Foothill to Take Shot at No. 1 Brea-Olinda

One thing kept the Foothill High School girls’ basketball team from losing to nationally ranked Brea-Olinda Wednesday night in the Southern Section 3-AA girls’ basketball playoffs--the game was postponed for a day.

Foothill (15-9) will have its chance to pull what would be the biggest upset in Orange County girls’ basketball this season when it plays Brea-Olinda (27-0) in a 3-AA quarterfinal game tonight at Foothill.

Brea-Olinda is the top girls’ team in California and is ranked fifth nationally by USA Today. Brea-Olinda lost a coin flip for the home court.

The teams did not play Wednesday night because Foothill did not play its second-round game against Rim of the World until Tuesday night. The game, scheduled for last Saturday, was postponed twice because snow in the Cajon pass prevented Rim of the World from traveling to Foothill.

The Southern Section moved the Brea-Foothill game from Wednesday to today to give the teams a day to prepare.

Brea-Olinda Coach Mark Trakh calls this year’s team--the defending 3-A and state champions--the best in the school’s history. They have a 49-game winning streak and are heavily favored over the Knights, ranked eighth in the final Southern Section 3-AA poll.

Foothill defeated Rim of the World, 64-47, after a first-round bye. The Knights got 17 points from 6-2 senior center Heli Syrjanen, 14 points from 5-8 senior forward Shannon Ebert and 10 point from 5-9 senior forward Shelly Gagen. Forward Stacy Hipsak is the Knights’ only player who started last season.

After a first-round bye, Brea-Olinda defeated El Dorado, 57-34 Saturday.Top-seeded Brea has four players who were starters on last season’s state champion team. Leading the way are senior all-state guards Aimee McDaniel and Tammy Blackburn, followed by second-team all-state post players Jody Anton and Jinelle Williams. The other starter is Allison Bickell.