HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS’ BASKETBALL / SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REGIONAL PLAYOFFS : Alemany Blows Late 12-Point Lead as DiCamilli Leads Costa Mesa, 61-59

For three quarters, it appeared as if the Olivia DiCamilli era in Costa Mesa High girls’ basketball was over, but the Mustang senior was not ready to throw in the towel.

Instead, DiCamilli scored 15 of her game-high 28 points in the fourth quarter to rally Costa Mesa to a 61-59 victory over Alemany in the Southern California Division III regional girls’ playoffs Tuesday night at Costa Mesa.

Alemany (25-6), guided by talented sophomore Samantha Rigley, led, 47-35, early in the fourth quarter when DiCamilli went on a tear.

“I saw we were down and I knew I had to step it up big time,” DiCamilli said. “I started taking my shots.

“In the first half, we weren’t attacking their zone enough.”

DiCamilli scored a basket with 3 minutes 34 seconds to play, then stole the ball and hit two free throws with 3:22 left to narrow the Costa Mesa deficit to 51-50.

Rigley drove for a basket with 2:54 remaining for a 53-50 Indian lead.

With 2:38 remaining, DiCamilli hit a pair of free throws, and she made a three-point play with 1:50 left for a 55-53 Costa Mesa lead. Kelly McKay took a Rigley pass for a basket to tie the score, 55-55.

DiCamilli and Heather Robinson scored to give Costa Mesa (28-4) a 59-55 lead with 46 seconds remaining, but Rigley scored again 22 seconds later.

DiCamilli iced the game with 11 seconds left when she hit both ends of a one-and-one situation for a 61-57 lead. Kathy Brown’s basket at the buzzer completed the scoring.

“She went at us and it didn’t matter,” Alemany Coach Melissa Hearlihy said. “Everything she did was right. They had seniors, and we had sophomores. When they put their press on, we couldn’t cope with it.”

DiCamilli also had 11 rebounds, six assists and four steals to go with her scoring. Rigley led the Indians with 23 points, eight rebounds and five assists.