Keppel Has No Answer for Ventura’s Duo

The plan seemed simple enough.

Shadow Jenni Dooley and Katy O’Brien, and step out of the shadows in the Southern Section Division II-AA girls’ basketball playoffs and into the spotlight.

But Ventura’s Dooley and O’Brien did what they have done all season long, and on Wednesday they added Alhambra Keppel to their list of frustrated opponents.

Dooley had six three-point baskets and scored 31 points, and O’Brien scored 19 as the second-seeded Cougars defeated Keppel, 66-57, in front of a capacity home crowd to advance to the semifinals for the first time since the 1990-91 season.

Dooley and O’Brien were almost always the players who turned back Keppel. Trailing, 23-7, in the first quarter, Keppel got over its big-game jitters and rallied to within 28-27 in the final minute of the first half, but Dooley scored on a putback of one of her three rebounds, and then O’Brien added another on one of her 10 rebounds.

“They’re very smart players, and they run everything around them,” Keppel Coach Richard Marquis said. “If it wasn’t Dooley, it was O’Brien.”

During one stretch, they scored 31 of 33 points for Ventura. Dooley had a run in which she scored 14 of 18 points, and the third of her four steals led to an O’Brien basket for a 57-46 lead with 4 minutes 31 seconds remaining.

But Kaitlyn O’Neill also had a moment reserved for Keppel heartache. After Keppel (24-3) got within 59-52 with 2:14 to go, Dooley took a charging foul, then O’Neill scored from 24 feet as the shot clock expired to push the lead back to 10.

Despite 21 points from Monique Diaz, Keppel had no more rallies left, and Ventura (26-2) won the right to play third-seeded Woodbridge, a 58-31 winner over Santa Fe, in the semifinals on Saturday at a site to be determined.

Martin Henderson

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Huntington Beach Edison 69, Valencia 35--Edison lit it up, making 26 of 48 shots (54.2%) and running away with a Southern Section Division I-A second-round game at Valencia.

The Chargers (19-8) will meet Simi Valley Royal, which upset No. 4-seeded San Bernardino, 61-55 in overtime, in a quarterfinal on Saturday at a site to be determined by coin flip.

Rachael Ziemann scored 25 points and her sister Bianca added 10. The Loyola Marymount-bound senior guards combined for 24 points in the first half, when Edison claimed a 43-16 lead. Sophomore Valerie Katayama came off the bench to score 17 and Rebecca Kepilino had nine points and 12 rebounds.

Valencia (15-14), with three freshman starters, were hot and cold throughout a season in which they defeated La Puente Bishop Amat and almost upset Long Beach Poly before finishing a disappointing fourth in the Foothill League. Against Edison, the Vikings made 13 of 52 shots (25%) and committed 14 turnovers.

Kelley Tarver and Holly Feneht each had nine points and Kim Hardy added eight for Valencia.

Dave Desmond

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Fullerton Troy 62, Saugus 31--The Warriors shook off a sluggish start and went on to defeat Saugus in a Division II-AA quarterfinals at Troy.

The Warriors, the defending Division I-A champions, trailed by one point late in the first quarter before unleashing a barrage of three-pointers to take a 29-15 halftime lead. Alicia Komaki hit four three-pointers during that stretch, igniting a 28-6 run that provided her team a comfortable cushion.

Komaki finished with a game-high 25 points and six assists for Troy (26-2), which will face the winner of the Norco in a semifinal Saturday. Sophomore Amanda Livingston finished with 14 points and six rebounds, and freshman Meghan McGuire had with seven points and eight rebounds for the Warriors.

Saugus (24-5) managed just six points in the second quarter and four points in the third as Troy increased it lead to 30 points.

Reserve Lisa Sonnenblick scored a team-high nine points for Saugus.

Tim Dermody

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Pomona Diamond Ranch 53, La Puente Bishop Amat 51--Alysha White took a half-court pass from Alexis Pope and hit a game-winning, 40-foot shot at the buzzer to lift the Brahmas (21-7) to the victory over Bishop Amat (21-8) in a Division III-AA quarterfinal game.

Pope finished with 17 points.

Redondo Union 54, Santa Ana Mater Dei 51--Ofa Tulikihihifo had 17 points to lead the Seahawks (21-6) to the Division II-A quarterfinal victory at Redondo.

Mater Dei (22-7) got 13 points from Amy Sanders and 12 points from Jessica Williams.