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SAN DIEGO — From the thrill of winning the first CIF-SS title in school history, and the on-campus victory parade, to the tears from a last-second defeat in the regional playoffs.

The emotions of the postseason truly possess unlimited range, a reminder the Capistrano Valley Christian girls basketball team received Tuesday night.

Rancho Bernardo sophomore guard Maria Gorbushin answered a 3-pointer by freshman Cayla Mercadel by drilling her own from the top of the arc with two seconds left in regulation to lift the host Broncos past the Eagles 47-44 in a wild, CIF State SoCal Division III regional opener at Rancho Bernardo High.

Capistrano Valley Christian (17-7), which captured the CIF-SS Division 5AA title on Saturday, called timeout with 1.7 seconds left but its long pass down court was intercepted by the Broncos (19-10).

And just like, the Eagles’ breakout season ended in a tearful but prideful locker room.

“It was hard,” said Mercadel, who sank a game-tying 3-pointer with about 13 seconds left. “We have two seniors and we adore them. Halle (Sii) and Kaylee (Phernambucq) are a great part of our team, great assets. Losing them and losing this game is frustrating for us knowing that we could have won and that we could have put it all out on the court and did more.”

Mercadel, a freshman guard, finished with a game-high 24 points, including three 3-pointers.

The ninth-seeded Eagles also endured a huge rally by No. 8  Rancho Bernardo, a large public school that finished fourth in the tough Palomar League.

CVC sank four 3-pointers in the first period to take a 22-8 lead. The Eagles led 26-18 at halftime and by seven late in the third before the Broncos took their first lead since the opening moments at 40-39 with two minutes left.

But despite the stinging loss, Eagles second-year coach Dominic Freeman said his young team — which starts two freshmen and two sophomore along with the Vanguard-bound Sii — will aim to take a positive from the experience.

“We got a lot of young kids in there who have never really experienced any tough losses like that,” he said. “We got a few tears in there, and we just told them hopefully use it as fuel going forward.”

“There were a lot different emotions that were used just to get where we were at,” he added. “I just saw a little trying to get their engines going again.”

Rancho Bernardo’s engine started slowly but picked up. The Broncos missed all 11 of their 3-pointers in the first period and their first two attempts of the second before Gorbushin ended the drought in the middle of the quarter.

Gorbushin missed her first four 3s of the fourth before draining the game-winner.

“My mindset coming into any game, it doesn’t matter how many I’m going to miss,” said Gorbushin, who scored a team-high 18 points. “I know I’ve made the shot a 1,000 times. I’m just going to keep shooting, trusting the work I’ve put in. Shooters mentality.”

More coverage to come. Check back for updates

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