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SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO — The St. Margaret’s girls basketball program added another milestone Friday to its impressive resume under fourth-year coach Josh Markum and his experienced cast of players.
The host Tartans knocked off Orange County mainstay Rosary 53-42 in the schools’ first meeting in the new-look Pacific Coast League.
St. Margaret’s (15-6, 2-1) rallied from a four-point deficit at halftime behind its full-court press and clutch 3-point shooting.
“Just the history of (their) program — we have a ton of respect for (Rosary),” said Markum, who has guided the Tartans to a CIF-SS Division 3A runner-up finish and Division 5AA title the past two seasons. “And the three coaches they have over there — there’s over a 100 years of coaching experience on that bench. They know what the heck they’re doing.”
“We feel like we can compete with these higher-level teams,” the coach added. “We’ve been right down to the wire with a few Top 10 teams in Orange County (this season). … We’ve been in it but now we just need to win it. I think that’s the next phase for us.”
Count Friday as solid progress. The Tartans, ranked 15th in Orange County, used their press to spark a 7-0 run in the first minute of the third quarter to take a 25-22 lead.
Rosary (12-8, 0-3), ranked 16th in the county, tied the score 33-33 later in third but the Tartans closed the period with a 3-pointer by Lila Wohlgemuth and two foul shots by point guard Taylor Francois.
St. Margaret’s seized control with an 8-0 run to open the fourth quarter. Wohlgemuth and Harper Gideons sank consecutive 3s before Francois added a breakaway layup off a steal by Addie West.
“Our defense is one of our big strengths,” said Francois, a junior who converted a 3-point play off a steal early in the second half. “We tried to get steals and score fast shots (with our press) and get back in the game.”
“On our press,” junior forward Annika Tufo added, “if you’re going to be trapping, you have to trust your teammate is going to be flying to get that steal and we really had that.”
Francois scored 10 of her game-high 18 points in the third period and finished with seven rebounds.
Gideons, a senior guard, scored eight of her 14 points in the fourth to help St. Margaret’s seal the victory. Tufo chipped in 13 points to join Francois and Gideons as double-digit scorers.
Markum called the victory “critical” because it keeps the Tartans in contention for at least third place and an automatic playoff spot. St. Margaret’s lost to Portola 45-32 earlier this week and plays host to powerhouse Sage Hill on Tuesday.
“We’re stoked,” Gideons said of the win. “Every league game now that we win is a big win.”
Rosary, led by coaching veterans Rich Yoon and Leslie Aragon, started four sophomores and a junior.
Junior post Kate Duarte paced the Royals with 16 points while sophomore Kylie Yoon added 12.
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