By Phillip Brents

After winning their third consecutive San Diego Section Division II championship title, it is safe to assume that a girls basketball dynasty has risen at Mt. Miguel High School. The Matadors crowned their latest title in superlative fashion by overcoming a 13-point halftime deficit to defeat East County rival El Capitan, 53-47, March 4, at the University of San Diego’s Jenny Craig Pavilion.

Top-seeded Mt. Miguel, which entered the game ranked third in the state in its division and ninth overall among all California schools, outscored the second-seeded Vaqueros (25-5) by a 36-17 margin in the second half of play to collect its third straight CIF title. The Matadors, who hiked their record to an intimidating 29-1 with their 19th consecutive victory, got back in the game with a 16-7 third-quarter run to close the gap between the teams to just four points after trailing El Capitan 30-17 at halftime.

While it rained in torrents outside, it figuratively poured on El Capitan’s championship hopes inside.

Mt. Miguel used its best defense of the season to further stymie the Vaqueros’ offense in the final quarter, while revving up its own offense by outscoring the Grossmont North League champions 20-10 en route to raising the championship plaque for the third consecutive season.

The Matadors, who drew a home court matchup against Perris (24-8) in Tuesday’s opening round of the state regional playoffs, made good use of 30 El Capitan turnovers in the game.

Junior Jerica Williams paced Mt. Miguel with 21 points but it was a three-point shot by senior guard Genevieve Costello that finally gave the Matadors the second-half lead. Costello has been a part of all three CIF championships by the Spring Valley school.

The victory was Mt. Miguel’s third consecutive against El Capitan this season. Overall, the Matadors have defeated the Vaqueros in eight of the teams’ last nine matchups.

Sophomore forward Lashawn Johnson scored 12 points for Mt. Miguel while Costello and junior forward Tanasha Yarbrough each contributed six points in the win.

Williams keyed her team’s 45-29 semifinal-round victory against fourth-seeded Orange Glen (22-7) on March 1 with 20 points and 11 rebounds while Johnson had 10 points.

The championship game started out on an ominous note for the Matadors, however. Cold shooting from the floor (6-of-32) in the first half allowed the taller El Capitan team to make constant down court rushes. The Vaqueros doubled the score on their championship-round opponent in the first quarter, leading 12-6. El Capitan continued its offensive dominance with an 18-11 scoring edge in the second quarter.

The Vaqueros, who traveled to Fullerton to face top-seeded Troy (29-0) in Tuesday’s opening round of the regional playoffs, used their superior height to out-rebound Mt. Miguel 21-19, including 11 by junior Allison Duffy. El Capitan also played a more physical game, with 16 fouls to 10 for the Matadors. However, both Duffy (fourth in the section in scoring) and junior guard Mallorie Montgomery fouled out in the contest, hurting the El Capitan offense. Duffy, who stands 6-1, led all scorers in the contest with 23 points, hitting on 11 of 15 shots from the field, including one three-point field goal.

Duffy was particularly effective in the first half in leading the Vaqueros’ charge by hitting on eight of nine shots and grabbing seven rebounds. She finished regular season play with a 22-point scoring average this season.

Heather Molzen chipped in with 16 points for El Capitan while junior guard Lisa Wilkins added six points.

Molzen and Duffy both had 23 points in their team’s 65-46 semifinal-round victory against third-seeded Ramona (24-6) to avenge last year’s semifinal loss.

Regional playoffs include three rounds before the field is narrowed to the state finals March 18 in Sacramento.

Mt. Miguel’s lone loss this season has been to Canyon Springs (Moreno Valley), a team ranked sixth in the state. In all, the Matadors have made four consecutive San Diego Section championship game appearances under coach Robbie Sandoval. The streak began with a runner-up finish in the 2002 title game to Orange Glen.

The championship game appearance was the second for El Capitan in the past three years after the Vaqueros finished second to Mt. Miguel in the 2003 finals.

East County teams advance in hoops playoffs

By Phillip Brents
Posted Feb. 28, 2005

Steele Canyon and Mt. Miguel both came away with San Diego Section divisional championships in last year’s basketball playoffs. Those two teams positioned themselves to defend those titles by advancing to the semifinal round of this year’s playoffs.

Steele Canyon, which claimed last year’s boys Division III championship, defeated Grossmont 70-33 in last Saturday’s quarterfinals to earn a spot in Wednesday’s semifinal game against University City, with the winner to advance to Friday’s championship game at the University of San Diego.

Mt. Miguel, which topped Ramona to win last year’s girls Division II championship, blasted San Marcos 74-43 in last Friday’s quarterfinals to advance to Tuesday’s semifinal game against Orange Glen, with the winner earning a berth in Friday’s championship game at USD.

Santana, top-seeded in the girls Division III playoff bracket, also earned a spot in this year’s CIF semifinals after defeating Our Lady of Peace 76-38 in last Friday’s quarterfinals. The Sultans advanced to Tuesday’s semifinals against University of San Diego High School, with the winner earning a trip to Saturday’s championship game, also at USD.

El Capitan was looking to make it an all-East County Division II final after dumping Westview 57-20 in last Friday’s quarterfinals. With a victory against Ramona in Tuesday’s semifinals, the Vaqueros could meet Mt. Miguel for this year’s title.

Mt. Miguel, which was led by Jerica Williams’ 24 points in last Friday’s quarterfinal win, entered this year’s playoff tournament seeded first with a 25-1 record. El Capitan, which received 22 points from Lisa Wilkins in its quarterfinal win, entered the playoffs seeded second with a 22-4 record.

The Division II girls championship game tips off March 4 at 8 p.m. at USD’s Jenny Craig Pavilion.

Jordan Franey paced Santana (23-5) with 26 points in its quarterfinal victory while teammate Gabby Passentino added 22 points. The Sultans led 34-19 at halftime and blew open the contest with a 24-8 third-quarter run. The Division III girls title game is scheduled March 5 at 1 p.m. at Jenny Craig Pavilion.

In the boys playoff field, Steele Canyon broke out to a 37-15 halftime lead in its quarterfinal game against the Foothillers (17-11) as George Cunningham (21), Jason Beauchamp (19) and Richie Williams (16) all scored in double digits. Fifth-seeded University City (19-9) eliminated Monte Vista (11-18) with a 50-41 quarterfinal win. Both Grossmont and Monte Vista had advanced to the quarterfinals with first-round victories. Grossmont stopped Orange Glen 61-58 while Monte Vista stunned fourth-seeded Westview 54-52. University City had previously turned back El Cajon Valley 58-54 in another first-round game.

The Division II boys championship game is scheduled March 4 at 6 p.m. at USD.

Helix advanced to Wednesday’s Division I boys semifinals on the strength of last Saturday’s 58-53 quarterfinal win at third-seeded Hilltop. Lance Hurdle led the Highlanders (23-5) with 22 points. Helix bounded out to a 22-14 first quarter lead and held off a resurgent Hilltop squad (25-3) over the next three quarters.

The Highlanders were scheduled to play top-seeded La Costa Canyon (21-6) in Wednesday’s semifinals, with the winner advancing to the championship game on March 5 at 8 p.m. at USD.