Southern Section Girls’ 3-A : Foothill Puts Brea on Short End of Rout, 63-34

The Brea-Olinda High girls’ basketball team discovered Friday night how most of its opponents must have felt during the season.

The Wildcats, who routinely defeated teams by 30 points on their way to a 29-0 record and the Southern Section 3-A championship game, found themselves on the other end of a lopsided score Friday night.

Foothill, which had lost to Brea in the championship game of the Wildcats’ Christmas tournament, completely dominated the game in the Long Beach Arena and came away with an easy 63-34 victory and its first Southern Section girls basketball title.

The Wildcats chose a most inopportune time to play their worst game of the season.

How bad was it?

--Foothill center Chris McFerson, who finished with a game-high 28 points, nearly outscored the entire Brea team. While McFerson sat out the entire fourth period, the Wildcats finally surpassed the 28-point mark with 2:50 remaining in the game.

--The Knights outscored the Wildcats, 25-4, in the third period to build a 30-point lead. They shot 45% (27 of 60) from the field, while the Wildcats hit on only 15 of 57 attempts for 26%.

--Brea had scored only six points in the second half until it reeled off eight straight against the Foothill reserves in the final three minutes.

--The Wildcats, known for their up-tempo offense, scored just one fast-break basket on the night. They also committed 17 turnovers, compared to Foothill’s 9.

This was Brea’s third consecutive appearance in a Southern Section championship game, but all have ended in similar fashion.

The Wildcats lost to Artesia by 20 points in the 1983 2-A final and lost to Indio by 14 in last year’s 2-A final. Their luck didn’t change in the 3-A division.

“I don’t understand this,” Brea Coach Mark Trakh said. “Every time we get here, this happens. But I have no excuses tonight. Even if we had played a great game, Foothill would have beaten us.”