Mater Dei's Mosqueda-Lewis picked as nation's top player

SANTA ANA – Keeping a secret from a high school student is virtually impossible these days.

However, somehow, those associated with Mater Dei senior girls basketball player Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis managed to pull it off.

In front of family, friends, Mater Dei faculty and teammates, Mosqueda-Lewis (Connecticut) was awarded the 2011 Girls Basketball National Player of the Year Award at Mater Dei High on Thursday morning.

She is a two-time Gatorade state player of the year, first winning the award as a sophomore (2008-09).

“Me and my dad have been working toward this goal since I started playing basketball,” Mosqueda-Lewis said. “This was definitely one of the awards that I wanted to receive. And to be named finally national player of the year, in my senior year, and know that the hard work has paid off and one of the goals that I had set for myself is achieved, I’m really proud of myself and my family for being with me this whole time.”

And it was all a surprise to her.

“Woke up, St. Patrick’s Day, put some green on, came to school and my teammates were saying we were having a team meeting and they were recognizing us with the boys (basketball team),” Mosqueda-Lewis said. “I was like that’s cool, get out of class early. Just came here and I got more than I expected, more than I could have hoped for.”

The Mater Dei girls team will play Canyon Springs of Moreno Valley in the Southern California Division 1 Regional Final Saturday at 6 p.m. at Galen Center.

The boys are facing Centennial of Corona at 8 p.m.

Mosqueda-Lewis said that when she heard of the recognition ceremony for both teams she thought “that’s different; we’ve never really done that before.”

She was officially let in on the news during the “team meeting” in the team room.

After Mater Dei coach Kevin Kiernan spoke briefly to the team about the ceremony, in walked former WNBA star and four-time gold medalist Lisa Leslie to break the news to the Monarchs.

“We told them that they were going to honor the boys and girls for making it to the (Southern California) regional finals,” Kiernan said. “It is amazing. It is hard to keep a secret around here and they did. The reaction in the team room was amazing.

“This is an amazing day for Kaleena and for Mater Dei. To get an award like this is the culmination of four years of hard work, perseverance and success."

Mosqueda-Lewis becomes the third athlete from Mater Dei to win the national award, joining Tia Bollinger (softball, 2000) and Matt Barkley (football, 2007). Barkley, USC’s starting quarterback, was in attendance for the ceremony.

Mosqueda-Lewis has already won the Naismith National High School Girls and Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Player of the Year awards.

She becomes just the second player from California to win the award. Leslie, who played at Morningside High of Inglewood, was the other (1989-90).

“This is a great honor,” she said. “All of the great athletes that came before and received it are incredible athletes and are going to go down in history as being some of the greatest to play any sport. I’m honored to win this award.”