Belle’s defense keys win

LONG BEACH — The Costa Mesa High girls’ basketball team ran into its mirror image in the CIF Southern Section Division IV-AA final Friday.

St. Mary’s Academy of Inglewood bases itself on defense which feeds into its offense, just like the Mustangs. In the final, the Belles executed their game plan better, using more height and quickness to win, 64-37, at the Walter Pyramid.

It was the fewest points the Mustangs scored in six weeks, but the most the Belles (29-5) surrendered in four playoff games. The Mustangs (20-11) entered the final averaging 63.5 points per game in the playoffs. Through 30 games over the entire season, Costa Mesa was averaging 50 points a game.

Costa Mesa shot 22% from the field for the game, only 8% in the first half.

“They’re a great team, we just couldn’t make a basket,” Weeks said. “They’re quick, they took advantage of every mistake. We only lost by [11] after the first quarter. We couldn’t get anything going. This was [Costa Mesa’s] first time here, hopefully the experience was good. Their defense was really good. They are a very good defensive team.”

Weeks said nerves and missed opportunities played a part in the team’s first-quarter meltdown, in which the Mustangs were outscored 19-2.

“It was just a matter of us missing shots,” Weeks said. “After the first quarter we said ‘We’ve got to play better than this.’ There were a little bit of nerves for both teams. It was key they got more shots. They got a couple of baskets to get going and then the nerves go away. We didn’t score so the nerves stayed.”

Sophomore guard Miriah Malapira said the first half, in which the Mustangs shot only two for 25 from the field, is what did Costa Mesa in.

“To tell you the truth, we could have come way closer if we played better in the first half,” Malapira said. “The first quarter was a little sketchy. We were still a little nervous. We didn’t know what they would be like. The way they talked about [St. Mary’s 6-foot-2 freshman center Angel Smith], they said she is really big. We started to get nervous. But when we saw her we said ‘She’s not that big.’ We just needed to get our heads in the game and get some shots.”

Senior Jennifer Courtney, who finished with a team-high 10 rebounds, said Costa Mesa’s jitters fed the Belles’ defense.

“We were a little bit nervous,” said Courtney, who also reflected on the season. “This was my favorite year ever.”

St. Mary’s was built for defense from top to bottom. The Belles had Smith inside, who was just as much girth as height, to keep Costa Mesa from cashing in on drives to the basket.

“It’s really nice to have someone to be there behind you to fix things,” said St. Mary’s guard Ikeriah Redmond, who noted defense has always been the Belles’ primary focus.

“Our defense is good because we work hard,” Redmond said.