Alemany Watches Future Arrive During 90-64 Defeat

Bishop Montgomery High’s 90-64 rout of visiting Alemany on Thursday night in the Division III Southern Regional semifinals was one for the ages.

And that’s a very ominous sign for the rest of the division.

With two freshmen and two sophomores in the starting lineup, the Knights figure to dominate for a long time.

“I’m sure they’ll be the next Brea Olinda or Buena,” said guard Kate Beckler of Alemany. “They are awesome.”

Bishop Montgomery (27-3), which will play for the regional title Saturday morning at the Great Western Forum, led by as much as 61-29, outrebounded Alemany, 51-32, forced 27 turnovers and made 21 of 34 first-half shots.

And this was against Alemany (24-7), which was ranked No. 1 in the division’s state rankings for part of the season and entered the Southern Section playoffs top-seeded.

“At times, they just toyed with us,” said Melissa Hearlihy, whose team allowed more points than in any game during her 15 seasons as Alemany coach. “They could have buried us even worse than they did.”

It was bad enough.

Every starter scored in double figures for Bishop Montgomery, which is seeking its third state title in five seasons.

Tamara Quinn, the only senior, scored 24 points. Center Lauren Ervin and forward Noel Quinn, both freshmen, added 17 and 13 points. Sophomore guard Brittney Thomas had 14 points and sophomore forward Melinda Loera had 11.

It was clear very quickly that this would be the end for the Indians and Beckler, one of the top players ever in the region.

The Knights led, 24-14, after one quarter and 50-27 at halftime.

Beckler, who had 34 points, six rebounds and four steals, ended her career with 2,132 points. The Rice-bound guard is ranked No. 3 on the region’s all-time scoring list, behind Michelle Palmisano of Thousand Oaks and Michelle Greco of Crescenta Valley.

She and seven other seniors leave behind a program that will rebuild around junior post players Karina Siam and Nyasha Bralock.

Against Bishop Montgomery, Siam scored 12 points, but Bralock was limited to four. Guard Alma Sandoval, a senior, added 10 points.

“I’m still proud,” Hearlihy said. “When you play hard an entire game and lose to a better team, there’s no shame.”

Said Beckler: “If we had laid down, they would have scored 150.”

Bishop Montgomery has four underclassmen taller than 6-foot. The team has talent, speed and quickness.

After winning a Southern Section title and routing two regional opponents by a combined, 174-87, the Knights now have experience, too.

“We weren’t expecting this so soon,” said first-year Coach Lisa Corona. “They still have so much improving to do, it’s hard to imagine just how much higher they can go.”

The rest of the division will find out soon enough.