Surprise! La Habra Ousts Brea-Olinda as O.C.’s Top-Rated Team : Girls’ prep basketball: Height and rebounding give the Highlanders, defending Freeway League champions, the edge.

Surprise, surprise.

In a departure from the status quo, Brea-Olinda High School is not the top-rated team this year in The Times’ preview of Orange County girls’ basketball. Instead, the distinction belongs to La Habra, the defending Freeway League champion.

That’s not to say Brea, which won the state Division III title two seasons ago and made it to the finals again last year, has fallen on hard times. The Lady Cats are expected to be a strong force again this season and are favored to win another Southern Section Division 3-AA championship.

But the reality is that La Habra, which made it to the Division 4-A quarterfinals last season, has the material to reach higher ground this year. The Highlanders feature a front line that averages 6-feet-2.

Third on the list is another team familiar with top-10 rankings, Woodbridge, but after the Warriors it’s a mix of newcomers and old standards.

1. LA HABRA

The Highlanders, winners of the Freeway League last season with a 10-0 record, are led by 6-foot-5 junior center Zrinka Kristich, six-foot senior forward Leslie Ferguson and 6-1 senior forward Ana Kristich, Zrinka’s sister.

Ferguson averaged 15.8 points and 10.9 rebounds and was the league’s MVP last season. Ana Kristich crashed the boards at a 10.4-rebounds-per-game pace, and Zrinka Kristich contributed 13 points per game.

Needless to say, they are the reasons 12-year Coach John Koehler is looking ahead further than the division’s quarterfinal round this time around.

“Our main strength is height and rebounding,” Koehler said. “Our greatest strength is our half-court offense. We think we can win the CIF title this year.”

Koehler, who has guided the Highlanders to 10 league titles and whose teams have a 97-3 league record coming into the season, said the Highlanders have good ballhandlers who can handle the press.

Those responsibilities will fall mainly on 5-7 sophomore guard Martha Hernandez, an all-Freeway League first-team selection in 1989-90, and 5-1 senior Lisa Almanza.

2. BREA-OLINDA

Usually the county’s top-ranked team, the Lady Cats advanced to the Division III state finals last season with a 33-0 mark, but lost the championship game to Placer, 54-43.

Under Coach Mark Trakh, the Lady Cats are 258-38 in 11 seasons and have run away with eight Orange League championships.

This year they’ll have to do it without their killer backcourt of Aimee McDaniel, the Division III state player of the year, and Tammy Blackburn, an all-state guard. Both have graduated and are playing at Pepperdine and San Diego State, respectively.

To pick up the slack, Brea will rely on 5-9 senior center Jinelle Williams, the team’s second-leading scorer last year, and 5-11 junior forward Jody Anton, an all-section Division III pick last year.

With the changing of the guards, one of the vacancies left by McDaniel and Blackburn will be filled by 5-6 freshman sensation Nicole Erickson and the other by either 5-6 senior Cathy Lewis or 5-10 sophomore Angie Hanes.

3. WOODBRIDGE

It’s no secret Woodbridge will be tough again. And five different teams will get a taste of what the Warriors have been dishing out for years when the team moves to the Sea View League this season.

Woodbridge, the Pacific Coast League champions in 1989-90, feature returning 6-2 center Deanna Harry and 5-11 forward Belinda Taub as the nucleus of a well-balanced squad.

Harry, a senior, was an all-section selection last season when she averaged 13.8 points and 14.3 rebounds. Taub, a junior, contributed 10 points and seven rebounds per game. They led the Warriors to the second round of the Division 4-AA playoffs.

Point guard duties will be handled by Florencia Luppani, an Argentine-born sophomore who first-year Coach Russ Davis ranks very high.

“(Our) inside play and our defense will be our keys,” Davis said. “I think we have real good outside shooters.”

4. TUSTIN

Senior Wanda Sequeira and junior Christine Garner return for Coach Rick Falk’s defending Sea View League champions.

Sequeira, a 5-5 guard, broke the school single-season record for assists last year with 164. She’s a two-time all-league selection. Garner, a six-foot center, scored 16 points and picked up 11 rebounds per game.

They will team with 5-11 junior forward Shari Needham (13 points, eight rebounds) and 5-6 senior guard Nancy Vinh, a defensive specialist.

