GIRLS’ BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : Mater Dei’s Pressure Gets to Newport Harbor

This game between the county’s third- and fourth-ranked girls’ basketball teams--both unbeaten--was supposed to have been closer.

But No. 3 Mater Dei choked off Newport Harbor’s offense with a gripping press and scored a 71-50 victory in the quarterfinals of the Marina tournament Wednesday.

The Monarchs (7-0) scored 27 consecutive points to initiate the blowout. A 22-19 score with 4 minutes 22 seconds left in the half became 49-29 with 5:36 left in the third quarter.

Mater Dei plays No. 6 Fountain Valley tonight in one semifinal at 6:30 p.m. No. 5 Marina plays Bellevue (Wash.) Eastlake in the other, at 8 p.m..

Melody Peterson scored a game-high 23 points, including 16 before halftime, and Rhonda Gondringer had 15. Through three quarters, Mater Dei made 28 of its 47 shots from the field (59.5%), many of them coming off turnovers it forced with the press. Allison Luckey, who scored eight points, had five steals, and Mater Dei had a 32-point lead going into the fourth quarter.

“That’s our style--pressure them all the time until we wear the other team out,” Mater Dei Coach Mary Hauser said. “When they get tired, they make mistakes. We pressed whenever we scored. If we can’t score, we can’t press.”

And there was no problem scoring for the Monarchs.

“About 75% of their offense is their defense,” Newport Harbor Coach Shannon Jakosky said. “You can’t play into their hands and make silly passes because most will end in a lay-in.

“The only way to learn is to get out here and experience it.”

The Monarch pressure was too much for Newport Harbor (8-1), which relied on a sophomore, Jenny Jennings, and a freshman, Andree Verhulst, to take care of the ball. But it was too much to ask of the young players. Newport Harbor committed 25 turnovers--10 in the second quarter and seven in the third.

Margaret Hollis scored 11 points and Michelle Meyers had 10 for Mater Dei. Mandy Clayton, who kept Newport Harbor close with 10 first-quarter points, finished with 14.