Girls’ Basketball: CdM hoping for deep run in state playoffs

The Corona del Mar High girls’ basketball team might be a game away from a highly anticipated rematch.

CdM Coach Mark Decker knows that his team would like another shot at La Cañada, the team that earned a controversial 55-52 win over CdM in the semifinals of the CIF Southern Section Division 3A playoffs.

But ultimately, the Sea Kings can’t focus on that. All that matters now is that they are the No. 7 seed in the CIF State Southern California Regional Division IV playoffs, and they play host to No. 10 Carlsbad La Costa Canyon in the first round Wednesday at 7 p.m.

La Costa Canyon (23-9) was the CIF San Diego Section Division 1 runner-up. The Mavericks had an eight-game winning streak snapped when they lost to Chula Vista Eastlake, 43-23, in the Division 1 title game March 5.

“They have a very strong program,” Decker said. “They’ve been really, really good for a lot of years. This team that they have is guard oriented, very good shooters. They’re a very solid team.”

CdM (23-7) is led by its senior starters of post players Natalia Bruening and Krista Anderson, forward Kat Hess and point guard Kelly Tam. The Sea Kings took two days off practice following the loss to La Cañada, but returned to work last Wednesday, knowing they were assured a spot in the SoCal Regionals.

They found out Sunday afternoon that the first-round opponent would be La Costa Canyon, and also that if they win that game, they would likely play at No. 2-seeded La Cañada in a regional quarterfinal on Saturday night at 6.

The Spartans got past CdM on Feb. 27, when junior guard Kristina Kurdoghlian hit a three-pointer at the buzzer, though video seemed to show that she got the shot off just late. Prior to Kurdoghlian’s game-winner, CdM had erased a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit, but the controversial finish sent CdM home in the CIF semifinals for the third straight season.

“You know, right now in my mind, that’s not a reality,” Decker said of a possible rematch. “The only reality is [Wednesday] ... It’s got to be a game-by-game basis. In a one-game situation, I think we can compete with any team in those regionals. Saying that, the margin is pretty tight. If we don’t play our best, we can be beat as well.”

Bruening, a 6-foot-4 co-captain who is averaging 21.5 points per game this postseason, agreed.

“For us right now, we’re thinking of it as [Wednesday] is the last game,” she said. “We’re not looking ahead. We know that there could be no Saturday. We’re just really staying focused on that.”

Decker said the Sea Kings will play the SoCal Regionals without sophomore guard Tia Grippo, who has a stress fracture in her right foot. Grippo was a starter for CdM. In the CIF semifinals, her absence moved freshman forward Tatiana Bruening — Natalia’s younger sister — into the starting lineup.

“It’s a big loss for us,” Decker said. “It definitely made an impact against La Cañada. [Grippo] is just a really smart player. She’s really in tune with what we’re doing defensively and she does the small things. It’s definitely missed, what she brings.”

CdM is making its third straight appearance in the CIF State Southern California Regional playoffs. The Sea Kings lost in the first round of Division III in 2014. Last year, they beat San Diego Kearny in the first round of Division III for their first CIF State playoffs win in program history, before falling at Orange Lutheran in a regional quarterfinal.

Antelope Valley, which beat La Cañada to win the CIF-SS Division 3A title, is the top seed in the SoCal Division IV Regionals.

The tournament continues with regional quarterfinals on Saturday, and the regional semifinals are scheduled for March 15. The SoCal Regional Division IV title game is scheduled for March 19 at 2 p.m., at Colony High in Ontario.

A win on Wednesday night would be CdM’s 24th of the season, the most for a season in Decker’s 10-year tenure.

“It’s been such a great run with this group of seniors and this entire team this year,” said Bruening, who will continue her career at UC Santa Barbara. “We want to keep it going as long as possible. We really think of it as a family.”