Pavlik and Hayman Lead Monarchs Past El Toro

Lindsay Pavlik and Kristin Hayman turned in sterling performances as second-ranked Mater Dei defeated third-ranked El Toro, 66-54, on the second day of the Orange County Championship at Edison High.

Pavlik, who missed much of December with a wrist injury and began playing last week, scored 16 points and grabbed 19 rebounds in an extremely physical game.

Hayman built on her strong performances in last week’s Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions, scoring 17 points to go with six assists as the Monarchs won for the sixth consecutive time. Maile Shimoda scored 16.

Mater Dei (11-1) plays fourth-ranked Foothill, which is also 2-0 in the tournament, at 6:30 tonight in the final round of pool play to determine who will advance to Thursday’s championship game.

El Toro (7-3), which trailed by 13 points with 5 minutes 58 seconds left in the third quarter, tied the score at 46 going into the fourth. But the Monarchs opened the period with a 13-0 run, with Hayman getting two steals and scoring five points, including a three-point play on Giuliana Mendiola’s fourth foul.

Mendiola scored 26 before fouling out with 1:51 remaining.

“Once we score in transition, we get our game in gear,” Hayman said. “Our team has this pattern of getting a big lead and then letting the other team get within reach. We don’t let it faze us anymore.”

In other tournament games:

No. 6 Troy 70, No. 10 Rosary 38--The Warriors, undefeated in the tournament, forced 24 turnovers, held Maggie Barnett to two points and jumped to a 21-4 lead. Veronica Johns-Richards scored 28 points and had six assists, and Stefanie Schilling added 22 for Troy (9-3). Jen Farner scored 16 for Rosary (10-3).

No. 4 Foothill 52, Laguna Hills 48--Foothill got 21 points from Kristin Mann. Megan Aaker scored 20 for Laguna Hills (7-7).

No. 5 San Clemente 64, No. 9 Edison 60--The Tritons (9-2) got 18 steals, largely off their press, in building an 18-point lead, but went nearly five minutes without scoring in the fourth quarter. The Tritons scored six points in the final 1:17, including a putback by Whitney Jones (13 points, 10 rebounds, five assists) with 20 seconds left for a 62-60 lead. Cassie Kruger (six assists) scored 14 for San Clemente. Michelle Zylstra (14 rebounds, five blocks) scored 20 and Bianca Ziemann 17 for Edison (7-6).