Eagles’ Inside Power Too Much for Rosary

The battle for first place in Serra League girls’ basketball between No. 8 Rosary and Santa Margarita was won on the boards Thursday as Santa Margarita prevailed, 50-46, at Rosary High.

The Royals had no answer for Santa Margarita’s Garland Cooper (14 points, 15 rebounds) and Megan Moen (12 points, 11 rebounds), who dominated inside and kept the Eagles within striking distance when Rosary got off to a quick start.

Led by Jennie Asensio’s 14 first-quarter points, Rosary (16-6, 2-1) took a 19-11 lead, capitalizing on eight Santa Margarita turnovers.

But the Eagles (15-5, 3-0) calmed down in the second quarter and went to their inside game, anchored by Cooper and Moen, who scored most of their points under the basket over the smaller Rosary defenders.

“That lost the game for us,” Rosary Coach Richard Yoon said. “We were just slow to the ball today. I think [Santa Margarita] wanted it more.”

The score see-sawed and neither team led by more than three points in the second half until late in the game, when Santa Margarita went on an 11-0 run to take a 48-40 lead with just over a minute left.

Cold shooting by the Royals and aggressive drives to the basket by guards Annie Mai and Kristin Lynch sparked the run for the Eagles, who took sole possession of the league lead.

“We did a great job with everything against us and came out with a win,” Santa Margarita Coach Richard Schaaf said. “I think our inside game is better than theirs.”

Asensio finished with a game-high 22 points for Rosary.