Westminster’s Day Spoiled by Mater Dei

Westminster Coach Dick Katz sat in his office, quietly resigned to the fact his team had just played in front of the largest crowd in school history, nearly 2,000, and they had not seen his team play its best.

Sure, they saw his defensive-oriented team score 75 points against Mater Dei.

But they also saw his team lose by 12.

On a night made for offense, top-ranked Mater Dei defeated host Westminster, 87-75, Wednesday in the quarterfinals of the Southern Section Division I-A girls’ basketball playoffs.

Seven players scored in double figures, four had 20 or more. Westminster shot 53% from the field (29 for 55), but couldn’t match Mater Dei’s 61% (34 for 56).

Mater Dei (24-2) plays Edison Saturday at a site to be determined; Westminster finished 23-5.

“I knew they were good,” Mater Dei Coach Mary Hauser said. “Their strengths were our weaknesses and our strengths were their weaknesses.”

The game boiled down to Westminster’s power inside against Mater Dei’s guards, although there was one surprising development in the post for Mater Dei.

While Katz worried in practice about Melody Peterson and Rhonda Gondringer, forward Margaret Hollis was mostly an afterthought. But Hollis scored a career-high 26 points, shooting 11 of 13 from the field.

“Best I’ve done my whole career,” said Hollis, who’s averaging about nine points. “I just think I was open a lot and my teammates definitely got me the ball. It felt good because my teammates could rely on me. Usually, it’s [Peterson, Gondringer or Charlene Mendoza]. I’m glad I could be a part of it.”

Tanzenika Holmes, who scored 21 for Westminster, made an admission: “Hollis really surprised us.”

Hollis scored on layups and she scored on eight-footers with a lot of touch. And when she wasn’t scoring, Peterson was twisting her way through Westminster’s wide-open defense. Peterson scored a game-high 27, shooting 10 for 18. Gondringer had 17 points--six for eight from the field.

It’s a good thing Mater Dei shot so well, because the Monarchs didn’t get many rebounds. Peterson had five, Hollis four, Gondringer and B.J. Day one apiece.

Westminster’s post players countered with big nights. Holmes had 12 rebounds and Jennifer Gray had nine to go along with her 21-point night for Westminster. Kristin Schult was one of several players in foul trouble and finished with 10; she left the game in the fourth quarter after injuring her ankle. Guard Lan Erickson scored 13.

Holmes made nine of 17 field-goal attempts, Gray was nine for 12.

Westminster didn’t lead after Peterson’s drive to the basket gave Mater Dei a 4-3 lead early. The Monarchs stretched the lead to nine after one quarter and eventually 13 in the second before the Lions rallied and made it 48-40 at halftime.

Mater Dei extended its lead in the third as Westminster committed 10 turnovers; Peterson’s three-point play off the ninth turnover made it an 18-point game with nine minutes to go.

“The game was won early when we didn’t play defense,” said Katz, whose team allowed 42 points per game this season. “Tonight, we played one-on-one instead of five-on-five.”

In another I-A game:

Edison 45, Thousand Oaks 31--Marie Philman scored 24 points and Kerry O’Bric added 10 for the Chargers (22-7). Fourth-seeded Thousand Oaks (24-6) trailed at halftime, 24-12.