Karlie and Mater Dei are back to their old self

Mater Dei forward Karlie Samuelson puts a move on Stockdale before going up for a shot during Mater Dei's win in a CIF State Open Division first-round playoff game Friday night at Mater Dei.

JAKE KAPLAN, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, March 9, 2013

Nine days had passed since the Mater Dei girls basketball team was upset at Etiwanda in the CIF-SS semifinals. If the Monarchs' performance to open the CIF State Open Division playoffs Friday night was any indication, it was nine days too many.

Eager to get back on the court and right the ship, the third-seeded Monarchs started fast and never slowed down, dominating sixth-seeded Stockdale of Bakersfield, 91-46, at Mater Dei High.

Mater Dei (29-1), the three-time defending state champion, will play No. 2 Santiago of Corona (29-2) on Tuesday at 7 p.m. Santiago won the CIF-SS title game over Etiwanda.

"We really wanted to play this game," Mater Dei coach Kevin Kiernan said. "We were ready to play. It had been a while since our last game against Etiwanda. The kids were upset. They had a great week of practice. We wanted to get back on the right track."

Karlie Samuelson scored a game-high 20 points, all in the first half, on 8-of-12 shooting.

"We definitely had a hard week of practice," Karlie Samuelson said with a smile, "so we wanted to get back in a game."

The Monarchs aimed for a better defensive effort in this game, Kiernan lamenting the 72 points they surrendered at Etiwanda. Prior to that contest, they held five straight opponents to fewer than 40 points.