ST. MONICA — Despite losing the final of the St. Anthony tournament to the host last weekend, Head Coach Tony Depa said he was happy with the way his team responded to a big early deficit.
St. Anthony roared out to an 18 point halftime lead only to see it eroded to two as St. Monica began the second half on a 16-0 run.
“At that point our kids kind of hit a wall,” Depa said.
Unfortunately, the Mariners couldn’t sustain the surge and lost 69-61.
While St. Anthony held a major height advantage, it was their shooting from beyond the 3-point arc that doomed the Mariners.
“A team that big, shooting that well, always makes it tough,” he said.
The loss on Saturday was St. Monica’s second in a tournament final. The Mariners lost to Bell-Jeff in the final of its own St. Monica Tip-Off Invitational earlier this month.
The Mariners won’t have to wait long to exact a bit of revenge against St. Anthony. The two teams will meet again on Jan. 25 at home.
“We can’t wait to play them again,” Depa said. “Next time it’s at our place.”
St. Monica will be out of action until Dec. 26 when the Mariners face Morningside in the Sea Hawk Beach Classic. It will be St. Monica’s third and final tournament of the season.
All-CIF girls volleyball teams named<p>
Pacifica Christian’s Alex Gearin was named CIF Division V Co-Player of the Year. Teammate Gena Heger was named to the Division V first team.
Santa Monica High School’s Dana Ritchie was named to the All-CIF Division III second team.
St. Monica’s Caitlyn Hall was tabbed for the All-CIF Division V second team.
Samohi girls hoops loses tourney final<p>
Santa Monica’s girls basketball team fell to Ocean League rival Inglewood 46-37 Saturday in the final of the Redondo Classic.
The loss dropped Samohi to 5-3 on the season. Samohi will be in action later this week in the Nike Tournament of Champions in Arizona. The Vikings are scheduled to play Pinnacle in round robin action on Friday.
Samohi water polo earns honors<p>
Santa Monica High School’s Marc Vonderweidt was named to the All-CIF Division V boys water polo first team on Monday. Teammates Eduardo Navarrete and Max Vilim-Brozyna were named to the second team.
Samohi Head Coach Matt Flanders said that all three juniors were instrumental in his team going 20-11 this season. The Vikings were ultimately eliminated in the semifinals of the CIF Division V playoffs.
With these three All-CIF performers returning, big things may be in the offing.
“We just get better next year,” he said.
Samohi boys soccer faces Palos Verdes<p>
Santa Monica’s boys soccer team will host Palos Verdes at John Adams Middle School on Thursday at 3:30 p.m. It will be the last action for Samohi until Jan. 8 when the Vikings host Paramount.
Samohi girls soccer wins<p>
Santa Monica’s girls soccer team blanked North 3-0 on Monday at home.
The win improves the Vikings’ record to 3-3-1. Next up for Samohi is a home game against Peninsula today at 3:30 p.m. Samohi plays home games at John Adams Middle School.
Samohi girls water polo come home<p>
Santa Monica’s 6-4 girls water polo team will host Redondo at 3 p.m. today.
