Irvine Makes Statement in Quarterfinal Victory

Playing a game that was as redemptive as it was exciting, Kristin Thawley’s basket with one second remaining Thursday sent Irvine to the semifinals of the Orange County Championship with a 56-55 victory over Rosary at Edison High.

Irvine, ranked sixth in Orange County, avenged a defeat last season to Rosary, currently ranked fifth. The Vaqueros were outscored 15-2 over the last nine minutes of last season’s game and lost, 54-50.

This season, they bulked up their schedule and bulked up their performance.

“Last year, we would have lost this game,” said Thawley, a 6-foot junior who took a pass on the wing from Staci Morita, twirled left and drove to the basket in the final seconds. Her left-handed layup banked off the glass, and Irvine (10-3) had its second victory of the season over a top-five team.

Rosary dropped to 11-3, and plays at Irvine in a nonleague game Tuesday. But tonight, Irvine plays second-ranked San Clemente at 6 in a rematch of the Vaqueros’ 78-77 overtime victory earlier this season.

Thawley scored 22 points on 10-of-16 shooting. Both teams shot 55.6% from the field, Irvine making 22 of 38 shots and Rosary 20 of 36.

Rosary led most of the way, but there were six ties or lead changes in the final 2 minutes 43 seconds. Rosary took a 55-54 lead on a technical foul when Irvine’s Staci Morita called a timeout her team didn’t have, and Jennie Asensio made both free throws with 19 seconds remaining.

Irvine fouled immediately on Rosary’s possession, but Jenise Karcher missed a free throw, setting the stage for Thawley.

Nikki Kamada had 14 points and four steals for Irvine, and Jody Carlson scored 12.

Rosary got 15 points from Karcher and freshman Cara Enright, a starter in place of point guard Gayle Sonoda, who was out because of a knee injury. Jen Farner had 13 points, seven rebounds, five steals and five assists for Rosary.

“We’ve settled some questions [about credibility],” Irvine Coach Dennis Hurley said, “and now we’ll be judged on our merits.”

In other quarterfinals:

No. 2 San Clemente 63, Huntington Beach 45--Megan Blackshire scored 14, Sara Brown 13 and Kristin Jenkins 12 for the Tritons (11-1), and Kim Buffum had seven assists. Amy Sanders led Huntington Beach (6-5) with 23 points.

No. 1 Troy 61, No. 8 Edison 46--Rachael Ziemann got her third foul with three seconds left in the first quarter, Troy (10-2) responded with a 15-2 run, took the lead and didn’t allow Edison (10-3) to get closer than nine points. Ziemann finished with 20 points. Veronica Johns-Richardson scored 19 points and Alicia Komaki had 13 for Troy.

No. 4 Esperanza 64, No. 10 Foothill 43--Tina Kalogeropoulos scored 17 points, leading four players in double figures, as the Aztecs (9-4) advanced to the semifinals to play Troy. Kristen Mann scored 35 for Foothill (8-4). Her nine rebounds gave her a school-record 849 in her career, eclipsing Chavaughn Brown’s 846 from 1997 to 2000.