4-AA GIRLS : All Things Being Equal, County Teams Face Uphill Road

The nine Orange County teams in the Southern Section girls’ 4-AA basketball playoffs differ in many ways, but nearly all share one attribute: Hope.

Of course, it will take more than hope to knock off Muir, the top-seeded team. Muir (22-5) is led by Rose Jung, an all-Southern Section point guard who’s extremely quick, and 5-foot 10-inch forward Karen Banks.

“Muir probably has as much talent as anyone,” Woodbridge Coach Eric Bangs said. “They’re loaded with talent. But they seemed to play up and down this season too.”

Woodbridge (20-4), the second-seeded team, and Tustin (21-5) are generally regarded as the county’s best hopes.

Leslie Rathbun, a 5-7 guard, leads Woodbridge, the county’s 10th-ranked team, with 13.5 points and 5.7 steals a game.

The Warriors have a first-round bye, then play the winner of Loara (13-10) and California(16-6) in Saturday’s second round.

Tustin, the Sea View League champion, is young, with junior point guard Wanda Sequeira (12 points, eight assists), 5-11 sophomore forward Christine Garner (16 points, 11 rebounds), and 5-10 sophomore forward Sheri Needham as the core of an offense-oriented team.

“We don’t play a lot of defense,” Coach Rick Falk said.

That could certainly hurt the Tillers if they make it to their probable second-round matchup against Mission Viejo. The Diablos (18-8) feature 6-3 center Jennifer Rohrig, who leads the county with 19.5 rebounds and 19.9 points a game.

Edison, an at-large team at 15-8, is considered a dark horse favorite. Especially with 5-6 guard Debbie Fischer, who last week scored a school-record 49 points that included 10 three-pointers, tying her own Southern Section record for three-pointers in a game.

Although Edison, which plays at Arlington (16-7) in tonight’s first round, suffered from streaky play through the season, most of that could be attributed to a knee injury to Fischer, who is now healthy.

And although the Chargers might still be without 5-8 junior forward Laura Vinch--she cut her finger while working at a sandwich shop and has missed the past two games--Edison has been gaining momentum.

“Coming out of the Sunset League, I feel that’s a strength in itself,” first-year coach Philip Abraham said. “It’s like playing a tournament every game.”

Valencia (14-10), the defending champion, might not be as strong as last season, but most coaches say the Tigers always improve at playoff time.

One of the best first-round games tonight should be San Clemente (15-10) at University (18-5). The two teams met in a scrimmage last summer, and then again in the final of the Santa Ana Valley tournament. University, which is led by 5-8 senior forward Denise Gandara, won both games by close scores.

DEFENDING CHAMPION--Valencia.

TOP TEAMS--Muir (22-5), Westlake (20-4), Woodbridge (21-4).

DARK HORSES--Tustin (21-5), Edison (15-8), Valencia (14-10).

BEST DRAW--Tustin, will open with at-large Torrance (15-10), then the winner of Claremont (9-11)/Mission Viejo (18-8).

WORST DRAW--University (17-5) must meet San Clemente (15-10), a team that it narrowly beat in a summer scrimmage and as well as in the Santa Ana Valley tournament. A game later, it probably will meet top-seeded Muir.

KEY PLAYERS--Karen Banks (Muir), Tracy Titus (Loara), Alisa Stevenson (J.W. North) and Debbie Fischer (Edison).

NOTEWORTHY--Of the 27 teams, only four have records under .500, making it one of the strongest divisions in the playoffs.