Santa Margarita Aces First Test

One day Santa Margarita was the top-ranked team in Division II-A, the next day it was just another decent team among larger schools.

So the Eagles went into their first-round Division II-AA playoff game against Cypress on Saturday with a chip on their collective shoulder . . . and Cypress wasn’t about to knock it off.

Santa Margarita defeated the visiting Centurions, 71-48, in a game in which the Eagles experienced a little bit of everything.

Early on, they beat Cypress at its own game, pressing, running and building an 18-point lead. Then they withstood a Cypress rally in which that lead was cut to one point, 42-41, in the third quarter. Then, the Eagles closed the show by outscoring Cypress, 29-7.

It was a sweet victory for Santa Margarita, which was put into the tougher division after an administrative error was discovered last month. Instead of being the No. 1 team in the II-A playoffs, the Eagles are unseeded and must go through 11-time champion Brea Olinda.

“It was really hard to take at first, knowing that we got bumped up,” said Venessa Ferragamo, who scored 24, including 10 of 10 from the free-throw line. She also had a team-high 10 rebounds. “This is a bigger challenge, a way to really prove ourselves.”

Cypress finishes 15-11. Santa Margarita (18-9) plays in the second round on Wednesday against Whittier, a 74-62 winner over Los Amigos. Santa Margarita is two more wins from a potential semifinal game against top-seeded Brea.

“It would be awesome to win II-A, but to win here, against Brea, would be incredible,” Santa Margarita Coach Rich Schaaf said. “It would be a much greater accomplishment to win this section.”

Ferragamo, who played sparingly in recent weeks with a stress fracture, was complemented by her fellow seniors, Colleen O’Leary, who scored 15, and Shannon Simon, who scored nine.

The Eagles made 19 of 20 free throws, and made 24 of 55 (43.6%) from the field, holding off a Cypress effort that included Remy Hitomi’s 18 points.

Of course, the Eagles believe they can beat Brea on a good night, but they had to get past pesky Cypress first. The Centurions had a chance to take the lead when Tricia Culley stole a pass, but Culley missed the go-ahead layup.

Santa Margarita scored 12 of the next 14 points.

“That was a real key, with momentum and everything,” said Ferragamo. “We probably would have had to call a timeout and regroup.”

Instead, O’Leary connected on a three-point basket and the hopeful journey toward Brea had begun.