Mater Dei shows strength as it beats Rancho Verde

SANTA ANA - Kaela King scored 23 points and Tyler Lamb added 21 to lead Mater Dei to an 80-48 win over Rancho Verde of Moreno Valley on Thursday in a CIF Southern California Division I quarterfinal game at Mater Dei High.

The win advances the Monarchs (31-1) to the semifinals, where they will face Taft of Woodland Hills on Saturday at home at 7 p.m. Taft advanced by defeating Leuzinger, 66-63.

"I'm pretty happy the way we played tonight," said Monarchs coach Gary McKnight. "Defensively, we stepped up our intensity and focused on getting off to a good start."

Click here to see a slide show from this game and Thursday's other regional games.

McKnight said his club had not started recent games as well as he would like. Mater Dei scored just 15 points in the first quarter Thursday, but exploded for 26 in the second to lead 41-20 at halftime.

"We had some good talks this week," he said. "A lot of people thought this team wouldn't be as explosive as last year's. But I think we're more explosive because we can get cheaper baskets."

"You could tell the whole team was focused before the game," said Lamb, who also added nine rebounds and five assists. "It was important for us to get off to a good start."

The victory for the Monarchs was its second in 13 days against the Mustangs (25-7). Mater Dei won, 94-58, on Feb. 27 in a Southern Section Division IAA semifinal.

And much like the previous game, Mater Dei's superior athleticism and size played a huge factor. The Monarchs outrebounded Rancho Verde, 50-25, with King leading the way with 14 boards.

Mater Dei's starting lineup featured nobody under 6-foot-3. Rancho Verde's lineup featured nobody over 6-foot-2.

Rancho Verde seemed content shooting from the perimeter, but finished just 16-of-56 (29 percent) from the floor, and was just 3 of 27 from beyond the arc.

"Do you see any post players out there?" said Mustangs coach Travis Showalter. "We are what we are. We've got to make some threes to score some points."

Ahead 11-7 late in the first quarter, Mater Dei went on a 14-0 run. Rancho Verde never recovered. The Monarchs' lead fluctuated from 20-30 points the remainder of the night.

Rancho Verde guard Kyle Fuller, a Vanderbilt signee, finished with a team-high 18 points, but 14 came in the second half when the game was already decided.

Gary Franklin, who drew the defensive assignment on Fuller, was solid on the offensive side too, finishing with 16 points and five rebounds.

"I still feel we can get better," added Lamb. "The sky's the limit with this team."