Southern California Regional Basketball : Point Loma Too Much for Kennedy, 56-50; Mann Gets 40 Points

SAN DIEGO —  With his team trailing by a point early in the fourth quarter, Point Loma High School Coach Lee Trepanier made no secret of where the ball had to go.

“Take it to her, take it to her,” said Trepanier, referring to his two-time All-American, Terri Mann.

The Pointers took the ball to Mann and she in turn took it to Kennedy of Granada Hills. Mann scored 11 of the Pointers’ 13 fourth-quarter points to erase the deficit and lead Point Loma to a tough 56-50 victory over Kennedy in a semifinal game of the Southern California girls’ Division I basketball championships at Serra High School.

Mann, playing her final game in San Diego as a high school player, scored 40 points. She had 25 of Point Loma’s 27 halftime points.

In their drive for a fourth consecutive state title, the Pointers will play Huntington Beach Edison for the Southern California championship Saturday in the Los Angeles Sports Arena.

Point Loma, ranked No. 1 in the state by Cal-Hi Sports, faced its first test of the season against No. 13 Kennedy, which won the Los Angeles City 4-A title.

Kennedy played without its tallest player, 6-foot Diane DeCree, most of the first half because of foul trouble. Even so, the Golden Cougars (23-4) kept pace with the Pointers (32-0) and took a 50-49 lead with 1:03 remaining.

But Mann could not be stopped.

Point Loma guard Liza Carillo took an inbound pass and lofted the ball to Mann, who scored underneath and drew a foul from DeCree. Mann made the free throw and Point Loma led, 52-50.

Mann intercepted a pass with 40 seconds to go and the Pointers called a timeout. When play resumed, guard Lois Guillory hit a 16-footer from the top of the key with 22 seconds left to give Point Loma a 54-50 lead. Kennedy’s final hopes were dashed when Guillory stole the ball and flipped it downcourt to Mann all alone under the basket for the final score.

“I was pleased the kids kept their composure,” Trepanier said. “We learned a lot. The kids really grew up.”

The Pointers learned in a hurry that Kennedy was a lot different from any of the teams they faced in San Diego.

The Golden Cougars took a quick 3-0 lead on a basket and a free throw. But Point Loma tied the game on a miracle basket and the ensuing free throw by Mann.

Mann had fallen to her knees while fighting for a rebound. While on her knees, she threw the ball in the air. The referee’s whistle blew as the ball came down through the hoop.

Soon after Mann’s first basket, DeCree was called for her second foul and was put on the bench.

DeCree had been called for an offensive foul 30 seconds into the game, and with 5:53 left in the first quarter she got her second foul when she crashed into Mann, who was trying to receive a pass.

When DeCree was called for her second foul, Kennedy Coach Craig Raub threw his clipboard to the floor and yelled: “C’mon, what’s going on here? If she’s the best player in America she certainly doesn’t need you guys.”

After the game Raub said: “(If the officials) are going to allow Mann to shove and push they should at least let my girls get physical. But the officials didn’t beat us, Point Loma did. They’re a good team.”

Kennedy’s tallest player after DeCree is 5-9. With DeCree on the bench, the Golden Cougars tried double-teaming Mann, but nothing worked.

Point Loma took a 27-24 lead at the half and Carillo was the only Point Loma player other than Mann to score when she hit a layup with 5:38 left in the second quarter.

Point Loma looked as if it was going to pull away in the third quarter. Mann took an offensive rebound and scored underneath with two seconds left in the third quarter to give the Pointers a 43-58 lead.

But Kennedy took advantage of two turnovers by Guillory and two misses by Mann to score six straight points. The hot shooting of guard Tisa Rush kept the Golden Cougars in the game during that stretch. She hit five straight shots from outside 16 feet and an 18-footer with 5:58 left in the game to give Kennedy its first lead, 44-43, since early in the first quarter.

The victory was Point Loma’s 58th straight and it was the 119th of the team’s last 120 games while Mann has played for the Pointers.