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ORANGE — The startup venture that is Santa Margarita girls basketball under second-year coach Seyram Bell showed more signs of progress Wednesday night.

Freshman point guard in the Trinity League? Loaded with potential.

New perimeter shooter who sat out last season? Deadly from beyond the arc.

Senior forward returning from a back injury? Contributor on both ends of the floor.

Shooting guard returning from a serious knee injury? Starting to heat up.

Yes, fifth-ranked Santa Margarita checked all those boxes, and one more in a 54-44 victory at No. 6 Orange Lutheran.

The Eagles are now the third-place finisher in the Trinity behind Orange County powerhouses and co-champions Rosary and Mater Dei.

Santa Margarita (14-6, 3-5) completed the season-sweep of the Lancers (18-8, 2-6) and split with JSerra to finish 3-5 in the toughest league in the county.

The Eagles didn’t win a league game on the court the previous two seasons, and haven’t cracked the top-three in the Trinity in years.

“We’ve made a complete 180 from the previous season,” Bell said. “We’ve turned it around and now we’re operating a different level.”

Freshman point guard Amaya Williams is a big reason. The 5-foot-8 Williams led the Eagles with 13 points, 10 rebounds and four steals.

All-freshman team? Amaya Williams of ⁦@SMCHS_GBBall⁩ ⁦@ocvarsity⁩ pic.twitter.com/m0oqJ3zmWA

— Dan Albano (@ocvarsityguy) February 3, 2022

Junior shooting guard Madison Leiva, a transfer from Mater Dei who didn’t play last season, had 12 points on four 3-pointers.

Senior forward Brooke Slymen, who missed last season because of a back injury, added seven points, four rebounds and four steals.

And junior guard Jaya Michel, slowed the past few seasons after a knee injury, came off the bench to score nine points on three 3-pointers.

Santa Margarita also received five points and seven rebounds from senior post Katie DeJesus and four points and four rebounds from senior guard Kaitlyn Hedge. DeJesus and Hedge are the only returning starters for the Eagles, who also got four points off the bench from sophomore Emma Tijanich.

“These girls are actually really close off the court and you can see it in the way they play,” Bell said. “The chemistry is really strong at this moment.”

Santa Margarita led 31-25 at halftime and then opened the second half with an 8-0 run that included a 3-pointer by Levia. The Eagles led by 50-30 early in the fourth before the Lancers found a groove.

Bell attributes the turnaround to the Eagles’ play in a fall league, focus on the fundamentals and raising the intensity at practices.

“Everybody had to buy in to what we were trying to do at SM,” she said. “I’m not somebody who is all talk. I wanted to have something to back it up.”

The Eagles now have something, and they’re not done. They’re ranked third in Division 2A behind Ontario Christian, featuring Chloe Briggs and Shayla Gillmer, and Santiago of Corona.

“We’re really focused on playoffs,” Leiva said. “We’re really driven to get the CIF ring for our seniors, and we’re ready.”

“We have to keep working in practice,” Williams added. “I want to make it all the way.”

Sophomore post Taliyah McFerson had 15 points and six rebounds for Orange Lutheran, ranked No. 1 in Division 2AA. The Lancers led a few times in the first quarter and briefly early in the second.

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