Mater Dei Upsets Second-Seeded Brea Olinda

After falling behind by 14 points two minutes into the second quarter, Santa Ana Mater Dei rallied to knock off second-seeded Brea Olinda, 51-43, in a Southern Section Division II-A girls’ basketball semifinal game Saturday night at Huntington Beach Marina High.

The third-seeded Monarchs (20-6), who made just two of their first 17 shots and turned the ball over seven times in the first quarter, chipped away at the 20-6 deficit and eventually pulled to within one point, 38-37, on a basket by guard Chanel Foster at the end of the third quarter.

Jennifer Katsuyama gave the Brea Olinda (25-4) a 43-39 lead with 6:42 to go, but it was the last time that the Wildcats would score.

Guard Jen Rogers, who finished with a game-high 16 points, gave Mater Dei its first lead, 44-43, on a three-pointer with 5:08 left.

Lauren Pedersen scored 15 points for Brea Olinda, which had its 18-game winning streak ended.

Mater Dei takes a seven-game winning streak into next week’s final.

Paul McLeod

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Palmdale 57, Long Beach Wilson 54 -- The Falcons broke open a close game with a 9-0 run over a 2:17 span of the fourth quarter, then withstood a Bruin comeback to win a Division I-AA quarterfinal at Wilson.

Sophomore Neka Mixon scored 26 of her 28 points over the final three quarters for fourth-seeded Wilson (24-7). Mixon fouled out with 11 seconds left after being called for an offensive foul as she missed a scoop shot with the Bruins trailing 55-54.

McKenna Richardson made two free throws for unseeded Palmdale (25-5) with nine seconds to play. Wilson missed two two-point shots in the final seven seconds.

Richardson’s layup with 3:56 remaining capped the 9-0 run and gave the Falcons a 50-39 lead.

After seven unanswered points by Wilson, Sandy Perry’s two free throws put Palmdale up 54-48 with 1:20 to play. Mixon’s two three-pointers brought the Bruins to within one, 55-54, with 24 seconds left.

Shanna Demus had 15 points, Teiosha George 12, Richardson and Brittany Blankenship 10 each for the Falcons.

Sheila Ho-Ching added 12 points for Wilson.

Steven Herbert

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Sylmar 61, Carson 29 -- An effective half-court trapping defense propelled the third-seeded Spartans (22-6) to an easy City Championship semifinal victory over the second-seeded Colts (23-5) at L.A. Southwest College.

Sophomore LaShay Fears scored 18 points and junior Mariama Wrighster added 12 points for Sylmar, which will play top-seeded Harbor City Narbonne at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Forum for the City Championship.

In boys’ basketball:

L.A. Fairfax 62, Carson 46 -- Alex Bausley, a 6-foot-6 senior, scored 17 points and keyed a Fairfax defense that limited 6-9 Maryland-bound center Ekene Ibekwe to 15 points in a City Championship semifinal game at L.A. Southwest College.

Fairfax (26-2) will meet Westchester (27-3) for the City title at 5 p.m. Saturday at the Forum. The Lions had three other players reach double figures, with Josh Shipp and Jason Gilzene contributing 11 points apiece and Jamal Boykin adding 10.

Fairfax led by 18 points at halftime, and Carson (23-4) never got closer than 12 points.

-- Eric Sondheimer