SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA BASKETBALL REGIONALS : Luckey Steps Into the Spotlight for Mater Dei : Division I girls: Her key free throws make the difference in 50-47 victory over Clovis West.

Allison Luckey is the Mater Dei guard who plays in the shadow of Melody Peterson and Rhonda Gondringer.

She’s the guard who doesn’t get much attention because she’s the guard who doesn’t score much.

But she killed Clovis West on Saturday with two free throws with 10.8 seconds left as Mater Dei won its first girls’ Southern California Regional Division I basketball championship at The Pond, 50-47.

The Monarchs (28-1) play Atherton Sacred Heart Saturday at the Oakland Coliseum Arena for the State title. Sacred Heart beat Grass Valley Nevada Union, 53-35.

Clovis West (25-3), the Central Section champion, lost in the regional finals for the second year in a row.

Luckey was terrific against Clovis West’s pressure, creating an up-tempo game that favored the Monarchs. She committed only one turnover.

But it was her free throws as Mater Dei held a 48-47 lead that struck the final blow.

“When she was on the line,” Mater Dei Coach Mary Hauser said, “I couldn’t have been happier.”

Luckey is shooting 80% from the line on a team that doesn’t shoot free throws very well.

Clovis West got off two inbounds passes from midcourt, one with 7.6 seconds left, the other with 7.1 seconds. Paige Bowie launched a three-point shot to tie with two seconds left, but it fell short. Lindsey Dion rebounded, then threw the outlet pass back to the three-point line to Adrain Williams.

Then the horn sounded, and Mater Dei launched its victory celebration.

Clovis West’s final shot was supposed to go to Doreen McCauley (14 points), who made four three-pointers, but the ball was batted away on the inbounds pass. Michelle Meyers, guarding McCauley, noticed that Williams had set a screen on the initial inbounds, and denied McCauley the second time.

Luckey’s heroics were preceded by Peterson’s three-pointer, which ended a 3 1/2-minute Monarch scoring drought and gave them a 48-44 lead with 44 seconds left.

Peterson (17 points) had missed her previous seven shots, but she was five for six from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter and scored eight of her team’s 16 points.

The game was won at the free-throw line and not only in the final 11 seconds. Mater Dei made 13 of 19 and Clovis West missed its two attempts.

“I’ve told them every day for the past two weeks we would live or die at the free-throw line,” Hauser said.

The Monarchs were eight of 11 in the fourth quarter, and their 13-point advantage in free-throw scoring allowed them to overcome Clovis West’s shooting edge. The Golden Eagles were 21 for 56 (37.5%) from the field; Mater Dei was 16 for 53 (30.2%).

“I knew this was an important game and I had to take care of the ball, and if I did, we’d win the game,” Luckey said. “If I don’t come ready to play, my team’s in trouble because I have my hands on the ball.”

With Mater Dei trailing, 14-6, Luckey hit a three-pointer, and she opened the second quarter with an 18-footer to make it 14-11.

“Allison deserves this,” said Michelle Meyers, who had nine rebounds and four points. “Everyone on the team has had a big game but Allison. She just hasn’t shined because of her point total.

“She’s fulfilled her role really well. I admire her for not caring about her stats, but tonight it was like, ‘I’ll get some points too.’ ”

Luckey’s 11 points doubled her 5.6 average.

“When we won the (Southern Section title),” Luckey said, “it was a huge confidence builder, like we could win it all.”

They’re one game away.