SECOND LOOK: Strategy on jump ball worked for Mater Dei in CIF championship game

There was a reason Mater Dei’s Alyssa Durazo-Frescas did not jump for the opening tip-off. (Photo courtesy Mark Bausman, For OC Sports Zone)

When Mater Dei’s girls basketball team began play in the CIF open division championship game against Windward, freelance photographer Mark Bausman noticed something different at the beginning of the game.

He observed that the Monarchs’ Alyssa Durazo-Frescas, one of the team captains, did not jump in the opening tip-off. Bausman asked the Mater Dei junior about it after the game.

“We’ve done that all season. I go in to tip-off and not jump, it’s because we have a special defense we like to run straight from the jump,” she said. “I remember the exact thought that went through my head was ‘this is it Lyss, you’re here, it’s game time, show everyone what you can do,’ then the ball came into play and we ended up getting a win.”

The Monarchs celebrated the title with a 77-65 victory: