SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PREP BASKETBALL REGIONALS : Brea Falls Behind, Then Wins : Division II: Lady Cats trail Carlsbad before offense clicks. They’ll face Ventura in the regional final.

The Carlsbad girls’ basketball team learned Thursday night that you should never scare a Cat.

Carlsbad took surprising leads of 5-0, 7-2 and 13-8 in its Southern California Division II Regional semifinal game against Brea-Olinda before the Lady Cats charged back for a 61-47 victory to move into the championship game Saturday at the Los Angeles Sports Arena against Ventura.

“It’s a game of runs. They had their run early; there was nothing to panic about,” Brea Coach Mark Trakh said. “Sometimes the other team’s winning. Sometimes you’re winning. That’s basketball.”

The Lancers (24-3) played some effective basketball in the early going, outshooting and outhustling Brea to build improbable leads. Sophomore forward Vanessa Nygaard had six of her 12 points in the quarter, two on a layup and four on a couple of short jumpers, to lead Carlsbad’s attack.

The Lady Cats (31-1) didn’t take the lead until 1 minute, 10 seconds remained in the first quarter on a 10-foot jumper by Nicole Erickson. That gave the Lady Cats a 14-13 lead and they never trailed again.

Erickson, the freshman point guard who makes the Lady Cat offense run smoothly, took charge in the second quarter and scored seven of her 14 points.

“Nicole plays her heart out every game,” Trakh said.

With their offense back in gear, Brea also went to work on the defensive end and held Carlsbad to nine points on 4 for 13 shooting from the field and no free throws in the second quarter to take a 35-24 lead at the half.

Carlsbad threatened Brea in the third quarter, cutting the Lady Cat lead to 37-31 with 5:15 left in the quarter after a couple of baseline jumpers by senior guard Sarah Dolkas. But Brea forward Jody Anton answered with two consecutive baskets to extend the Lady Cat lead again.

Anton, who had eight points in the first half on a variety of mid-range shots, had the hot hand for Brea in the third quarter. She scored six of the team’s 10 points and added a three-pointer in the fourth quarter to finish the game with a game-high 18 points. She also had six of her nine rebounds in the second half.

Brea also got a nice effort from reserve center Sarah Beckley, who scored 10 points and had four rebounds while coming off the bench.

Dolkas, whose fraternal twin sister Jenny (three points) is the other Lancer starting guard, finished with 13 points for Carlsbad, the San Diego Section Division II runner-up. Sophomore center Holly Gerdes, who scored six points, had eight rebounds for Carlsbad.

“This was a tough game,” Trakh said. “We struggled, but that’s OK. We are going to have to struggle Saturday. I hope we have enough left to compete.”