Gahr loses to St. Margaret's in bid for Division 5AA title

HUNTINGTON BEACH ❯❯ St. Margaret's girls basketball team made its first trip to the CIF Southern Section finals a memorable one by defeating Gahr 44-33 in the Division 5AA title game Saturday night at Edison High.

Senior Kaitlin Tam scored 12 points and grabbed nine rebounds and freshman Taylor Francois had 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Tartans.

St. Margaret's most successful season comes under the direction of coach Josh Markum, in his second year at the helm, and with a young core of players that include Lila Wohlgemuth, Harper Gideons and Annika Tufo.

But it was only fitting that Tam, one of the few seniors on the team, made such a huge contribution to help the Tartans make history.

“This feels like a win for everyone who's ever come through this program,” Tam said. “It's so good for me to feel like I did this for everyone who has taught me anything, everyone who has come above me. I still keep in contact with all of them, so this feels like a win for all of us.”

The Tartans (27-6) held an 18-17 halftime lead and used a 10-0 third-quarter run to create some distance.

Tam knocked down a 3-pointer in that spurt and also made three free throws after being fouled on her next shot from beyond the arc.

The Gladiators (25-7) were making their first appearance in a CIF final since 2013 and searching for their first win in a final since 1992.

Gahr was led by Kameryn Mitchell, who scored a game-high 16 points, and Lauren Teramoto, who added seven points.

Teramoto's 3-pointer in the fourth brought the Gladiator within 3631 but St. Margaret's responded with a 6-0 run as Tufo (eight points, nine rebounds), Wohlgemuth (nine points) and Francois all scored in that span to put the game out of reach.

“When she (Teramoto) hit that shot it narrowed the gap, but we just couldn't rebound (afterward) and they were able to stretch that lead out,” Gahr coach Alfred Howard said.

St. Margaret's used its size advantage and effort for a 45-27 rebounding advantage.

Markum believed controlling the glass was one of the key factors.

“In all of our timeouts in the second half, the majority of what was talked about was rebounding and team rebounding and helping out defensively” he said. “One of the things we hang our hat on is toughness and the way we rebounded and played defense at the end and holding a team under 40 points in a final, that's just tough for anybody.”