ROUNDUP : Emde Fills In to Lead Marina Past San Clemente

With Sonya Bryant on the bench with a bruised knee, Marisa Emde figured Marina’s guard would have to “step it up.”

Emde stepped up and drilled a three-point basket with 3 minutes 50 seconds left in the game, and added a drive to the basket that resulted in a three-point play to help sixth-ranked Marina beat visiting San Clemente, 63-54, in a nonleague girls’ basketball game Tuesday.

Emde, a junior averaging about nine points, finished with 22 to help her team overcome a six-point deficit in the third quarter.

“I was lucky I was making my layups,” she said. “I didn’t think I would be driving as much, but when I saw an open lane, I took it.”

Emde’s six-point spurt came on the heels of Natalie Nakase’s three-point basket, which broke a 46-46 tie, and was sandwiched around Kirsten Cappel’s turnaround jumper as the Vikings took a 57-50 lead with 2:06 remaining.

Nakase’s basket was the last of 23 ties or lead changes.

“I was hoping this game would give me a good feel for where we stood with the top teams in the county,” said Mary Mulligan, whose team had won three in a row and five of its last six. “Without [Bryant], I don’t know--but I liked what I saw.”

Marina Coach Pete Bonny said Mulligan needn’t worry--this was one of his team’s best games despite Bryant’s absence. Had the Tritons (5-6) been able to make their layups, the outcome might have been different. They shot 34.4% from the field.

Marina (10-0) got eight points in the third quarter from Cappel (16 points, 13 rebounds). It was in that quarter the Vikings fell behind, 39-33, as San Clemente’s Taryn Commins (12 points, eight rebounds) scored six of seven consecutive points.

“They’re undefeated, and their mentality is ‘We’re going to win,’ and our mentality is, ‘We’re hoping to win,’ ” Mulligan said. “And that mattered at clutch time.”