LAKE ELSINORE – Second-seeded Lakeside of Lake Elsinore ran into early foul trouble and failed to deal with third-seeded Santa Margarita’s post players as the visting Eagles beat the Lancers, 73-58, in a Southern California Division 3 regional semifinal on Tuesday night.
Santa Margarita advances to meet Santa Barbara in the Division 3 regional final Saturday at 6 p.m. at Colony High of Ontario.
Freshman guard Tori Anderson tallied a team-high 20 points and senior guard Zaire Williams added 19 for the Eagles (21-13). The Eagles’ pair of 6-foot forwards, Taylor Donahue and Sheldon Cornwell, used their size advantage to each score 11 points.
“We did great game preparation,” said Santa Margarita coach Matt Houser, whose program will be making its first appearance in the regional final. “The good thing about this kind of travel is that a bunch of the girls are used to playing travel.
“The biggest part, for us was getting past the nerves.”
That seemed to happen quickly, as the Eagles raced to an 8-0 lead and never relinquished. Fouls were a problem. Kianna Williams picked up two charges in the first quarter; junior Victoria Sosa and freshman center Emma Merriweather – at 6-3 the Lancers’ best hope in the post – each picked up three first-half fouls.
“It’s pretty restricting,” Kianna Williams said. “But I try not to let it stop me.”
Kianna Williams scored 24 points for the Lancers (25-8).
In the third quarter, the Lancers cut the deficit to 34-31 after Williams converted a three-point play with 5:34 remaining. But Lakeside couldn’t sustain the momentum, partly due to several costly turnovers.
The Lancers stayed within single digits until the fourth quarter, when Santa Margarita broke away with a 12-0 run and ultimately ended the Lancers’ season.
