Mater Dei desperately needs a victory over rival Santa Margarita

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

One of the best rivalries of the girls’ basketball season continues tonight when No. 19 Mater Dei plays at No. 7 Santa Margarita in a Trinity League showdown. The teams have split games this season, with Mater Dei winning the championship of the Ocean View tournament, 50-43, and the Eagles answering in the first round of league play, 44-42.

A victory by Santa Margarita (18-2, 5-0) would almost assure the Eagles an outright league title and give them and first-year Coach Scott Bricker the league’s first-place berth into the Southern Section playoffs. Santa Margarita would have a two-game lead over Orange Lutheran with two games to play.

Mater Dei (18-3, 3-2), upset by Orange Lutheran after its loss to Santa Margarita, desperately needs a victory. The Monarchs still must play OL a second time, on Jan. 31.

If Round 3 is anything like the first two, it should be a heck of a game.

Anyone looking for a key player need look no further than Santa Margarita’s Lauren Oosdyke, who’s averaging 14.6 points, second only to Melissa Zornig’s 21.4, and a team-high 7.1 rebounds. The Eagles overcame an 18-2 deficit in the first game and pulled to within one point, 36-35, when Oosdyke fouled out with almost three minutes remaining. In the second game, Oosdyke scored 13.

-- Martin Henderson

-- Image from www4.nau.edu