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| Marian Catholic 61 Otay Ranch 46 |
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CHULA VISTA – It's been a historic season for the Marian Catholic girls basketball team.
In defeating Otay Ranch 61-46 yesterday, the Crusaders not only completed an undefeated South Bay league season, but also clinched the school's first girls basketball title.
"It's pretty exciting to win league," Marion Catholic coach Chris Moeller said. "The girls worked really hard all year. We had a tough schedule, and they battled all year. It's a great group of girls."
Kirbi Vine scored 24 points for the Crusaders (15-10, 9-0) and set up her teammates throughout.
"I only did well because my teammates did well," Vine said. "It was a culmination of a lot of hard work. It's great to go undefeated in league, but we never hung a banner at Marian before this season."
The Mustangs were able to put up a fight early on, but Marian Catholic was able to pull away in the second quarter by going on an 18-7 run behind the shooting of Vine. For the quarter, Vine was 3-for-3 from the field.
The Crusaders pushed the lead to 11 when Anitra McCain hit a three-pointer with 1:12 remaining in the half.
"They were pressing us early, and so we just focused on getting the ball up the court," said McCain, who scored 14 points. "We knew this was the team that was going to give us a challenge."
The only challenge Otay Ranch was able to muster came in the closing moments of the third quarter when they cut the lead to nine. However, the Crusaders continued to find ways to pull away. With 6:15 left in the game, Vine's fast-break assist to McCain opened the lead to 15 points.
The question now is how Marian Catholic will fare against other Division IV teams. Although undefeated against league competition, the Crusaders are only 6-10 against nonleague foes.
"Division IV is probably the toughest in the county," Moeller said. "Winning league was our No. 1 goal, and the playoffs are a reward for our hard work. There's no pressure on us anymore."
