MANHATTAN BEACH — The look of disbelief was apparent on Mira Costa girls basketball coach Jeff Herdman’s face as he emerged from the locker room.
Mira Costa star player Juju O’Brien appeared shell-shocked.
Most of the Mira Costa players were left in tears.
Mark Keppel, Saturday’s opponent, delivered a barrage of 3-pointers and precision sharp-shooting to oust second-seeded Mira Costa 67-57 Saturday in the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division 2-AA playoffs, a stunning exit for a team that appeared poised for a championship run.
“That was unexpected,” Herdman said. “We had expectations to win CIF. This one hurts.”
Mark Keppel (20-10) drilled 10 3-pointers and eventually built a 14-point fourth-quarter lead.
Annie Ye recorded a season-high 30 points to power Mark Keppel, at times commanding the paint but also showing her range with four 3-pointers. Keira Kamida added three 3-pointers en route to 15 points. Kareena Phan added six points on a pair of 3-pointers.
More importantly, Mark Keppel never let Mira Costa’s vaunted sharp-shooters find any kind of rhythm.
“This was definitely one of those games we came together,” Ye, who nearly eclipsed her career high of 31 points set last year against King-Drew, said. “Our chemistry, our shooting, our defense, it was all working tonight.
“Both teams are known for their outside shooting, but we did a good job of getting up on them and hedging. We knew we had to stop their outside shooting.”
O’Brien, a Columbia University-bound softball player, turned in a herculean effort in what was likely her final high school basketball game for Mira Costa (24-6).
Playing with a cast over her left thumb, O’Brien scored 32 points in just her second game since returning from a five-game absence due to a dislocated thumb.
“Honestly I cannot put it into words,” O’Brien said. “I’ve played basketball for I don’t know how many years. It was what I did for joy. Almost a release. And this program has been so amazing to me, and it was an amazing final season, so this hurts. This game was hard.
“I take comfort that I put it all on the floor and left it all out there.”
Herdman said he was second-guessing himself for a decision in the second quarter.
Mira Costa had erased an early deficit and held a 27-22 lead with 3:00 minutes left in the second quarter when he decided to sit O’Brien and Kylee Yeh, who each had two fouls.
Mark Keppel closed the quarter on a 12-0 run for a 34-27 lead and maintained at least a six-point lead throughout the second half.
“I didn’t want them to pick up their third foul in the first half, but that’s where we got hurt,” Herdman said.
Yeh and Kristyn Kim each scored nine points for Mira Costa.
It was a sudden ending for a Mira Costa team that had captured the Palisades Tournament with an impressive victory over Ventura, challenged traditional powers Mater Dei, Sage Hill and Los Alamitos and secured second place in the Bay League while pushing Bay League champion Redondo.
“We were ready tonight. We played hard and we played with a lot of heart, but they outplayed us,” Herdman said. “It didn’t go our way tonight.”