Rancho Bernardo High School’s girls basketball team was the final one included in this year’s CIF San Diego Section Open Division bracket and proceeded to lose in the first round to top-seeded Francis Parker.
So the Broncos waited patiently for a state playoff berth, still practicing like any team waiting for its chance to prove itself again.
They received the No. 7 seed in Division 2 and then made the decision to keep doing what they do best — spread the ball on offense while still relying on their best offensive player, mix that with a stifling defense and simply take their chances.
Next chance — the state championship game.
Rancho Bernardo (26-7) knocked off No. 1 seed and host Porterville Monache, 35-25, on Tuesday in the Southern California Regional Championship to advance to Saturday’s final against Caruthers (25-6).
The Broncos will go for the state title at 2 p.m. at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.
Junior guard Lindsay Biddle had a game-high 12 points as the Broncos constantly applied pressure to the Monache zone defense.
Senior guard Myla Jones chipped in with five points, and the senior Tokushige sisters were key in breaking any full-court pressure. Keira had five points and Reese had four.
The Marauders had no answer on either end for dominant Broncos forward Abby Lesagonicz, the 6-foot-3 junior who’s been a matchup nightmare all season.
Lesagonicz had eight points, nine rebounds and eight blocks.
The game in Porterville didn’t start out well for Rancho Bernardo as the Broncos missed easy shots and went down 5-0. Biddle’s steal and feed to Jones for a breakaway layup got the Broncos on the board first.
The Marauders went up 9-4 early in the second quarter, then Rancho Bernardo got to business on both ends.
Biddle drove for a layup after a turnover. Roxie James scored inside after a missed shot. Biddle’s drive to the basket gave the Broncos their first lead of the game at 10-9 with 2:14 left in the quarter.
Lesagonicz’s rebound and putback capped the 8-0 run. After a Monache basket, Lesagonicz hit a huge 3 from the top for a 15-11 lead.
Monache tied it at 15 to open the second half, but Keira Tokushige dropped in a long 3 to give the Broncos a lead they would never relinquish.
After a Tokushige free throw to open the fourth quarter, Jones hit a 3 from the left corner off Keira Tokushige’s assist followed by Biddle from inside on the assist from Lesagonicz.
That gave the Broncos an insurmountable 30-19 lead. Monache fouled with under two minutes left, but Rancho Bernardo was true from the free-throw line. When the final buzzer sounded, the Broncos celebrated their unlikely regional championship.
— TIM MEEHAN
Division 3
Mater Dei Catholic 51, El Camino Real 38: Tied at 7-7 midway through the first quarter, Mater Dei Catholic used a 20-0 run to take a lead it never relinquished.
The SoCal Regional Division 3 championship-game win propels the Crusaders into the State Championship game at 2 p.m. Friday against Kentfield Marin Catholic at the Golden 1 Center.
El Camino Real (16-15), seeded No. 2, never got closer to 13.
Promise Martin led No. 3-seeded Mater Dei Catholic (21-13) with 19 points and 16 rebounds.
Jordyn Worley scored just five points for the Crusaders, but had 13 rebounds and blocked a pair of shots. Melissa Ruiz and Jarika Chan both finished with eight points for the Crusaders.
Laila Bowens led El Camino Real 19 points as the Royals were down to six players because of injuries and a suspension.
The Crusaders won despite committing 31 turnovers. El Camino Real had 22 turnovers.
Mater Dei Catholic, seeded No. 3 and No. 211 in the state, has won four in a row and six of its last seven. Mater Dei Catholic beat Palisades 57-55 on Saturday to get to this game.
— JOHN MAFFEI
