GIRLS’ OVERVIEW : Foothill Has Work Ahead With Tough First Game

There is a message, albeit unintentional, for the Foothill High School girls’ basketball team in the 1987 Southern Section playoff pairings.

Welcome to 4-A.

Now get to work.

Foothill has been in the 3-A final the past three seasons, winning the title in 1985, and has had such success that this season the Knights and the rest of the Century League were releagued into 4-A.

Foothill won the league title again, finishing the regular season 21-3.

For their efforts, the Knights have drawn Gahr, a 21-5 team from the San Gabriel Valley League, generally considered the best league in the Southern Section.

Gahr tied with Downey for second in the league but lost a coin flip, becoming the league’s No. 3 entry. Lynwood (26-2), the defending champion and the tournament’s top-seeded team, won the league title, and two of Gahr’s five losses--one by seven points and one by three--were to Lynwood.

“I guess they thought they’d show us exactly how it is,” said Sheila Adams, Foothill coach.

Gahr is led by Molly Wampler, a 6-foot 1-inch guard/forward, who averages 22 points and 15 rebounds a game.

Foothill’s tough draw doesn’t end after Saturday’s first round. Should the Knights win, their second game probably will be against Compton, a 21-2 team that won the 4-A title in 1985. And should they win again, their potential quarterfinal opponent is Edison, the fourth-seeded team and Orange County’s top-ranked team.

“I really think we have the worst draw in the playoffs,” Adams said.

Only one other league champion plays a team with a record better than 15-8. No. 3 Morningside (24-2) drew Don Lugo, which is 19-6, but comes from the Baseline League, considered one of the less-competitive leagues.

“A 21-5 team and 21-3 team playing in the first round doesn’t seem quite right to me,” Adams said. “We’ll just have to go out and play the best we can.”

The Knights are led by Sue Davis, a 6-foot center averaging 15 points and 7.4 rebounds a game, Najla Mitchell (8.7-point average) and Ashley Selman (8).

Foothill does not have the toughest first-round opponent of any Orange County team, however; Canyon (13-9), which finished third in the Century League, plays at No. 1 Lynwood.

Edison (25-1), at No. 4 the top-seeded Orange County team in, drew an opponent at the opposite end of the spectrum. The Chargers play host to Mira Costa (6-13), the only team in the playoffs with a losing record.

The Chargers, who are led by 6-1 Kristi Smith and guards Michelle Hennessey and Dawn Ogburn, lost only to Lynwood, 56-51. Lynwood knocked the Chargers out of last season’s playoffs in the second round. This season, the teams can not meet until the semifinals.

Mater Dei (20-6), the only other 4-A team considered among the county’s top 10, plays host to Thousand Oaks (13-11). The Monarchs are led by guards Geri Gainey and Debbie Wagner.

In other games involving county teams:

Huntington Beach (12-11) has a difficult game at Pacific League champion Pasadena (20-6), Marina (15-10) plays at Baseline League champion Chaffey (16-6) and Santa Ana Valley (13-6) plays at Hawthorne (17-8).

3-A

Brea-Olinda (20-4), which finally won the championship in 1986 after being the runner-up for three consecutive seasons, is seeded second, behind Louisville (20-3).

Louisville is one of only two teams this season to defeat 4-A No. 2 Morningside--the other was Lynwood.

Louisville’s three losses were to Gahr, Reno (Nev.), and Oregon City (Ore.). The Royals are led by 6-2 Andrea Knapp, who averages 25 points, and Lynn Flanagan (16).

The Wildcats, who tied for the Orange League championship after being upset by Valencia in the final week of the season, appear to have a fairly easy bracket--Ivy League champion John W. North (20-6) is perhaps the strongest challenger.

Mark Trakh, Brea-Olinda coach, is happy with the bracket, but called third-seeded Katella (23-2) his pick to win the bottom half of the bracket, and perhaps the title.

Brea, led by Carrie Egan (20-point average), Susan Tousey (16) and Kristin McPhee (14), would not meet Katella until the semifinals.

Trakh is concerned that his team is not taking the playoffs seriously enough.

“Our seniors have been to the final four years in a row, and they think they can just go again,” Trakh said. “If we play to our potential we’ll be really tough, but if we don’t we could lose in the second round or even the first round.

“Everybody in the playoffs is beatable--all the top four. It’s just who can motivate the kids to play well. El Toro can beat anybody and Valencia proved it can beat anyone. I think Katella has the edge right now. I think they can win the title.”

Katella, however, has a tough first-round opponent in Redlands, an 18-4 team that finished third in the Citrus Belt League. A victory would match the Knights against either El Toro (19-7), which is led by Elaine Youngs and Andrea Young, or Torrance (14-6) in the second round.

Katella is led by 5-10 sophomore Joni Easterly (13.2-point average) and Kelli Johnson (12.1).

Redlands is led by Wendy Leubbers, a guard who averages 17 points.

Fourth-seeded Mission Viejo (23-2) appears to have drawn a good bracket. The Diablos, led by Tricia Stringham (13.7-point average) and Michelle Reid (11.7), play host to South Torrance, a .500 team, in the first round. In the second round, Mission Viejo would play either Los Alamitos (16-6) or Tustin (20-6). The Diablos would then probably face a tough team in Fontana (22-2) in the quarterfinal before a potential semifinal against Louisville.

Valencia (19-4), Orange League co-champion with Brea, plays host to Palm Springs (13-7) in the first round. The Tigers, led by senior point guard Steffi Strauss, probably will need to defeat Palos Verdes (19-5) to gain a possible quarterfinal meeting with Louisville.

Capistrano Valley (16-8) plays at H.H. Wilson (18-6) and Estancia (15-8) is at Alemany (20-5).

Magnolia (18-6) plays at University (9-13) tonight in the only wild-card game. The winner plays at San Gabriel (17-6). 2-A

Two first-round games match county teams against each other.

Costa Mesa (18-8) plays at La Habra (18-7). Favored La Habra is led by Robin Seabrook, who averages 21.5 points per game.

Garden Grove (15-6) plays at Fullerton (14-6) in the other county match. Favored Fullerton is led by Heidi Shikuma and Vicki Silva.

La Quinta (17-5) plays host to St. Bernard (15-7) in the first round.

Woodbridge (19-7) plays host to La Mirada (14-10).

Three county teams--Bolsa Grande, Troy and Orange--play wild-card games tonight. Troy (6-10) plays at Bolsa Grande (10-11), and Orange (11-10) plays host to San Marino (15-6).

1-A

Whittier Christian (14-5), the only county team in the draw, plays host to Rosary (17-5). SMALL SCHOOLS

Liberty Christian (15-2), the only county team in the main draw, plays host to Flintridge Prep (12-7).

St. Margaret’s (8-12) plays Pasadena Poly (14-7) in a wild-card game tonight.