Mater Dei wins thrilling battle against league rival Rosary Academy in postseason debut: 5 takeaways

Lani White led all scorers with 20 points for Mater Dei.

SANTA ANA– Mater Dei avenged a deflating loss from Jan. 31 on Saturday to defeat Rosary Academy 49-44 in an exciting CIFSS Open Division postseason-opener. Lani White led all scorers with 20 points for the Monarchs. Here are five takeaways from the game:

RUBBER MATCH

These two rivals are quite used to going at each other for status atop the Trinity League and Orange County, and this season is arguably the most even they've been in recent memory. They split a league title this season when the Royals avenged an 80-65 loss from early in league play a 51-40 win to end league play, so this game was the season series tiebreaker in addition to a huge postseason matchup. For Rosary, that meant a chance to officially change the pecking order – at least for now – and for Mater Dei, it meant a shot at revenge. And, naturally, a win in Southern Section Open Division pool play was on the line for both.

MONARCHS' PRESS DOMINATES FIRST HALF

Mater Dei jumped out to a 14-4 lead after one quarter, and at one point led the game 22-6 before ending up with a 27-17 lead at halftime. Mater Dei shot 33.3% from the field in the first half, and Rosary Academy was not far behind at 31.6%. The key statistic in the first half? Field goal attempts. The Monarchs got 30 shots up in the first half as opposed to their foe's 19 FGA because of the turnovers they forced within their signature press, plus a slight advantage on the boards. The energy they brought spanned 94 feet, with sharp rotations and relentless ball-pressure. Even when Rosary was able to get into its sets, Mater Dei consistently stayed between its man and the ball, and contained its opposition at the point of attack to set the tone.

ROYALS NEARLY COMPLETE COMES BACK, BUT SHAENA BREW HITS THE GAME-WINNER

After spending much of the first half with its hopes on life support, Rosary Academy started chipping away at the lead in the second half of the second quarter. It followed it up by coming out of halftime with a jolt of energy, Kaylee Byon got going offensively, and by the end of the third quarter, it only trailed by a point. The Royals finally tied the game up at 40 a few minutes in the fourth quarter and later took their first lead of the game, 44-43 with 2:24 left.

As Mater Dei had struggled to hit makable shots through most of the second half, it looked like the Royals were going to pull off the dramatic comeback after all. But they never scored again. Nearly two minutes after they took their first lead, neither team had scored since, until Mater Dei freshman guard Shaena Brew attacked a closeout with a pump fake and drained a pull-up from a couple feet inside the arc with a little over 30 seconds left. Had the Monarchs not converted on that possession, at which point they already were devoid of offensive momentum, it's very unlikely that they would've come away with a victory. But Brew's ice-cold strike from mid-range proved to be the game-winner, and they executed through the rest of the game to win 49-44.

With their 2021 class long gone, the Monarchs are a little smaller than in other recent seasons, and they have underclassmen in key places at all times. However, having an abundance of small, quick guards who are comfortable in the clutch gives them a different dimension than in previous seasons. While rotations tend to shrink in the postseason, Mater Dei benefitted from substantial contributions off the bench from Brew, Hannah Vela, and Emily Shaw. Combined with the four guards in their starting lineup, that's a defensive army of seven guards who can afford to exert maximum energy in the defensive backcourt at all times.

MATER DEI TITLE DEFENSE STILL INTACT

Since Mater Dei didn't come into this season hyped up as a potential world-beater like in the previous two campaigns, some might find it easy to overlook the fact that this postseason is a title defense for a powerhouse that's seeking a three-peat. The Monarchs are now 9-0 in the Southern Section playoffs over the last three seasons, and if no upsets are pulled on Wednesday, which would mean Mater Dei beats Windward and Etiwanda beats Rosary, Mater Dei and Etiwanda would be on a collision course for a de facto Open Division semifinal on Saturday. While it got iffy at the end on Saturday, the reigning champions still got it done and control their fate.

TIME TO REGATHER FOR ROSARY

This is a pretty challenging loss to stomach for the Royals, but they still have two more games of pool play – and then the state/regional playoffs. So, it's a rare occasion where a loss in a team's playoff-opener is far from a season-ender. Rosary Academy now has to face the unbeaten top-ranked team in the state, and its remaining foe in pool play, Windward, already has a win against it from earlier in the season. It appeared that a couple Royals were playing through minor injuries down the stretch as well, but if they can regroup and stay healthy, the season is far from over. Even if it's already too late to win a section title, two games to build momentum for the state playoffs could mean the world for a team with quite a recent history of shining in the state playoffs.

Kaylee Byon led the Royals with 16 points.

MORE: WATCH THE HIGHLIGHTS

PHOTOS: