SOUTHERN SECTION GIRLS’ BASKETBALL PREVIEW : Marina Braces Itself for Thousand Oaks

Coach Pete Bonny and his Marina High School girls’ basketball team spent Monday afternoon doing what any team about to face the most menacing opponent it has seen all season should do--the Vikings went to the videotape.

“We’re watching films of Thousand Oaks,” Bonny said. “I’d rather have them (Marina) prepared than find out on the court.”

What Marina (24-4) and most followers of girls’ basketball already know is that Thousand Oaks (26-1), the top-seeded team in the Southern Section I-A playoffs, can crush opponents.

The defending-champion Lancers, whose only defeat was to national power Palos Verdes Peninsula in the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions finals in December, have won three playoff games by an average margin of 29 points.

So Marina, the Sunset League champion, has to figure out how to stop the Lancers and sharp-shooting Michelle Palmisano tonight when the teams meet in a semifinal game at Westlake Village Westlake High.

Bonny, however, believes Thousand Oaks has to worry as much about the Vikings as Marina does about the Lancers.

“Everyone asks us how we’re going to stop them,” Bonny said. “They (Thousand Oaks) have to stop us. We have (center Jessica) Trippet inside and we play good defense. We’re going to try and put enough pressure on them to create turnovers.”

Trippet, indeed, is tough inside. She averages 15 points and 10 rebounds and has scored 31, 20 and 16 points in three playoff games. But Thousand Oaks counters with Palmisano, the state’s third-leading career scorer with 2,692 points.

“We have to try to keep her under control,” Bonny said. “She gets most of those points penetrating. We’ll try to keep her out in the perimeter. I’ve got a guard (Julie Luft) who I think can keep her under control. Her assignment all year has been to cover the opponents’ best guard.”

Regardless of the outcome, Marina’s 24 victories are a school record. It’s also the first time the team has advanced to the semifinals.

In Division II-AA:

Woodbridge (20-7) vs. Cerritos Gahr (23-4) at Cerritos High: Gahr, seeded first in the division, has demolished two playoff opponents (Norte Vista, 97-28, and Garden Grove, 87-48), but fourth-seeded Woodbridge presents a much bigger obstacle. A Woodbridge victory would put the Warriors, who won the II-A title last season, in their second consecutive championship game.

In Division III-AA:

Newport Harbor (17-8) vs. Brea-Olinda (26-2) at Sonora High: No Newport Harbor girls’ team has ever reached the semifinals, so tonight’s game is a milestone for the fourth-seeded Sailors. But it’s doubtful they’ll play for the title this season, because top-seeded Brea, the defending State Division II champion, looks unstoppable again.

In Division III-A:

Rancho Alamitos (19-2) vs. Costa Mesa (21-6) at Newport Harbor High: This is a rematch of the 1990 championship game, won by Costa Mesa, 51-49. The teams appear evenly matched and have won their playoff games convincingly. If Costa Mesa makes it to the finals, it will be the third consecutive trip there for the Mustangs.

In Wednesday’s semifinal games:

In Division I-AA:

Lynwood (25-1) vs. Capistrano Valley (27-1) at Mission Viejo High: The third-seeded Cougars, winners of the South Coast League, are riding a 25-game winning streak. But it looks as if second-seeded Lynwood will put an end to that. Capistrano Valley barely got by Long Beach Millikan, 47-45, in the quarterfinals Saturday, and Lynwood hasn’t been pressed in victories over Fountain Valley (64-28) and Glendale (63-24).

In Division I-A:

Ventura Buena (25-2) vs. Ocean View (22-6) at Marina High: This will be the second long bus ride for Buena in a week, but that doesn’t seem to affect the third-seeded Bulldogs’ play. They traveled to San Clemente last Wednesday and trounced the Tritons, 65-25. Ocean View disposed of second-seeded Coachella Valley in the quarterfinals last Saturday, but Buena might prove too tough.

In Division II-AA:

Ventura (21-3) vs. Tustin (20-7) at Costa Mesa High: Maybe Ventura and Ventura Buena should charter one bus for a trip south. Second-seeded Ventura is favored but is no shoo-in against the tough Tillers, who are seeded third.

In Division III-AA:

Inglewood Morningside (16-10) vs. El Dorado (19-6) at Brea-Olinda High: Center Lisa Leslie is no longer on the team (she’s at USC), but second-seeded Morningside still fields a good team that should defeat the Golden Hawks.