SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REGIONAL BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS : County Girls’ Teams Hope History Repeats

This season’s crop of girls’ high school basketball teams can only hope to enjoy the same success Orange County teams did in last year’s Southern California Regional playoffs.

Brea-Olinda won state Division III and Southern Section 3-A titles, and Katella won the 4-A title and was a Division II finalist. This season, three schools won section titles and will compete tonight at 7:30. La Quinta won the 4-A title, Brea-Olinda the 3-AA and Costa Mesa (3-A) won its first section basketball title, boys or girls, over Rancho Alamitos.

Of the four girls’ team playing, Brea-Olinda (30-0) has the best chance of winning a state title. Brea, ranked No. 1 in the state, has a 52-game victory streak and returns four starters from last season’s state-champion team, including Aimee McDaniel, the Division III player of the year last season.

But two other Orange County teams also have hopes of a Division III title. Costa Mesa will play Selma and Rancho Alamitos will meet LeMoore in Tuesday’s other first-round Division III games.

La Quinta, the fourth-seeded team in Division II, will play host to Sanger (22-11) Tuesday in the first round.

The Aztecs are led by Amy Jalewalia, who led the state in scoring last season with a 32-point average. This season, she leads Orange County in scoring and is second in the state in scoring with a 32.6 average.

If the Aztecs can win their next three games, they will advance to the state championships March 16-17 in Oakland.

In Division II:

Sanger (22-11) at La Quinta (27-2): Jalewalia, a 6-foot-1 center who will attend UCLA in the fall, leads the team in scoring, rebounding and steals. The Aztecs play an up-tempo style, relying on full-court pressure. Junior forward Heather Brannan averages 15 points a game.

Sanger, the Central Section Division II runner-up, gets balanced scoring from a front line that features three players who are 5-10 or taller.

Senior center Cathy Isom (5-11) is the only Apache averaging in double figures in scoring (11.3 points and 8.3 rebounds). Freshman center Brandi Honn (5-10) averages 9.5 points and four rebounds. Senior forward Annie Lovett (5-11) averages 8.7 points and 7.2 rebounds.

In Division III:

San Diego Lincoln (16-6) at Brea-Olinda (30-0): Brea-Olinda returns four starters from last year’s team. Point guard McDaniel runs a potent offense that features double-figure scorers Tammy Blackburn, Jody Anton and Jinelle Williams.

Lincoln is led by 6-3 junior center Sheila Dixon (26 points, 18.0 rebounds). Senior guard Abena Byrd averages 9.9 points a game.

Selma (14-10) at Costa Mesa (17-11): Costa Mesa, which went from a third-place finish in the Pacific Coast League to win the 3-A title, is the Cinderella story of the Southern Section. Olivia DiCamilli leads the Mustangs, averaging 15.8 points. Junior forward Rachel Ward and senior point guard Thuy Nguyen average 11 points each.

Selma is led by sisters Anjelica and Etelisia Guzman.

Anjelica, who is 5-2, averages 10 points and Etelisia (5-3) averages 10.7 points. Stephanie Rhodes, a 6-1 junior, averages 9.2 points.

Rancho Alamitos (21-4) at LeMoore (20-7): Rancho Alamitos, under first-year coach Bob Becker, lost to Costa Mesa in the 3-A final. The Vaqueros have a tough draw in the regional playoffs on the road against Central Section champion LeMoore. Rancho Alamitos relies heavily on senior guard-forward Jenny Newsome (23 points a game). Other key players are Shellie Tsuji (14 points) and Anita Stecker (10.4 points).

LeMoore is averaging 52.3 points a game while holding opponents to 39.