Mendiola Sets County Career Scoring Record

Giuliana Mendiola, needing 40 points to tie Orange County’s career scoring record, scored 42 on Tuesday to lead sixth-ranked El Toro to a 64-61 victory over third-ranked Foothill in the championship game of the Holiday Hoopla girls’ basketball tournament at San Clemente.

Mendiola scored 17 in the fourth quarter. With the Chargers holding a one-point lead, Mendiola drove past Foothill’s Kristen Mann for a layup and then converted the three-point play as Kelsi Sousa committed her fifth foul on the play.

When Mendiola hit the free throw to give El Toro a 62-58 lead with 20 seconds remaining, she tied Costa Mesa’s Olivia DiCamilli, who scored 2,301 points from 1989-93.

Mendiola followed with two free throws with nine seconds left to extend the lead to 64-59 before Foothill’s Chavaughn Brown (19 points, 16 rebounds) scored at the buzzer.

Mendiola said she knew how many points she needed before the game and was surprised to reach the record.

“I’m more excited that we won the championship,” she said. “[Foothill has] a good all-around team, and I’m happy that our team stepped up to beat them.

“The record’s good, but the win will help us down the line.”

El Toro (7-1) ended a five-game winning streak by Foothill (6-3). The teams meet again Monday at the Orange County Championships at Edison.

Mendiola, who missed eight of her first nine shots and scored only three in the first quarter, almost single-handedly matched Foothill’s big guns, Brown and Mann (25 points, 10 rebounds).

Mendiola also grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds, but her effort might have been fruitless if not for a couple of key baskets by teammates. Freshman Sara Brown (10 points) drove the lane in the last minute to give El Toro a 59-55 lead, and 6-foot-3 junior Carrie Twaddell had given the Chargers a 55-51 lead with a tough basket inside with 3:35 remaining.

Twaddell’s basket followed Mendiola’s three-pointer, which provided the last of 24 ties or lead changes, including nine lead changes in the fourth quarter.