5. MARINA

Coach Pete Bonny has nine of 12 players back from the squad that went 19-8 and reached the second round of the Division 5-A playoffs. But, as he said, the bad news is that the three not returning generated 60% of Marina’s points last season. Still, the Lady Vikings have four returning seniors that will make them highly competitive.

Leading the foursome is 5-9 forward Gillian Bean (seven points and five rebounds per game) and 5-10 center Colleen Hatch (six points and seven rebounds). Both made the all-Sunset League second team last year.

Also back are 5-3 guard Leslie Ono and 5-6 guard Dawn Cox.

Two sophomores up from the junior varsity, 5-6 forward Aimee Periolat and 5-11 center Jessica Trippet, will be called on for help.

“Our strengths are team speed and quickness, and a balanced attack,” Bonny said.

6. ESTANCIA

Though they made it to the Division 3-AA semifinals, the Eagles finished a disappointing third in the Sea View League and barely had a winning overall record (14-13). But Coach Lisa McNamee blamed the team’s woes on the loss of guard Melody Earle to injury for part of the league season.

McNamee said Estancia should be good if it can avoid similar physical setbacks. “If we can stay away from injuries, we’ll be right up there,” she said.

With Earle and Patrice Lumpkins providing the punch, the Eagles figure to contend for the league title. Earle, a 5-8 senior guard, led the team in scoring with a 16.4 average, and Lumpkins, a 5-9 senior forward, averaged 12.4 points and 10.3 rebounds. Earle was a Division III first-team selection and Lumpkins made the second team.

The supporting cast includes 5-11 senior center Robin Cordrey and 5-10 junior forward Monique Sweet.

7. FOUNTAIN VALLEY

The Barons, who pretty much controlled Sunset League action throughout the ‘80s by winning six titles, fell to third place last season. But that squad, dominated by underclassmen, should give Coach Carol Strausburg a solid foundation with which to return to the limelight in her 15th season.

“If we can get our outside game going, we could win league,” Strausburg said.

At the forefront of the resurgence are Julie Murdent, a 6-1 sophomore center; Heather Stanke, a 5-9 senior forward, and Shanna Wilson, a 5-10 senior forward.

8. COSTA MESA

Two players--guards Olivia DiCamilli and Rachel Ward--are the heart and soul of a Mustang team that last season became the first Costa Mesa boys’ or girls’ basketball team to advance to the section finals in the school’s 30-year history. The Mustangs not only got there, but they beat Rancho Alamitos, 51-49, for the title.

DiCamilli and Ward return to make life easy again for Coach Jim Weeks.

DiCamilli, a 5-10 sophomore who was chosen to the all-section first team, averaged 14.8 points and 11 rebounds. She ranks as one of the top guards in the county.

Ward, a 5-11 senior, made the all-section second team. She averaged 11 points.

Among the team’s top newcomers is 6-2 sophomore center April Van Sweden.

9. RANCHO ALAMITOS

The Vaqueros took a back seat to La Quinta last year in the Garden Grove League, but then again, who didn’t? La Quinta is the nine-time defending league champion, but Rancho Alamitos looks not only like the team to beat in league this season, but one of the leaders in Division 3-A.

Rancho Alamitos Coach Bob Becker will miss the 24.3 points per game he got last year from guard Jenny Newsome (UC Riverside), but he’s got 5-3 senior guard Shellie Tsuji to pick up the slack. Tsuji made 41 three-point baskets last season--including five in one game--to rank among the section’s leaders.

Up front, 5-9 junior center Anita Stecker (10 rebounds per game) will be flanked by the Rodriguez twins--Marlene and Arlene--who Becker said are the team’s best defensive players.

10. ESPERANZA

Perhaps a dark horse in this derby, but one deserving of recognition.

The Aztecs won the Empire League title with a 9-1 record and finished the season at 21-5 after losing in the second round of the Division 5-A playoffs. And though Coach Marc Hill must find a way to replace the 16.3 scoring average of Jennifer Harney, who graduated, he has what he calls a “strong-down-the-middle” lineup.

At the center is 5-11 senior Wendy Fullmer, who has a 24-inch vertical leap--”She’s strong and quick,” Hill said--and who averaged 6.8 rebounds last year.

Another senior that helps form the core of Esperanza’s roster is 5-7 point guard Michele Fujioka, who had 4.2 assists per game.

Others to watch: Ocean View, Edison, Orange, Santa Margarita, Loara and University.