SANTA ANA -- Mater Dei has won back-to-back Division I state championships in girls' basketball, and the Monarchs looked the part in the mid-stages of its first-round victory Tuesday against Burbank.
Mater Dei got 25 points from Nirra Fields and rolled to a 77-35 home victory over Burbank in the Southern California Regional Championships.
Burbank hung tough in the first quarter -- it trailed 16-9 -- before getting steamrolled.
Martin Henderson for ESPNLA.comMater Dei Nirra Fields scored 25 points in the Monarchs' easy victory over Burbank. At halftime, he said the coaching staff got on players about their lack of passion.
"Sometimes, these games are passionless," Kiernan said.
There was plenty of passion in the third quarter as Mater Die outscored Burbank, 33-4.
Mater Dei (30-3) opened 39-16 lead at halftime, and following its huge third quarter took a 72-20 lead into the fourth.
Burbank committed 11 turnovers in the third, most of caused by the quick hands of the Monarchs, and didn't score until 45 seconds remained.
The fourth quarter was played with a running clock, and Damarie Gonzalez scored seven of her team-high 10 points for Burbank.
Alexas Williamson scored 20 points for Mater Dei, which will play the winner of the Huntington Beach-San Diego contest.
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Blair Angulo
Blair Angulo is a general contributor for ESPNLA.com, is a co-author of the UCLA blog and also has covered the Angels, Dodgers, Sparks and soccer, among other things. He also was an intern at the L.A. Daily News.
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Dan Arritt
Dan Arritt has covered preps in SoCal for 17 of the last 19 seasons, beginning with the L.A. Times Orange County edition in 1993 and moving downtown from 2001-2008. A graduate of Long Beach State, he also covers the Kings for ESPNLA and Clippers home games for NBA.com. Follow him on Twitter.
Sean Ceglinsky
Sean Ceglinsky has covered sports in Southern California the past 15-plus years, including preps and colleges for the Los Angeles Times and L.A. Daily News, among others. Follow him on Twitter.
Tim Haddock
Tim Haddock is a writer and radio broadcaster who has covered preps, college sports and motor sports for the Los Angeles Times, L.A. Daily News and Long Beach Press-Telegram. Follow him on Twitter.
Martin Henderson
Martin Henderson is a local editor for Patch.com. He was a reporter for 18 years with the Los Angeles Times, and wrote on preps for the Orange County Register as well.
Jim Barrero
Jim Barrero is an editor for ESPNLA.com. He began covering preps in 1989 for the Pasadena Star-News, where he later became prep editor. He also worked for the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, covered soccer for The Sporting News and was an editor-writer at the Los Angeles Times for 10 years.
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