SOUTHERN SECTION GIRLS’ BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS : DIVISIONS II-A, II-AA : Brea Moves Up but Remains Team to Beat

Despite moving up a couple notches in divisions, little has changed for the Brea-Olinda girls’ basketball team. The Lady Cats remain the force no matter where they play.

After compiling a 24-1 record--their only loss was to nationally ranked Christ the King of New York--the Lady Cats were named the top-seeded team in Division II-AA.

That’s familiar territory for Brea. Last season the Lady Cats were seeded first in Division III-AA and won the section championship. They also won the Southern California regionals and finished second in the state. Brea won section and state titles the previous year.

Despite Brea’s reputation, Coach Mark Trakh is not taking anything for granted.

“After the first round, any one of those teams could beat us,” Trakh said. “In 1987, we had the No. 1 team in the state and we went to the (section) quarterfinals and we lost to Los Altos, which was an average team.”

The Lady Cats, who this season won their ninth consecutive Orange League title, will try to avoid the same playoff fate this year. With center Jinelle Williams, forward Jody Anton and point guard Nicole Erickson leading the way, Brea has the talent and depth to match up against any team in the division.

Williams, a 5-foot-9 senior, averages 16.6 points and Anton, whom Trakh considers the best player in the county, averages 13.5. The sharp-passing Erickson, who averages nearly six assists, directs the offense.

Brea will warm up in a first-round game Saturday at home against Orange (3-17), but its stiffer competition probably won’t appear until the semifinals, where they probably will face Ivy League winner and fourth-seeded J.W. North (22-1).

Two teams that are a threat to Brea, second-seeded Gahr (24-2) and third-seeded Ventura (19-3), are in the division’s lower bracket.

Gahr lost to Brea by a basket in the Lady Cat Tournament in December and would like to avenge that loss. The Gladiators have a terrific tandem in 6-2 junior forward Allison Arredondo (17 points), who last year played at Los Alamitos, and 6-2 senior center Shemekia Brown (10 points).

Of the other 10 county teams in the division, only Sea View League champion Tustin (23-3) seems to have a shot at moving into the quarterfinals. The Tillers open Saturday with Mission Viejo (9-14) and would meet the winner of the Canyon (14-8)-Santiago (13-10) qualifying-round game in the second round.

In fact, Tustin Coach Rick Falk was pleased with his team’s draw, but cautions against overconfidence.

“We probably looked a little bit ahead last year and lost in the first round (to Torrance, 55-52), so we are not going to make the same mistake again,” he said.

La Habra, which was The Times’ top-ranked team in preseason, has climbed again to a top rung with its No. 1 seeding in the Division II-A playoff pairings.

The Highlanders (19-5), who won their third consecutive Freeway League title, most likely will reach the championship game. But they’ll have to get some help from their backcourt players, who complement front line that averages 6 feet 2.

That trio of 6-5 center Zrinka Kristich (15.5 points per game, 65 blocked shots), 6-0 forward Leslie Ferguson (15.5 points, 9.2 rebounds) and 6-1 forward Ana Kristich (9.0 points, 68 steals) has provided the punch all season. They are the reason Coach John Koehler likes his chances in the playoffs.

“We should do fairly well,” Koehler said. “The girls are starting to tune into basketball now. Maybe we are starting to peak. We’ve been waiting for it all year.”

But Koehler said there are plenty of other teams in the division with firepower of their own.

“I’d say Bishop Montgomery, Woodbridge and Los Altos are going to be tough,” he said.

Two of those teams feature some of the premier players in the division in center Deanna Harry (19.9 points, 15.2 rebounds) at Sea View League runner-up Woodbridge (19-5) and senior guard Lily Cabaleiro (18 points) at second-seeded Bishop Montgomery (20-4). Others include sophomore guard Laurie Shimizu (17.4 points) at third-seeded West Torrance (17-4), forward Lupe Nava (17.9) and guard Frances Oda (18.3) at Empire League champion Cypress (19-6), and guard Valerie Ruiz (23.2 points) at Garden Grove League runner-up Kennedy (19-6).

La Habra will open Saturday against the winner of tonight’s Palm Desert-Yucaipa qualifying game. The qualifying round features three county teams, including two playing each other--Villa Park (5-15) at Garden Grove (8-14)--and Bolsa Grande (6-16), which travels to Sierra Vista.

In all, eight county teams already have qualified for first-round games Saturday.

DIVISION II-A

Defending champion: La Quinta.

Top teams: Los Altos (22-4), Bishop Montgomery (20-4), West Torrance (17-4), La Habra (19-5).

Top players: Lily Cabaleiro (Bishop Montgomery), Leslie Ferguson (La Habra), Deanna Harry (Woodbridge), Marion Jones (Rio Mesa), Zrinka Kristich (La Habra), Lupe Nava (Cypress), Frances Oda (Cypress), Valerie Ruiz (Kennedy), Laurie Shimizu (West Torrance).

Dark horse: Woodbridge (20-5).

Best draw: La Habra wouldn’t play a team with a winning record until the quarterfinals.

Worst draw: North Torrance. The Saxons (15-10) face Pioneer (21-5) in the first round, and if they win, must play fourth-seeded Sierra League champion Los Altos (22-4).

Notes: The La Habra front line of center Zrinka Kristich (6-foot-5), forward Ferguson and forward Ana Kristich, Zrinka’s sister, averages 6-2 in height and makes life difficult for the opposition around the boards. . . . Kennedy guard Valerie Ruiz (23.2 points) and Rio Mesa sophomore Marion Jones (25.0) are fourth and fifth in the section in scoring.

DIVISION II-AA

Defending champion: Muir.

Top teams: Brea-Olinda (24-1), J.W. North (22-1), Gahr (24-2), Ventura (19-3).

Top players: Jody Anton (Brea-Olinda), Allison Arredondo (Gahr), Shemekia Brown (Gahr), Christine Garner (Tustin), Erika Miller (Edison), Wanda Sequeira (Tustin), Tracy Titus (Loara), Rochelle Travers (California), Jinelle Williams (Brea-Olinda).

Dark horse: Arlington (22-2).

Best draw: Arlington, Ivy League runner-up, got Glendora (11-12) in the first round and will play either Elsinore (14-8) or Edison (16-10) in the second.

Worst draw: With apologies to Orange (3-17), which must play Brea-Olinda in the opening round, the vote here goes to Katella (6-14), which takes on J.W. North in its opener. Even if they get by that, the Knights would have Coachella Valley (18-4) waiting for them.

Notes: Individually, Loara’s Titus is a great attraction. She broke the Southern Section’s single-game scoring record this season with 61 points against Los Alamitos on Jan. 3. The previous mark of 60 belonged to Amy Jalewalia of La Quinta. . . . Brea-Olinda, which moves up in divisions, won the Division 3-AA title last year with a 50-33 victory over Palos Verdes.