Point Loma Has Brea’s Number, Again : Pointers Render Wildcats Defenseless in 59-35 Regional Win

It seems that no matter how the Brea-Olinda High School girls’ basketball team prepares for Point Loma and its All-America forward, Terri Mann, it’s never enough.

As Mark Trakh, Brea coach, said: “This is a lot more than a one-girl team.”

Mann, forward Michelle Collum and guard Chanelle McCoy combined for 47 points as the Pointers beat Brea, 59-35, Tuesday in the first round of the Division I Southern Regional in San Diego State’s Peterson Gym.

“It wouldn’t have mattered what we would have done,” Trakh said. “They just beat us. I’m just glad they took some prisoners. They could have beaten us by 40 if they had wanted to.”

So, what had been touted as an early state championship game by some--these were the highest ranked teams in the state tournament--turned into just another blowout for Point Loma.

The Pointers (28-1) have an average winning margin of 56 points. Mann, a junior and two-time San Diego Section Player of the Year, is usually given much of the credit for Point Loma’s success.

So, most coaches try to devise ways to stop her.

Tuesday, the 6-foot 2-inch Mann was a force, scoring 14 points and getting 12 rebounds, but it was the play of McCoy and Collum that overwhelmed Brea.

McCoy, 5-2, did not start. Point Loma Coach Lee Trepanier, who said McCoy had not been working hard enough in practice, elected to go with freshman Monica Filer instead.

McCoy entered the game three minutes into the first period, helped direct the Pointers back from an early deficit, then scored 10 of her game-high 18 points in the second quarter as the Pointers took command.

McCoy scored 25 against Brea when Point Loma beat the Wildcats, 68-50, earlier this season.

As she was in the first game, McCoy was left alone outside as Brea defenders collapsed on Mann inside.

Collum, 6-0, scored 15 points and had 8 rebounds. She was also given the defensive assignment of covering Brea’s top scorer, Carrie Egan. Collum blocked Egan’s first shot attempt, and made Egan work for her 13 points, three below her season average.

“I can’t say enough about the game Collum played,” Trepanier said. “She did a great defensive job on Egan. When she blocked her first shot, I think Egan knew it was going to be a long night.”

Egan did open the scoring for Brea with a 15-foot jump shot. The Wildcats (27-4) took a 6-2 lead with 5:51 remaining in the first quarter.

But Collum and Mann then combined for nine of Point Loma’s next 13 points as the Pointers took a 15-9 lead after the first quarter.

The Pointers took control in the first six minutes of the second quarter, outscoring Brea, 16-4, to take a 31-13 lead. They led, 35-17, at halftime.

By the end of the third quarter, Point Loma had pushed its lead to 53-27.

Point Loma played a full-court man-to-man press that forced 23 turnovers. And when the Wildcats weren’t losing the ball, they were rushing their shots.

“We didn’t press the first time we played them,” Trepanier said. “I figured we’d play them again. I didn’t want to show them too much. I think it really surprised them. It really took them out of their offensive flow.”

The Pointers, two-time defending state champions, have to be considered the favorite to win a third consecutive title. Pasadena Muir is the only team to have beaten them this season, and Muir was eliminated by Lynwood in the 4-A Southern Section final.

“I told my girls after that if they play like this every game they’ll be state champions,” Trepanier said. “But I don’t think we’re the favorites, since I don’t know anything about Lynwood or Kennedy.”

The Pointers play Kennedy, 4-A city champion, Thursday in a semifinal game at Granada Hills High.