Mustangs fall short at end

COSTA MESA — After watching his Costa Mesa High girls’ basketball team commit 29 turnovers, Coach Jim Weeks had a right to be disappointed.

Instead, he saw plenty of positives, even after the Mustangs fell, 49-48, to San Ramon Valley in the first round of their Costa Mesa Winter Classic on Wednesday at Costa Mesa High.

The Mustangs came oh so close.

With the Mustangs down three, Michelle Figueroa grabbed the ball and dribbled the length of the court, banking in a runner in the lane as the buzzer sounded.

Figueroa and a San Ramon Valley defender went crashing to the floor, but no foul was called and the game ended with Costa Mesa a point short.

Weeks decided to still concentrate on the positives. After all, his team was playing a Danville-based CIF North Coast Section champion from a year ago. And, even if the turnovers frustrated Weeks, he was happy that his team kept pushing the ball all night long against a tough press defense.

“I really liked the energy we played with,” Weeks said. “That’s a good step forward for us, to be able to play them that hard.”

Costa Mesa (3-7), which plays Citrus Hills today at 1:30 p.m. in consolation bracket action, battled back from an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit against San Ramon Valley (3-6). The Mustangs tied the score at 46-all on Figueroa’s free throw with 10 seconds left.

But then Costa Mesa was called for an intentional foul as the Wolves brought the ball past midcourt, giving San Ramon Valley two shots and the ball. The Wolves’ Kelly Wiese made both free throws and, after a Costa Mesa foul, Mary Kate Tengler made another from the charity stripe.

Tengler missed the second free throw with seven seconds to go, setting up Figueroa’s final shot.

Figueroa, a junior who has been battling the flu, didn’t start but scored a game-high 17 points and recorded five steals. Senior center Jennifer Courtney had 14 points and 18 rebounds for the Mustangs.

Jasmine Werdel scored nine points for Costa Mesa, and Amy Gentling scored six — including consecutive fourth-quarter jumpers to help ignite the rally.

The Mustangs did a much better job breaking the press in the fourth quarter than the previous three, when they often had trouble getting the ball past half-court.

“We’ve been struggling with [turnovers],” Weeks said. “When we pick up the pace, we’re not able to think at that same pace that we’re physically playing. When we get that down, too, then we’re really going to gel. It’s a matter of maturity and experience.

“Their press was tough, too, especially in the second half,” he added. “They deserve a lot of that credit; it wasn’t just us making mistakes.”

Mesa outscored San Ramon Valley 20-14 in the fourth quarter, but the Wolves hung on despite making just one field goal in the quarter. The Mustangs often had trouble stopping the penetration of Wolves point guard Tengler.

Quarterfinal games today at the Costa Mesa Winter Classic include Saugus against Tustin at 3 p.m. and Laguna Hills against Saddleback at 4:40 p.m. Villa Park will play Valencia at 6:20 p.m., and San Ramon Valley faces Mission Viejo at 8 p.m. Sage Hill lost to Saugus, 65-18.

Costa Mesa Winter Classic

First round

San Ramon Valley 49,

Costa Mesa 48

Score by Quarters

San Ramon Vly 6 17 12 14 — 49 Costa Mesa 11 13 4 20 — 48

San Ramon -- Tengler 16, Wiese 11, Calderazzo 6, Falk 5, Gutierrez 4, M. Bacharach 4, Yarnold 2, Griffin 1.

3-pt. goals -- Tengler 1.

Costa Mesa -- Figueroa 17, Courtney 15, Werdel 9, Gentling 6, Trinh 2.

3-pt. goals -- None.

Fouled out -- Werdel, Trinh.