GIRLS’ BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : Brea-Olinda Is No Match for Visitors

In one of its off-Broadway appearances, the girls’ basketball team from Christ the King High School in New York put on a show Saturday night, beating Brea-Olinda, 58-43, in front of a near-capacity crowd of about 2,000 at Brea-Olinda.

The victory was the 11th in 13 games this season for the Royals, who are ranked seventh nationally by USA Today. It also was their second victory over Brea-Olinda (17-1) in two meetings. Christ the King defeated the Lady Cats, 63-62, at the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions in 1985.

Christ the King, which this season has played games in Shelbyville, Tenn., and Ventura, used a tenacious 1-3-1 full-court press to hand Brea-Olinda its first defeat since the Division III state championship game last March and sixth in the past four seasons.

Senior guard Debbie Hemery scored 18 points for Christ the King and 6-foot-3 junior center Nakia Hill had 17.

But even though his team was outplayed by the quicker Royals, Brea-Olinda Coach Mark Trakh looked at the outcome as a learning experience.

“Games played against that type of competition don’t hurt us at all,” he said. “We learn from this.”

Christ the King was more than willing to dispense with a few lessons.

Before the Lady Cats could counter, the Royals had an 8-0 lead on three baskets by Hill, who had 13 rebounds and six blocked shots, and a jumper by forward Kristen Colberg in the first quarter. Then forward Jody Anton hit a three-pointer with 2 minutes 55 seconds remaining in the quarter.

Christ the King led, 14-10, after one quarter and 24-17 at halftime.

The Royals came out smoking in the third quarter, forcing numerous Brea-Olinda turnovers and outscoring the Lady Cats, 17-2, midway through the quarter. The Royals coasted from there, leading, 52-25, with 6:44 left.

“They (the Royals) are so big. With the 1-3-1 (press defense) they cover a lot of ground,” Trakh said.

Christ the King covered the Brea-Olinda shooters well enough to hold them to 22.4% from the field. The Lady Cats’ top scorers were point guard Nicole Erickson, who had 15 points, and center Jinelle Williams, who had 12.

In the Olympic League:

Capistrano Valley Christian 50, Orange Lutheran 48, OT--Jennifer Smith made two free throws in the final minute for visiting Capistrano Valley. Kara Stephens had 11 for Orange Lutheran.

In the South Coast League:

Capistrano Valley 46, Mission Viejo 29--Anne Montero had 16 points and Alisa Farr 15 for host Capistrano Valley (12-5, 3-2).

In the Sunset League:

Santa Ana 38, Westminster 37 (OT)--Ave Ruiz scored on a turnaround jump shot with nearly a minute remaining to give Santa Ana a 38-35 lead in overtime and the Saints held on.

Huntington Beach 66, Ocean View 52--Jana Davis scored 18 pointsfor visiting Huntington Beach (14-6, 4-2).

Marina 51, Fountain Valley 32--Gillian Bean scored 16 points for Marina (15-4, 6-0). Estancia 63, University 45--Melody Earle had 24 points and six assists and Patrice Lumpkin had 12 points, eight rebounds, six assists and five steals for Estancia (17-1).