RANCHO CUCAMONGA — As they walked across the court, nine-tenths of a second away from redemption, Katie Lou Samuelson wrapped her left arm around Andee Velasco and hugged her close.
The Mater Dei juniors left the same court stunned last season when Etiwanda of Rancho Cucamonga upset the Monarchs in overtime in the CIF-SS semifinals.
There was no deja vu. In the same round, at the same place, on the verge of the same heartbreak, Velasco became a hero in the final seconds.
Velasco’s driving bucket with four seconds left broke a tie and Cheyenne Allen stole the ensuing Etiwanda inbounds pass as Mater Dei avenged a playoff loss last year with a 56-54 win over the Eagles on Saturday in an Open Division semifinal.
Mater Dei and Etiwanda traded leads most of the second half, but the Monarchs allowed just two points in the final 3:47.
Mater Dei will face Windward of Los Angeles in the championship next weekend.
Etiwanda called timeout after Velasco scored to draw up a final play. But Allen stole the inbounds pass, passing it off to Neah Odom, who was fouled with nine-tenths of a second left.
That’s when Samuelson and Velasco shared a moment on the court.
“We’ve been through a lot together and to finally pull this out, it was just so surreal,” Velasco said.
Samuelson led Mater Dei (26-1) with 21 points and Odom scored nine of her 11 in the fourth quarter.
The Monarchs trailed 33-26 at halftime and Coach Kevin Kiernan said he didn’t think his team played very hard early. The Eagles scored 10 points in the last 2:30 of the first half to go into the break with momentum.
But Mater Dei ramped up the pressure in the second half. A 9-0 run to start the third gave Mater Dei a 35-33 lead and started a seesaw of lead changes. There were four ties and nine lead changes in the second half.
Etiwanda star forward Amy Okonkwo was held to two points in the first 23:25, but scored 10 in the last 8:35, helping Etiwanda keep pace late. Still, her 12 points were far less than the 28 she scored in Etiwanda’s 73-72, upset win over Mater Dei a season ago.
Monarchs sophomore Jayde Woods stayed with Okonkwo most of the game and limited her opportunities.
Velasco said the Monarchs worked through the offseason with this loss in mind.
“I’m shaking because I’m so excited right now,” Samuelson said. “And the way we won, just everything ended perfectly.”
Contact the writer: mcooper@ocregister.com
