Rosary’s Balancing Act Tips Costa Mesa

The Rosary girls’ basketball program won’t be confused with Brea Olinda’s any time soon, but the Royals did their best Ladycat impression Thursday.

Getting the kind of balanced scoring that makes coaches look like geniuses, Rosary shot 55% from the field, overcame a 10-point deficit and posted a minor upset of Costa Mesa, 66-60, in the first round of the Southern Section Division III-A playoffs.

Because Rosary (13-12, second in the Golden West League) won on the road, it will host its quarterfinal game against fourth-seeded North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake (20-6) on Saturday. That’s a huge advantage, Coach Rich Yoon said.

Harvard-Westlake defeated visiting Estancia, 54-40. Estancia (16-11) had tied Costa Mesa for second place in the Pacific Coast League.

Though no Rosary player averaged more than 10 points this season, three scored in double figures against the Mustangs: Jennifer Kanne (16 points), Sarah Belavic (13 points, eight rebounds, eight assists) and Marissa Perez (13 points, seven rebounds). Three others scored six or more.

“A lot of teams, if they have one player, you can shut them down and the game is lost,” said Belavic, a junior who has 53 assists in her last five games. “We have seven--it’s harder to shut us down.”

Costa Mesa point guard Koo Kim, averaging 14.6 points, was targeted by the Rosary defense and held to seven points.

Costa Mesa (17-11) forced Rosary into 12 turnovers in the first 9 minutes 33 seconds. Then Yoon told his players to be more patient on offense during a timeout, and they responded by wiping out a 21-13 deficit (committing only two turnovers in the process) and taking a 31-29 lead before halftime.

Costa Mesa, which led at halftime, 34-31, shot 55.5% from the field in the first half while Rosary shot 53.8%. But the Royals, who shot 42% during the regular season, kept their hot hand in the third quarter, going eight for 12 (to Costa Mesa’s three for 11) and took a 49-45 lead into the fourth quarter.

“We stopped blocking out [on rebounds], that was the key,” Costa Mesa Coach Shontell Sherwood said. “We lost a little momentum there and never got it back.”

A 5-0 run, helped along by steals by Romina Bollini and Sarah Cody, gave Rosary a 58-50 lead with 3:37 left. The Royals made six of 10 free throws the rest of the way to hold off the Mustangs, who got 11 fourth-quarter points from Chantay Peyton (21 points, four steals, four blocks).

In Division II-AA:

Cerritos Gahr 62, Cypress 42--Tammie Johnson scored 21 points in a wild-card victory for Gahr (16-8), which plays at El Monte Arroyo in the first-round Saturday. Jennie Lascer and Lyndsay Weaver each scored eight points for Cypress (16-11).

Villa Park 49, Santiago 40--Missy Bynon scored 22 points as Villa Park defeated Santiago in a wild-card game. Villa Park plays Saturday at Laguna Hills in the first round. Amanda Coon had eight points for the Spartans (12-12), who made only 10 of 23 free-throws.

In Division V-A:

San Bernardino Christian 61, Heritage Christian 15--Jennifer Amrine scored 26 points for San Bernardino Christian.