Chargers bow out in semifinals

They gave Mater Dei a game, and not a lot of teams could say that in girls’ basketball this season.

But when the final buzzer sounded, it was Edison on the short end of a season-ending 62-46 score March 12 in the CIF State Division II Southern California regional semifinals.

The Chargers actually led, 16-10, after a quarter, stunning the crowd at Mater Dei High against a team ranked No. 1 in the state by CalHiSports.com.

“We were playing really well in the first quarter,” Edison Coach Dan Wiley said. “The press wasn’t bothering us too much, and they were having trouble scoring against our defense. We just got tore down. They’re too good. They run too many people at you.”

Senior Kelly Peterson scored 12 for the Chargers, while sophomore Bonnie Samuelson and freshman Lauren Grego had 11 each.

But Wiley said he had to sit Samuelson and senior guard Michelle Yamasaki (four points) with foul trouble. Samuelson eventually fouled out.

“That’s what really hurt us, the fouls,” he said. “That doesn’t help, when your leading scorer fouls out ... [but] it was a moral win for us. We gave them a game.”

Down, 36-30 at halftime, the Chargers were outscored 13-8 in each of the final two quarters by the Monarchs.

Edison, the Sunset League champion, finished the year 25-6. The Chargers also advanced to the CIF Southern Section Division II-AA finals before losing to Brea Olinda, a team that’s headed to the state finals this weekend.