Costa Mesa shut down on the road

Patrick Laverty

The limitations of the Costa Mesa High girls basketball team this

season were obvious to anyone who saw them play.

Though deadly from beyond the three-point arc, the Mustangs simply

didn’t have the inside presence to match up against strong post

players and they ran into one Thursday in a CIF Southern Section

Division III-A wild-card game at El Segundo.

Brittney Taylor scored 32 points, almost all of which came inside

the paint, and grabbed 14 rebounds as the Eagles dispatched Costa

Mesa, 59-41, to advance to a first-round game against Santa Ynez.

“That was our deficiency all year,” Mustangs Coach Jim Weeks said

about the lack of a post presence for the Mustangs. Costa Mesa starts

no one taller than 5-foot-8 and lists 5-3 senior Brittany Vergara as

its starting center.

Taylor took advantage of Mesa’s lack of height, particularly in

the third quarter, when she made 6 of 7 field goals, scoring 20

points and helping El Segundo (14-12) open a double-digit advantage.

“I’m very proud of this team,” Weeks said. “We came in here and

fought hard and stayed with them for almost three quarters.”

The Mustangs did so in usual fashion, launching as many shots as

possible from beyond the arc.

Led by Susy Trujillo’s five three-pointers and 17 points, Mesa

didn’t trail by more than 10 points in the first half.

That margin, which came with 4:49 remaining before halftime and

the Mustangs trailing, 21-11, was sliced down by a 7-0 Mesa run,

which started with a Cassey Brick three-pointer and also included a

steal and layup by Brick and two free throws from Ashley Kelly.

At intermission, Mesa remained within striking distance, trailing

30-24.

When Trujillo hit her second three-pointer of the third quarter,

with 5:49 remaining in the period, the Mustangs had cut the Eagles’

lead to 34-30.

But El Segundo closed the period with a 14-3 run, led by eight

points from Taylor, and when Samantha Squalls opened the fourth

quarter with consecutive three-point plays, the Eagles had a 54-33

lead.

“When you have a senior center that knows how to play the game

like [Taylor] did, it makes it really tough,” Weeks said. “She did a

good job of sealing her defender all night.”

Because of its marksmanship from long range, Costa Mesa never

seemed out of the game, but it also was never able to get precisely

on track. The Mustangs shot just 15 of 64 from the floor (23%) and 8

of 42 from three-point range (19%).

“If we would have shot better tonight, we would have had a

chance,” Weeks said. “In the first half alone, we had three or four

shots that went in-and-out.”

The Mustangs were also outrebounded 53-29, which effectively

negated the 22 turnovers they forced.

In addition to Taylor, Squalls came up with 12 points and 11 rebounds, Jovine Tulikhihifo added 11 boards and Laura Parker grabbed

nine rebounds.

Trujillo was Mesa’s leading rebounder, with just six.

Brittany Vergara scored eight points, including a pair of

three-pointers, and Bethany Vergara and Brick each added five points

for the Mustangs, who finished the season 11-14.

*--*

CIF Division III-A

Wild card

El Segundo 59, Costa Mesa 41

Score by Quarters

Costa Mesa 9 15 9 8 -- 41

El Segundo 12 18 18 11 -- 59

Costa Mesa -- Trujillo 17, Br. Vergara 8, Be.

Vergara 5, Brick 5, Kelly 2, Sanchez 0,

Bjelland 0, V. Enesi 4, Craven 0, Akansel 0,

Cluff 0. 3-pt. goals -- Trujillo 5, Br.

Vergara 2, Brick 1. Fouled out -- None.

Technicals -- None. El Segundo -- Ja.

Tulikihihifo 9, Parker 4, Squalls 12, Taylor

32, Jo. Tulikhihifo 2. 3-pt. goals -- Ja.

Tulikihihifo 2. Fouled out -- None.

Technicals -- None.

*--*