CARLSBAD ---- All Lonnie Jones wanted from his girls basketball team was to be true to itself.

The San Diego High coach emphasized the same three reasons why his team has been successful this season ---- heart, character and pride.

"You have to play with heart, always show your character and always be proud of where you came from,'' Jones said.

His Cavers know where they came from. Now they know where they're going.

San Diego, the No. 3-seeded team in the CIF San Diego Section Division I championships, is headed to Saturday's championship game after ousting No. 2 La Costa Canyon 68-59 Wednesday night, ending the defending champion's reign.

"To be the champs, you have to beat the champs,'' Jones said. "There's going to be a party at school today and everyone from North County is invited.

"I'm kind of a young coach, and I haven't experienced anything like this, so I'm a little emotional after this one.''

The Cavers (27-5) will face the winner of Thursday night's other semifinal between Granite Hills and Poway.

La Costa Canyon (24-5) couldn't solve San Diego's pressure defense that forced 23 turnovers and a miserable 16-for-53 (30.1 percent) shooting night from the floor.

Only four Mavericks scored, with junior guard Jen Dumiak firing home a career-high 33 points that included three 3-pointers.

It wasn't enough to overcome 23 points by San Diego's Tia Dixon, 17 points and 11 rebounds from Amie Callaway and 14 points and five rebounds from Alexis Harris.

Throw in nine points and six rebounds from Andrea Bird, and it's easy to see why the Mavericks felt like they were playing catchup all night.

"I don't know who that team in white was,'' Dumiak said of the white-clad Mavericks. "It didn't seem like we came to play.

"It hurts to see us go out like this because we wanted another trip to the finals.

"Maybe if we played our best, and they beat our best, it would be OK. But we didn't come close to playing our best. In fact, that might be our worst.''

In a game in which the score was tied 13 times and there were nine lead changes, LCC's final lead was at 56-55 on a free throw by Brooke Berry with 4:15 to play.

San Diego went on a 13-3 run the rest of the way to finish off the upset.

"They were better than us,'' LCC coach John Labeta said. "We play athletic, quick teams like San Diego all the time, but it bothered us this time.

"I saw us do things we haven't done all year. We never established anything in the paint. We threw the ball away, We missed easy shots.

"We were even chippy with each other on the floor, and that really surprised me.''

Contact staff writer Terry Monahan at 760-739-6648.