El Toro’s Ride Is Ended by Wilson

The El Toro girls’ basketball team ran out of miracles Tuesday in the semifinals of the Southern Section Division I-AA playoffs.

Faced with a seven-point deficit with two minutes remaining and its star player on the bench with five fouls, El Toro couldn’t find another storybook finish and fell to Long Beach Wilson, 62-53, at Santa Margarita High.

Wilson’s 5-foot-2 junior Kim Gildersleeve scored 16 of her 24 points in the second half and helped Wilson outscore El Toro, 15-6, over the final 4 1/2 minutes.

Senior center Crystal Givens added 14 points and 15 rebounds as the Bruins (24-3) advanced to the finals to face the Palos Verdes Peninsula-Chino Hills Ayala winner. El Toro finished 27-3.

The Chargers, who posted three come-from-behind victories to reach the semifinals, made it interesting although they weren’t sharp. El Toro shot 30% (18 of 61) from the field and managed only two field goals in the fourth quarter.

El Toro sophomore Giuliana Mendiola scored 23 points, making four of seven from three-point range, against Wilson’s mix of zone and man-to-man defenses.

Mendiola’s sister, Gioconda, added 13 points, and her three-pointer to open the fourth quarter and Giuliana’s two free throws with 7 minutes 2 seconds remaining helped to give El Toro a 47-43 lead. But it unraveled from there.

Wilson switched to a box-and-one on Giuliana Mendiola as the third quarter closed, and she didn’t make another field goal. Wilson’s 14-3 run put the Bruins ahead, 57-50, with 2:10 remaining, then Giuliana Mendiola fouled out with 2:03 remaining, hustling after an El Toro turnover and colliding with Gildersleeve.

El Toro had opportunities, but its starting front line made only three of 21 shots. And most were either missed layups or short or medium-range jumpers.