PREP BASKETBALL / STATE TOURNAMENT SOUTHERN REGIONAL FINALS : GIRLS’ DIVISION I : Mater Dei Wins With Its Luckey Charm

It was a Luckey day for the Santa Ana Mater Dei girls’ basketball team Saturday, and it led to a 50-47 victory over Fresno Clovis West in the Southern Regional Division I championship game at The Pond of Anaheim. The Monarchs advance to the girls’ Division I state final for the first time.

It had much to do with Allison Luckey.

With Mater Dei leading, 48-47, with 10 seconds remaining, Paige Bowie pushed Luckey, sending her to the free-throw line and sending a smile to the face of Mater Dei Coach Mary Hauser.

Hauser had little doubt that Luckey, who shoots about 80% from the line, would make both ends of a one-and-one. So confident was Hauser, in fact, that she started planning the Monarch’s defense of the Golden Eagles’ impending three-point attempt before Luckey took her first free throw.

“I couldn’t have been happier,” Hauser said.

After Luckey made both and a timeout, Clovis West proceeded to fail on its three-point attempt.

Mater Dei (28-1) will play Northern Regional champion Atherton Sacred Heart Prep (37-1) Saturday at 6 p.m. at the Oakland Coliseum Arena.

“I was thinking, ‘If I make these, we go to Oakland, and if I don’t make them, we don’t,’ and I wanted to go,” said Luckey, who finished with 11 points.

Mater Dei also was effective at slowing Adrain Williams, Clovis West’s 6-foot-3 center who is headed to USC next season. Williams led Clovis West (25-3) with 16 points and 13 rebounds, but shot only 36%.

Melody Peterson led Mater Dei with 17 points, including eight of 10 free throws. Mater Dei made 13 of 19 free throws while Clovis West made none of two.

Mater Dei struggled to start the game but held Clovis West to four points in the second quarter to tie the score, 18-18, at halftime.

“It was just a matter of time before our people started relaxing and getting into the game,” Hauser said.

Twice, Mater Dei led by small margins, 34-26, with 1:26 remaining in the third quarter and, 45-38, with 4:17 remaining in the game.

And twice, Clovis West closed the gap. In the fourth quarter, the Golden Eagles put together a 9-3 run, capped by a three-point basket by Doreen McCauley to come to within one point, 48-47.

Michelle Meyers was instrumental in thwarting Clovis West’s final three-point attempt. Meyers successfully defended McCauley, Clovis West’s best three-point shooter, forcing her to pass to Bowie, whose shot missed.

The win lets the Mater Dei girls’ team share the spotlight with the school’s powerful boys’ team.

“It’s definitely our dream season,” Meyers said, “but I don’t think the team would be satisfied to go up to Oakland and take back a loss.”