Gondringer Is at Her Best in Clutch

They will remember that dipsy-doo of hers, that double-pumping, half-layup, half-finger roll through the lane that she learned playing H-O-R-S-E with her friends.

That’s the image Rhonda Gondringer will leave fans of Mater Dei girls’ basketball.

Coach Mary Hauser will remember something else.

She will remember that Gondringer, who played two years at La Quinta, spent the last two years of her high school career basking in the big game, using it as an opportunity to show she was comfortable at a higher level of competition.

Defining moment?

Southern Section Championship game in 1995 against Ventura Buena. Mater Dei’s 13-point lead is down to 47-42. Buena is pounding away inside, and the Monarchs are on the ropes just hoping to survive the bell.

But Gondringer steps up in the final three minutes. She drills Buena and kills the comeback.

Three-point basket with 2 minutes 42 seconds to go.

Dipsy-doo through the lane with 2:00 left.

Fouled driving the lane with 1:22 to go and sinks a free throw. She finished with 15 points. The final score: 57-53.

“It came down to crunch time,” Hauser said, “and she answered.”

There is one thing that can be said of Gondringer: She plays big in big games.

She will get another one tonight in the Pyramid at Long Beach State, where top-seeded Mater Dei (25-2) again takes on second-seeded Buena (27-1) for the Southern Section Division I-A championship.

This is the third consecutive year they have played in the finals. Mater Dei is also gunning for a return to the state championship game.

“In big games, she takes it upon herself to to do everything she can to win the game,” Hauser said of Gondringer. “She wants the ball, she’s not afraid to shoot and she steps up her game. She’s always getting the critical rebound or the critical three-pointer.”

And that leaves most teams in critical condition.

Against Edison in this year’s semifinals, Hauser said, Gondringer struggled in the first half but was undeterred.

“If you watched her, you could tell she wanted to win,” Hauser said. “In the second half, she was going at [Edison standout Marie] Philman every time.”

Gondringer finished with a game-high 22 and a tie score turned into a 17-point victory.

Why the big-game consistency?

“I know I have something to strive for,” she said. “Against an easy team, there’s no incentive to take your game up a level. Against a hard team, I guess I just like to see how far I can go.”

Hauser admits she’ll probably miss Gondringer more than any other senior on this team.

“She brings a quiet, steady leadership to the team,” she said. “All the kids, especially the young ones, look up to her.

“She doesn’t make excuses for herself--ever. If she plays bad, she’s the first to blame herself. She never puts the blame on anybody else.”

Most of the time, there’s no need.