GIRLS’ BASKETBALL ROUNDUP : Brea-Olinda Wins Title in Alaska

Brea-Olinda continued its impressive run through the Alaska Invitational in Anchorage on Thursday, scoring a 63-54 championship victory over Lake Oswego (Ore.) Lakeridge.

Nicole Erickson scored 38 points (13 of 21 from the field, missing only three-point attempts), five assists and five steals and was the tournament’s most valuable player. Brea led by two with six minutes left; Erickson scored nine over the last seven minutes.

Colleen Hudson scored 10 points and had seven rebounds; Sarah Beckley scored twice, and teamed with Hudson to guard Lakeridge’s 6-foot-7, Stanford-bound center, Chandra Benton (28 points, 15 rebounds). All were named to the all-tournament team.

With the victory, the Ladycats (11-0)--ranked fifth nationally--have on successive nights beaten USA Today’s fifth-ranked team in the Western Region (Lakeridge, 9-1) and its sixth-ranked team nationally (Cleveland Ohio Trinity).

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In the Cavalier Classic:

Edison 52, El Modena 51--Lisa Araki made two free throws to give Edison a four-point lead and the Chargers hung on in the title game. El Modena’s Jaime Shine made a three-pointer with two seconds left to make it close. Shine had 20 points, 24 rebounds and six steals for the Vanguards (4-7).

Tournament most valuable player Marie Philman, who received three fouls in the first quarter and sat out most of the second and third, scored 18 points. When Philman re-entered the game, the Chargers trailed, 38-32. She scored 11 points and had three steals in the fourth quarter.

Fullerton 36, Santiago 21--Ashley Jones scored 16 points and had 12 rebounds for Fullerton (6-6) for fifth place.

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In the Savanna girls’ basketball tournament:

Cypress 77, Torrance 40--Jessica Eggleston had 35 points for Cypress and was named the tournament’s most valuable player. Julie Adams added 20 points, 17 rebounds, five steals and six assists for Cypress (13-2). Teammate Susan Flaming had 11 points and 11 assists.

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In Big A tournament games:

Esperanza 66, Western 45--Forward Lindsay Foss and guard Jodie Howard each scored 12 points each for Esperanza, which led by 16 points at halftime. Jennifer Christensen had a game-high 19 points with two three-pointers for Western.

Kennedy 77, Arrowhead Christian 63--Erryn Gutjahr scored 18 points and teammate Heather Cunningham had 15 points and 15 rebounds and Karin Kitagawa had 14 points for Kennedy (7-5) in the third-place game. Leslie Prochaska added 12 points and Damia Williams had six points and 12 rebounds for Kennedy.

La Quinta 66, Magnolia 56--Linda Rodriguez had 20 points, including three three-pointers, for La Quinta in the consolation championship. Teammate Shannon Mimms added 17 points with five three-pointers.