Moreno Valley Holds Off San Clemente’s Late Rush

San Clemente’s path to the Southern Section championship game was the toughest of any team in the Division I-A playoffs.

The Tritons didn’t make it easy on themselves once they got there.

They fell behind by 10 points in the fourth quarter, mounted a furious rally, and then lost it in the final seconds, falling to another unseeded team, Moreno Valley, 53-51, at the Pyramid on Friday.

San Clemente (23-9) took its first lead with 39 seconds left in the game as Colleen Turnbull (12 points) converted a follow of a missed shot.

The lead, 51-50, lasted nine seconds.

That’s how long it took for Gemaysa Goudeau to get the ball and throw a long pass to Andrea Bills (18 points), who made a layup and a 52-51 lead for Moreno Valley (26-5).

“You get the lead, you have to back off and force them to score,” said San Clemente Coach Mary Mulligan. “I must not have communicated that.”

But San Clemente, whose press forced 14 fourth quarter turnovers to overcome a 10-point deficit, still had a chance.

Dawn Regan missed a short shot from the baseline with 19 seconds left, and Moreno Valley’s Kandace Hunter (19 points) got the rebound.

San Clemente’s Whitney Jones stole the inbounds pass for her 10th steal and sixth of the fourth quarter--and flicked the ball to Turnbull, who wasted no time in shooting an 18-footer from the top of the key.

“We get the last steal, and we throw up a garbage shot,” Mulligan said. “We had no timeouts, but you can work the ball and get something.”

Moreno Valley rebounded and Hunter missed two free throws with 10 seconds remaining. Melissa Anderson bulled through the key to get the rebound. Her teammate, Goudeau, made the second of two free throws with 4.4 seconds remaining.

Jones, who scored 10 points, managed a 17-foot shot from the wing at the buzzer, but it bounced off the rim.

Both teams will play in the Southern California regional playoffs, which begin Tuesday.

San Clemente also lost last year’s final, 67-58, to Marina. Everyone agreed, this loss was tougher to deal with.

The Tritons, who lost three of their first five games this season, beat the first- and fourth-seeded teams, and an unbeaten team, to reach the final.

San Clemente forced 35 turnovers, but committed 25, many unforced in the second half. The Tritons made only two of nine free throws, and one of 11 from beyond the three-point arc. They shot 40% overall to Moreno Valley’s 46.8%.

Debby Caine (14 points), a 43% three-point shooter, was one for 11 on three-pointers, six for 19 overall.

Her three-point basket tied the score, 49-49, with 1:52 remaining.

“My legs were a little weak--I probably should have passed more,” Caine said. “I took the shots I needed to take. Some fell, some didn’t.”

Some of those were layups in the final quarter. Caine was two for 10 in the fourth quarter, but she played all 32 minutes of a game played at a frantic pace.

“With Debby Caine out there, you’re thinking any second she’s going to light it up,” Mulligan said. “Same with [Turnbull].”