Aztecs Weren’t Quite Ready to Beat El Toro

Esperanza’s Kristin Peters was disappointed that her girls’ basketball team couldn’t hold onto a victory against sixth-ranked El Toro Tuesday. The 10th-ranked Aztecs had a 10-point halftime lead, but lost, 52-50, in the South Coast Holiday tournament.

Peters, one of two seniors on the team, was hoping to avenge last year’s 73-53 playoff loss to the Chargers.

“They came into our gym and beat us by 20 points; it was embarrassing,” Peters said. “We concentrated on stopping [Giuliana Mendiola], and we had them.

“We just lost momentum and couldn’t get it back. We have a young team. Experience-wise, we might not have been ready for these guys. Athletically, I feel we’re a better team.”

Mendiola, the county’s leading scorer the last two seasons, is El Toro’s only returning starter. But the winning basket was made by freshman Sara Brown on a night that Mendiola struggled, despite scoring 26 points.

“This gives us some confidence,” said Mendiola, who missed her first 10 shots but finished 10 of 22 from the field. “Now our team has some faith in each other.”

BIG TIMER

Marina post player Dustin Kaatz may have been overlooked in discussions of “big men” playing boys’ basketball in the county this season.

After all, he’s only 6 feet 7.

But it will be hard to miss Kaatz if he continues to play as he did in two nonleague victories last week.

Kaatz, a senior, had 31 points, 17 rebounds and four assists against Whittier and 23 points, 13 rebounds and four assists against Laguna Hills.

SHE’S OUT

Ruth Lazzari, a first-team all-league player last year for Connelly, is not playing this season.

“She wants to rest her knees because she’s getting a volleyball scholarship,” Athletic Director Timmerie Henry said.

Henry says Lazzari is considering Duke, Villanova and George Washington.

NOT WORRIED

Villa Park boys’ basketball Coach Kevin Reynolds found much that he liked in the Spartans’ 64-59 loss to Lakewood Mayfair Tuesday in the opening round of the Los Alamitos tournament. Mayfair is considered one of the top 10 teams in the state this season. Villa Park is ranked No. 8 in this week’s Orange County sportswriters’ poll.

“We battled, but they were better than us,” Reynolds said. “It was even at halftime and then we had a bad stretch of three or four minutes when we turned the ball over and they made layups at the other end.

“You’re never pleased with a loss. But certainly I saw things we can build on. We got down by 16 points in the second half and we clawed back.”

Matt MacGinnis led the Spartans with 21 points.

IT’S A FIRST

Irvine’s appearance in this week’s Orange County sportswriters’ poll marks the first time the Vaqueros have been ranked in the top 10 in girls’ basketball.

Irvine, led by Jody Carlson and Kristin Thawley, won the Lady Centurion Tournament last week.

TIME ZONE

Is this the same boys’ basketball team we’ve come to know at Ocean View? The ninth-ranked Seahawks aren’t as quick on the front line as they have been in years past, so Coach Jim Harris has reluctantly turned to occasional use of a zone defense.

“I’ve only used a zone one other time in my career,” said Harris, who is in his 22nd season. “That was in 1985. That was a great zone team. But we’re not the same type of team as we have been. We’re very young.”

CATCH-22

The most impressive girls’ victory so far this season belongs to Edison, which scored the final 22 points to upset Riverside North, 43-41, at the Woodbridge Tipoff tournament.

The Chargers had some help, scoring most of the 22 points against North’s second team. By the time the starters were put back in to protect an eight-point lead, it was too late.

“I’ve never been part of that before, win or lose,” Edison Coach Dave White said. “We’ve never scored 22 in a row.”

HEADS-UP

If the Mater Dei boys’ basketball team advances to Saturday’s final in the Tournament of Champions at Ocean View High, look for the 8 p.m. tipoff time to be moved back to 2 or 5 to accommodate fans who also want to see the Monarch football team play Long Beach Poly in the Southern Section Division I championship game that night at Edison Field.

The field for the final day of action in the TOC will be settled late Friday evening. For more information, call (714) 848-0541, Ext. 275.

THE KRISTIAN WAY

Mater Dei’s Maile Shimoda was named the Woodbridge Tipoff tournament’s most valuable player, but Coach Ollie Martin felt forward Kristian Kirkpatrick might have been the real MVP as the No. 2 Monarchs opened with four consecutive victories and a tournament title.

Kirkpatrick averaged 14 points, 10.5 rebounds and had an outstanding game defensively against all-county forward Michelle Zylstra of Edison in the championship game, holding her to nine points--including two three-pointers--in a 54-33 victory.

Staff writer Paul McLeod contributed to this story.

If you have an item or idea for the prep basketball report, you can fax us at (714) 966-5663 or e-mail us atmartin.henderson@latimes.com or

paul.mcleod@latimes.com