The cobwebs were noticeable early on.
A couple Orange Lutheran turnovers along with a few of forced shots meant halfway through the first quarter, Poly High of Sun Valley was hanging around, making a game of it.
That’s when sophomore guard Jessi Matson nailed back-to-back 3-pointers to energize the Lancers.
Matson’s four first-half 3-pointers helped the Lancers jump out to a 22-point halftime lead they turned into a 55-35 victory over Poly in the CIF Southern California Regionals Division III first round at Orange Lutheran on Wednesday night.
The Lancers (24-8) will host Corona del Mar (23-8) on Saturday night in the second round of regionals.
“It was good to get up early,” Orange Lutheran coach Tom Howard said. “Obviously, the first few minutes we had a little rust, but you know it’s hard. Coming off a hangover of emotion and everything that goes into winning CIF, now you got to get yourself back up psychologically and emotionally for another tournament.”
Five days after winning the Southern Section 3A final over Santa Margarita, the Lancers struggled executing in the opening four minutes of the game, hitting just one field goal in their first nine possessions.
Matson (14 points) quickly changed that with back-to-back 3s, giving Orange Lutheran control of a game that was tied 5-5. The Lancers went on a 14-0 run over the next six minutes, taking a 32-10 lead into halftime.
Orange Lutheran maintained a lead of at least 20 points throughout the second half, and finished with nine players hitting at least one field goal.
In Division III:
Corona del Mar 70, Kearny of San Diego 34: Natalia Bruening (26), Brianna Westrup (14) and Krista Anderson (10) combined to score 50 points for the Sea Kings.
El Dorado 80, Fresno 46: The Golden Hawks scored at least 20 points in each of the first three quarters, easing past the visiting Warriors. Brooke Salas scored a game-high 26, while Jaylin Jones added 21 point and 12 rebounds. El Dorado will host Santa Margarita on Saturday night after the Eagles earned a 48-42 win over Rancho Bernardo of San Diego.
In Division IV:
JSerra 67, El Capitan of Lakeside 26: Coco Miller led all scorers with 23 points, and the Lions limited the Vaqueros to eight points in the first half. The Lions will travel to play top-seeded Sierra Canyon of Chatsworth (21-5) on Saturday.
Fairmont Prep 78, San Ysidro of San Diego 31: Cierra Hall (29), Samantha Clement (17), Rachel Williams (13) and Tristen Rollon (10) led the way as the Huskies cruised past the Cougars.
Contact the writer: kconnolly@ocregister.com
