Santa Margarita Sees League Streak End

There’s nothing that stands out about the Santa Margarita girls’ basketball team.

No flashy player, no snazzy offense, no suffocating man-to-man defense.

Among top-flight teams, the Eagles are a sweater in a closet of leather jackets.

“We don’t scare anybody,” Coach Rich Schaaf says. “Everyone thinks they can beat us.”

But Santa Margarita’s record is 88-20 over the last four seasons. Even more impressive is the Eagles’ 23-3 record in the Serra League since its inception four years ago.

Three of the league’s four teams are ranked among the top 15 in the Southland by The Times, and it’s generally considered among the most competitive leagues in the region.

Few coaches other than those in the Serra League ever pick Santa Margarita to win the league title, but only once have the Eagles failed to do so. In the final game of the 2000-01 season, Schaaf’s niece, Maggie Barnett, hit a game-winning basket for Fullerton Rosary to win the game and the title. That was Santa Margarita’s last loss in league play.

It wasn’t until host Santa Ana Mater Dei, ranked No. 15, beat No. 9 Santa Margarita, 49-46, Thursday night that four-year varsity player Annie Mai had lost a league game. The Eagles had won 19 in a row.

Mai watched as her three-point shot with one second to play Thursday missed the basket and left Santa Margarita in an uncharacteristic position -- a loss to go with 24 turnovers.

Mater Dei, which committed 11 turnovers, was led by Jen Rogers’ 22 points and Christina Lopez’s 18.

“[The streak was] a tribute to Santa Margarita,” Mater Dei Coach Geri Gainey said. “They put together real good game plans, they don’t try to do too much and they execute very well.”

Before the game, Eagle players were not overconfident.

“I still see ourselves as the underdog,” said Mai, a 5-foot-9 point guard. “We don’t like to be flashy or show off, and no one’s going to be jealous if someone scores 20 points.”

Lauren Frazee, the Eagles’ top scorer (12.9 points) and second-leading rebounder (7.5), is a 6-1 forward who has signed with Idaho.

“We do what works for us, and this is what works for us,” Frazee said. “We’re one team. It’s not about each individual girl.”

Santa Margarita allows only 40.6 points per game. It scores 58.1 points per game, but Frazee is the only player averaging double figures.

Few of the highest-caliber teams rely as heavily on the 2-3 zone defense as does Santa Margarita. When Whitney Wood, a 6-1 freshman and daughter of NBA referee Leon Wood, is in the lineup, the Eagles’ front line can hold its own. Whitney Hollison, a 6-3 senior, has blocked 33 shots.

While choosing a school, Wood (8.4 points, 7.7 rebounds) heard the buzz in Orange County about public schools such as San Clemente and Capistrano Valley, as well as parochial rivals Rosary and Mater Dei. But Santa Margarita?

“I didn’t know how good they were until I saw them,” Wood said. “No one ever talked about them.”

Even Schaaf has wondered aloud about playing teams such as No. 16 Pasadena Muir, which after defeating Chino Hills Ayala was soundly beaten, 65-51, by Santa Margarita.

So why hasn’t Santa Margarita commanded more respect?

“It could be as simple as we haven’t won a CIF [section] championship,” said Schaaf, whose squad lost in the Southern Section Division III-AA finals last season and the semifinals the two seasons before that. “Troy has. Brea has. San Clemente has. Mater Dei has. Rosary has.”

Rosary Coach Richard Yoon, whose No. 12 Royals compete in Division III-A, is a Santa Margarita convert. He believes the Eagles will win their first section title this season.

“[Inglewood] Morningside is the No. 2 team [in the division],” Yoon said, “but I don’t know if anyone can challenge Santa Margarita. They’re not going to beat themselves.”