Edison loses to Santa Margarita in Brea Olinda Ladycat Classic semifinals

The Edison High girls’ basketball team is deeper than it first appeared on paper.

Consistent foul trouble to the team’s post players is not the way that the Chargers would have hoped to figure that out, but Edison was competitive against a quality opponent despite that fact on Thursday.

Gabby Samiy had a game-high 16 points with four three-pointers, but Santa Margarita came away with a 57-50 victory in a semifinal contest in the Brea Olinda Ladycat Classic.

For the second night in a row, senior center Ashley Niemand was not long for the game. She picked up four fouls in the first half, and she fouled out in the third quarter.

Senior power forward Finley Garnett also played with foul trouble, although it never forced her to the bench until her fifth personal foul was committed in the final minute.

Chargers coach Sara Brown found herself turning to Maggie Shmit and Taylor Fullbright for critical minutes in the fourth quarter, and they delivered hustle plays. Edison was able to pick up loose balls, even though it was severely undersized without Niemand out on the floor.

“It’s exciting because we have a lot of players that believe in the system that we’re running and believe in what we’re doing, so they’re buying in,” Brown said. “When they’re buying in, they’re playing hard and trusting each other, so that’s allowing them to mesh and play well together.

“Good things happen with our team when they’re not playing timid.”

Garnett had an all-around productive game with 14 points, five assists, five rebounds and three steals.

A strong start by Hope Nguyen allowed Edison to take a 13-9 lead after the first quarter. The Chargers’ senior guard had three rebounds and three assists in the opening frame.

“Every single game, I come out to win,” Nguyen said. “As a leader on this team, I feel like it’s my job to be a demonstration for them. I just try to play the way I want the other girls to play to win.”

A three-point play by Jilli Carr gave Santa Margarita a 36-28 lead with 2:10 to go in the third quarter.

The streaky shooting of Samiy started to go the Chargers’ way after that. The senior point guard connected on three shots from beyond the arc before the end of the period.

Samiy’s third three gave Edison a 38-36 lead, but Kara St. John answered with a three-point shot of her own as the clock expired to send the Eagles (3-0) to the fourth with a 39-38 lead.

With 6-foot-2 Jocelyn Ewell and 6-foot Renny Cribbin patrolling the paint for Santa Margarita, it became difficult for Edison to grab the defensive rebounds. It may have been the difference in the game, as Cribbin grabbed an offensive rebound and put in a layup for a 56-50 lead with 52 seconds remaining.

“[That was] probably my best game in a long time,” Cribbin said. “Without the offensive rebounds, there is no way that we could have won. It really impacted our movement with the game, and it really got the bench into it, which was a big help.”

Cribbin had 15 points, 11 rebounds and two steals. Grace Kozak added 13 points and three steals, and Jessica Fracker chipped in with eight points, seven rebounds and three assists for the Eagles.

Santa Margarita will play tournament host Brea Olinda in the championship game at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, while Edison (2-1) will face Esperanza in the third-place game at 7 p.m.

*

Santa Margarita 57, Edison 50

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Santa Margarita 9 – 12 – 18 – 18 — 57

Edison 13 – 8 – 17 – 12 — 50

SM – Cribbin 15, Kozak 13, Carr 8, Fracker 8, St. John 7, Ewell 6.

3-pt. goals – Kozak 2, St. John 2, Fracker 2, Carr 1.

Fouled out – None.

Technicals – None.

E – Samiy 16, Garnett 14, Schmit 6, Fullbright 5, H. Nguyen 5, Niemand 4.

3-pt. goals – Samiy 4, Ontiveros 1.

Fouled out – Niemand, Garnett.

Technicals – None.

andrew.turner@latimes.com

Twitter: @ProfessorTurner