Aliyahna “Puff” Morris and Etiwanda girls basketball team have enough depth to offset Addie Deal and returning Kaeli Wynn for Mater Dei in Southern California Regional semifinals of Open Division state playoffs

Even the inspiring return of one of the state’s top 3-point shooters wasn’t enough Saturday night for Mater Dei to keep pace with the depth of perimeter options showcased by Etiwanda.

Despite another remarkable postseason performance by Iowa-bound guard Addie Deal for the No. 3 Monarchs, fellow McDonald’s All-American and Cal commit Aliyahna “Puff” Morris also left a lasting impression in her final career home game at the Eagles Nest for second-seeded Etiwanda.

And Etiwanda’s pursuit of a third consecutive Open Division girls basketball state title remained alive, despite Mater Dei exhausting every option and resource at its disposal, with the Eagles relying on another significant third-quarter surge to secure a 67-57 victory in the Southern California Regional semifinals.

The Eagles (26-5) will play Tuesday in the regional final at top-seeded Ontario Christian (30-1) in a rematch of the CIF-Southern Section Open Division final March 1, with the Knights producing a 65-63 victory at Toyota Arena.

Etiwanda is making its fourth consecutive appearance in the Open Division regional final and fifth overall, including 2014.

Morris scored a game-high 32 points, knocking down three 3-pointers including a third-quarter buzzer beater from the corner to give Etiwanda a 48-38 lead.

The Eagles made four of their seven 3-pointers in the third quarter to build on a 27-25 halftime advantage.

Mater Dei (29-4), which rallied from a 19-point, third-quarter deficit to tie the score Feb. 22 in a CIF-Southern Section Open Division pool-play contest before suffering a 63-60 setback, didn’t have junior Kaeli Wynn or senior Devyn Kiernan available in that matchup.

Mater Dei girls basketball team | Photo courtesy of Mater Dei

Wynn, who suffered a dislocated kneecap in her right knee Jan. 25 against Rancho Christian, returned to competition six weeks later and scored seven points, including the only two 3-point field goals for the Monarchs.

Kiernan, a Southern Utah commit, was unable to compete Feb. 22 at Etiwanda after being struck in the face and hitting her head on the floor in a 69-56 win Feb. 19 against Fairmont Prep.

Although Kiernan didn’t score, her presence provided more depth and an additional ball-handler in the Mater Dei lineup against Etiwanda’s pressure defense.

Deal, who finished her career with more than 2,000 points, tried her best to keep pace with Morris and help the Monarchs remain within striking distance, producing 11 fourth-quarter points and finishing with a team-high 29, hitting 10 field goals and sinking nine of 10 free-throw attempts.

Nohe’Alani Stores, a UC Irvine-bound senior forward, added 11 points, Grand Canyon commit Amaya Williams scored six points and sophomore Stella Hoss contributed four points for Mater Dei, which suffered its fifth consecutive loss to Etiwanda.

Aliyah Phillips, a sophomore forward, had 10 points, with Chasity Rice adding nine points and LSU signee Grace Knox, also a McDonald’s All-American with Morris and Deal, contributing seven points and four blocks for the Eagles, who are looking to become the first Southern California program to reach three straight Open Division state finals.