school-record 17 victories. She also finished as the school’s career leading scorer (1,082 points), as well as the single-season scoring (585 points) and rebound (272) leader.

“I’m very happy with what the girls accomplished this year,” said Chapman, who coached his final game for the Dolphins and finishes with a 59-36 record though four years. “The last thing I’m going to do is dwell on this.”

In other Division I-A first-round games:

Oxnard Channel Islands 48, Irvine 36--Shawnee Stevens scored 26 points for Irvine (10-14), which could not hold off second-seeded Channel Islands (23-3). Oxnard held a 23-19 lead at halftime, but Irvine’s defense fell apart in the third and the offense didn’t help much; the Vaqueros were outscored, 14-0. Stevens was the only Irvine player to score more than two points. The Vaqueros reached the playoffs after going 2-19 last year.

Mater Dei 70, Westminster 40--Guard Melody Peterson scored 21 points, including four three-pointers, and had six assists to lead third-seeded Mater Dei (21-3). Leticia Oseguera had 20 points and 13 rebounds. Lisa Tamamasui had a team-high nine points and Amber Farroux had seven for at-large Westminster (10-16). Mater Dei plays Moreno Valley Canyon Springs Saturday.

Chino 48, Edison 36--Chino (17-8) outscored visiting Edison, 16-4, in the fourth quarter to knock the Chargers out of the playoffs. Chino got 12 points from Amy Chard and did a nice job of defending Edison’s Marie Philman, who was held to 18 points, nine under her average. The loss marked a disappointing end for Edison (17-9), which reached the quarterfinal round last year. Kerry O’Bric added nine points for the Chargers.

San Clemente 56, Century 46--San Clemente’s press bothered the Centurions and the Tritons never trailed. The Tritons led by as many as 15, but held a 10-point lead most of the night. Century made a fourth-quarter run to pull to within six points with 2 1/2 minutes left, but Michelle Macintyre’s 10-footer made it an eight-point game and the Centurions (12-12) never threatened again. Macintyre finished with a game-high 21 points and nine rebounds. San Clemente (19-5) plays Chino Saturday.

Corona 62, University 61--Shawna James’ 10-foot baseline jumper with less than 10 seconds gave Corona (21-3) the victory. Jennifer Stanley (24 points) had a chance to give University (13-10) the lead with three seconds left, but her shot was partially blocked. Corona plays Marina Saturday.

Capistrano Valley 58, Ontario 50--Capistrano Valley (13-13) outscored Ontario, 19-5, in the third quarter. The Cougars, who will play host to Perris Saturday, trailed at halftime, 26-24, despite Susan Scott’s 16 points. She finished with 25 points. However, after its third quarter run, Capistrano Valley took a 43-31 lead to the fourth quarter, led by Holly Lowe and Jennifer Garrett. Lowe finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds and Garrett had 12 points and nine rebounds