Brea, La Quinta Girls Top Seeded for Playoffs

Brea-Olinda and La Quinta high schools were named the top-seeded teams in the 3-A and 2-A divisions, respectively, when Southern Section playoff pairings for girls’ basketball were announced Monday at the section office in Artesia.

Brea-Olinda (25-1) won the Orange League title and was beaten only once--by Santa Barbara in the semifinal round of the Tournament of Champions.

Redlands (22-3) is seeded second and Mission Viejo (21-5) is seeded third. Ridgecrest Burroughs (20-3, the Golden League champion) is No. 4.

La Quinta, which has been top-ranked all season, was given the No. 1 seeding in the 2-A. La Quinta (21-3) was the Garden Grove League champion.

Inglewood Morningside High School was named the top-seeded team in the 4-A.

First-round play begins Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Wild-card games are Wednesday night at 7:30.

Morningside (25-1) went undefeated in league play for the sixth straight season, winning the Pioneer League championship. The Monarchs’ only loss was to Lynwood in the championship of the Morningside Tournament in December.

Morningside, which reached the semifinals last season, features two of the best guards in the Southern Section in seniors Carla Gladden and Shaunda Greene, who was first team All-Southern Section as a junior last season.

Santa Barbara (21-2) ended Ventura Buena’s 11-season streak of Channel League championships and was named the second-seeded team. Santa Barbara also advanced to the semifinal round last season.

Lynwood, led by senior guard Trise Jackson, is the third-seeded team. The Knights won the 1985-86 title when Jackson was a sophomore.

Buena, which lost, 52-46, to Edison in last season’s 4-A championship game, is fourth-seeded. The Bulldogs (21-2) are led by Mary Klemm, a senior point guard who averages 12 points and 9 assists a game.

Hesperia (21-1), the San Andreas League champion, is second-seeded. Edgewood of West Covina (23-0) and Ontario (21-3) are third- and fourth-seeded.

In the 1-A, Valley Christian of Cerritos (20-2) earned the top-seeded spot. Mojave (20-0), Santa Clara (17-6) and Santa Ynez (21-0) are also seeded.

Rio Hondo Prep of Arcadia (21-1), Liberty Christian of Huntington Beach (17-1), Mission Prep of San Luis Obispo (14-7) and Trona (16-4) are the seeded teams in the Small Schools division.