Mater Dei Turns Up Heat, Wilts Wilson

Mater Dei’s tenacious defense proved too much for Long Beach Wilson Thursday as the Monarchs won, 67-30, in the first round of the Marina girls’ basketball tournament.

Mater Dei (5-3) pressured Wilson’s ballhandlers from the opening tipoff with an aggressive man-to-man defense and forced 31 turnovers. Guard B.J. Day led the attack with five steals and eight points for Mater Dei. Christina Colon led the Monarchs with 10 points.

Assistant Coach Geri Gainey, who served as Mater Dei’s head coach for the game, said the team performed to her expectations.

“I’m totally and completely pleased with their performance today,” Gainey said. “Defensively they were fantastic. They made the Wilson guards turn the ball over a lot and we took advantage of that.”

Wilson (6-4) struggled to generate some offense, managing to make only 11 of 43 shots from the floor. Coach Margaret Mohr said she was disappointed with her team’s play.

“I really felt that we didn’t play with any kind of pride,” Mohr said. “We didn’t come ready to compete and it showed. It’s very frustrating to play the way we did, because I know we can play much better than that.”

Mater Dei had little trouble scoring, making 27 of 60 shots, including three of seven from three-point range.

Gainey said her sister, Coach Mary Hauser, missed the game because of personal reasons but should be back for Mater Dei’s second-round game against Fountain Valley at 5 p.m. today.