DIVISION II GIRLS : Brea-Olinda Escapes in Overtime, 64-55

The high five was more like a two, but it was as far as she could lift her arms after the night she had had. Carlsbad’s Vanessa Nygaard had spent all her strength--and much of her spirit--during the final game of her high school career.

When Nygaard fouled out of the Southern California Division II girls’ semifinal Thursday night against Brea-Olinda, the 6-foot-1, Stanford-bound forward made a beeline for the Ladycats’ Nicole Erickson. Nygaard extended her hand; Erickson offered hers back.

It was tribute to their teams as well as to each other, and to what had transpired in Brea-Olinda’s 64-55 overtime victory over Carlsbad of the San Diego Section, in front of a full house of ranting and raving basketball fans at Brea-Olinda High.

“She’s awesome,” said Nygaard, who is used to being on the receiving end of such accolades. “She’s so intense. I wish I could play like her.”

Every Ladycat fan in attendance was happy to have Erickson’s skills available when Brea-Olinda was down by six points with 4:07 left in regulation.

With 33 seconds left and Brea-Olinda behind, 54-51, the Ladycats were staring at the very real possibility of being eliminated short of the regional final for the first time in five years.

Erickson, who finished with 26 points, brought the ball down court and hit a three-pointer with all the confidence of a knife thrower to force overtime, when the Ladycats dominated.

“I knew we had to score,” Erickson said of the shot. “I wasn’t that confident, like I knew it was going in, but I knew we had to score.”

Carlsbad Coach John Dubreville said the basket was the shot that broke the Lancers’ momentum, if not their spirit.

“I think that three-pointer got the best of us,” he said. “She’s the best player I’ve seen this year, maybe ever.”

Strong words considering who Dubreville has on his team. But it was Nygaard who missed a short bank shot shot with 12 seconds left that helped turned the tide against the Lancers.

“I can’t believe I missed that,” Nygaard said. “Maybe it wasn’t meant to be . . . I’m glad that we went out like this. We couldn’t have played any harder. We gave everything we had.”

And everything Carlsbad had, Brea-Olinda was expecting. Nothing or no one surprised the Ladycats (30-2). Not Nygaard, who finished with 20 points, not Holly Gerdes, who scored 16, including nine in the third quarter, and fouled out with 2:21 left in the game.

“We knew they were good,” Erickson said. “They didn’t surprise us. Maybe other people were surprised, but not us. I played against Vanessa when I was a freshman. I knew what she was capable of.”

What Erickson was capable was even more deadly. In the three-minute overtime, when Carlsbad could muster only one free throw, Erickson scored eight points, grabbed four rebounds and made a steal.

“When they had to do it, they came through,” Brea-Olinda Coach Mark Trakh said.

Brea-Olinda advanced to Saturday’s regional final against San Diego University City, a 45-34 winner over Hacienda Heights Wilson.