CIF-SOUTHERN SECTION PLAYOFFS
DIVISION 3A CHAMPIONSHIP
TONIGHT, 6:30 P.M.
AT MATER DEI HIGH SCHOOL
NO. 3 MUIR (21-7) vs. NO. 1 SANTA MARGARITA (23-6)

ANOTHER VIEW

Division 3A championship preview capsule (Orange County Register)

High school basketball championships (Los Angeles Times)

By Keith Lair, Staff Writer

For the past three years, Muir High School seniors Daysha Thomas, Taylor Gomez and Jermani Daniels have had to endure three consecutive losses in semifinal games.

But not this year.

The third-seeded Mustangs finally will be playing for a title when they face top-seeded Santa Margarita today at 6:30 p.m. at Mater Dei High in Santa Ana in the Division 3A tournament.

“(The semifinal) was our Achilles’ heel. We’re going to go for it,” Muir coach Gary Johnson said. “The girls have been excited all week. They’re excited, they’ve been playing well and have been practicing hard. It’s the first time for them.”

The previous three Muir teams never lost a Pacific League game and lost a total of nine games.

The Mustangs started this season 1-6 and lost seven games, including 61-50 to Crescenta Valley, ending a 51-game league winning streak. The Mustangs did it without a single NCAA Division I-bound player. Since that start, Muir is 20-1.

Gomez is averaging 12.0 points and 3.1 assists per game. Thomas is averaging 11.0 points and 8.6 rebounds per game, junior Ashia Owens 9.3 points per game and Daniels 6.6 points and 6.4 rebounds per game.

Tonight’s game will be Muir’s 12th championship game appearance and the Mustangs’ first since 2004. They have won the title twice, in 1997 with a 45-41 victory over Alemany and in 1990 with a 56-49 win over Ventura. The 1990 Muir team advanced to the state title game but lost to San Ramon, 47-44.

“They’re one of the premier programs,” Santa Margarita coach Matt Houser said. “They have a lot of tradition. For us, this is a dream come true.”

The Catholic school won a CIF-SS title in 2005 by defeating Morningside, 54-46. The Eagles also played in a title game in 2003 but lost to Artesia, 57-55.

The Eagles, 23-6, feature three NCAA-bound players: Melissa Zornig, who is heading to UC Santa Barbara; Cal State Bakersfield-bound point guard Madison McKenney and 6-4 center Elise Lorenz, who will play at Connecticut’s Sacred Heart University next season.

Zornig is averaging 23.9 points per game this season.

“She is one of the best players in California,” Houser said.

Both teams likely will advance to next week’s state tournament.

keith.lair@sgvn.com