Edison girls still alive in state

Time was running out for the Edison High girls’ basketball team from the very beginning Saturday night.

But as it turns out, the Chargers still have some fight in them.

Time was on Brea Olinda’s side Saturday, and so was the 62-40 verdict in the CIF Southern Section Division II-AA championship game.

Edison fought gamely but was denied in its attempt for its first CIF girls’ hoops title since 1987.

Still, the Chargers proved to be resilient. On Tuesday night, they went on the road to beat West Hills of Santee, 53-41, in the first round of the CIF State Division II Southern California regional.

Edison plays at top-seeded Mater Dei at 7 tonight in a regional semifinal.

In tonight’s game, Edison Coach Dan Wiley probably wants his team to be more aggressive than it was against Brea Olinda.

“We had to be more aggressive on that press in the first half,” Wiley said. “We were letting them run 10 seconds off the shot clock every time, instead of attacking it, which was what we worked on in practice all week. Shot clock violation after violation, and [Brea Olinda] hit their shots. Kelsey Harris was on fire.”

Harris, a junior guard, hit six three-pointers and finished with a game-high 22 points for Brea Olinda (29-2), ranked No. 4 in the state by CalHiSports.com.

But it was a battle early, as Edison (25-5) led for much of the first quarter. But it was short-lived, as Brea Olinda closed the first stanza on an 8-0 spurt and didn’t look back.

Brea Olinda outscored Edison, 25-3, in the third to blow open a nine-point game at halftime.

“They made some adjustments in the second half that we maybe weren’t so ready for, and they were hitting their shots as well,” said Edison senior forward Mary Madden, who finished with seven points and four rebounds. “We did all we could do. I think everyone played hard. We just didn’t hit our shots this game.

But the Chargers bounced back Tuesday night in their game at West Hills. Despite being down 28-19 at halftime and also down entering the fourth quarter, Edison responded.

The Chargers outscored West Hills 20-4 in the fourth. Wiley said his team was 13 for 14 from the line in the quarter, part of a 23-for-26 effort for the game.

“We were just more aggressive and our defense stepped it up,” Wiley said. “We went to a zone defense and it frustrated them. The seniors, Kelly [Peterson], Mary and Michelle [Yamasaki], they didn’t want it to be their last game.”

Samuelson poured in a team-high 20 for Edison. Peterson scored 13 and sophomore Christina Marquette had 10.

Peterson echoed her coach’s comments, even after the CIF loss Saturday.

“A lot of us have been friends for a long time,” she said. “It’s just awesome that we can continue on and go to state. We love each other, we’re all sisters and family right now. We just want to keep going and be successful. We’ve had a great season and we just want to continue on and go as far as we possibly can.”

CIF State Division II Southern California Regional

?Edison at Mater Dei, regional semifinal, 7 tonight at Mater Dei High

* Winner advances to regional final Saturday at UCLA.