SOUTHERN SECTION BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS : Brea Olinda Gives Skeptics No Time to Reconsider : Division II-A girls: Ladycats win their seventh consecutive Southern Section basketball title with a 55-43 victory over Pasadena Muir.

Dawn Metz didn’t look up at the scoreboard, not until 62 seconds remained in the game. Kiyoko Miller’s steal and layup had just given Brea Olinda an eight-point lead.

And four words flashed through her mind.

“Seven in a row.”

That’s how many Southern Section girls’ basketball championships the top-seeded Ladycats have won, adding their most recent Division II-A title Saturday with a 55-43 victory over third-seeded Pasadena Muir (24-3) at the Pyramid.

Unlike the previous three title drives, which were dominated by Nicole Erickson and Colleen Hudson, this championship team is one without superstar power, but not a team without any power.

Metz, the unheralded center, scored 12 points. Marissa Bradley, the often forgotten fifth starter, scored 11. And the sophomores--Bradley, Jennifer Saari, Rochelle Anthony and Stephanie Wettlin--played crucial roles. All four were in the lineup in the fourth quarter protecting a five-point lead with 4:25 remaining; Metz and Miller were on the bench with four fouls.

Said Bradley: “Their coach (Corrine DeJong) said (to a San Gabriel Valley newspaper) the sophomores couldn’t handle the pressure, kind of like the Mater Dei coach (Mary Hauser) said, too. We wanted to prove that wrong.”

Muir pulled to 37-36 with 1:11 left in the third quarter on Tiana Sanders’ three-point play, but Metz scored inside on Lee Moulin’s assist, and then Wettlin (four points, three rebounds in three minutes) scored the biggest basket of her life to end the quarter, a 12-footer, that pushed the lead to five, 41-36.

Anthony opened the fourth with her only basket, making it a seven-point game. Muir never got closer than four the rest of the way.

Saari, the point guard, had seven points, five assists and four steals. She committed only four turnovers against Muir’s press. The Mustangs, averaging 22 steals, got only seven against Brea Olinda, and were the beneficiary of only 14 turnovers. Muir committed 24 turnovers.

The victory was Brea Olinda’s 31st consecutive victory in the section playoffs, and the Ladycats’ 37th playoff victory in a row.

“Everyone said Brea was going down this year, so this was our time to prove we’re still here,” Bradley said. “This was a rebuilding year, but we’ve already rebuilt.”

With the victory, Brea (28-2) probably will be the second-seeded team in the Southern California Regional Division II playoffs and will play host to two games before playing for the Regional championship at The Pond. The winner of that game will play for the State title in Oakland. Brea has won four consecutive State titles and five in six years.

“I think we can be back here the next three years, but this one I’ll enjoy because we have such a young team,” Coach Jeff Sink said. “We would like another shot at Woodbridge, if possible. They may thump us again, but we’d like the opportunity; win or lose, the players would only benefit.”

Woodbridge ended Brea Olinda’s 65-game winning streak in December with a 51-33 victory in the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions final.

Brea Olinda lost three starters from last year’s team, and this was supposed to be the year to knock Brea Olinda off its pedestal. Even Sink, a first-year coach who had his own ghosts to contend with, had doubts when he discovered the Ladycats would play Division II-A instead of III-AA, which it won last year on its way to a 33-0 record.

But the Ladycat players retained their winning attitude.

“This is the best out of all of them,” said Moulin, who suited up for her fourth section title game and scored 11 points. “No one thought we would be in this game, let alone win it.”

Added Saari: “We really wanted to win a CIF title just because Nicole’s group left. We wanted to prove that we could handle it, and that Brea is always going to have a good team.”

*

MORE PREP BASKETBALL: DIVISION II-A BOYS

Compton Dominguez 77

Tustin 59

*

* SILVER LINING: Tustin didn’t lose its cool, instead the Tillers focused on the positive, after their sound beating by Compton Dominguez in the Southern Section championship game. C8

* Complete coverage, C8-9

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Dominating the Section

The 13-year run of the Brea Olinda girls’ basketball program in the Southern Section playoffs, during which time the Ladycats have appeared in 11 championship games, winning eight:

Year Div. Results 1983 2-A Lost to Lakewood Artesia, 65-45, in championship game 1984 2-A Lost to Indio, 56-42, in championship game 1985 3-A Lost to Foothill, 63-34, in championship game 1986 3-A Defeated Foothill, 54-50, in championship game 1987 3-A Lost to Katella, 59-56, in semifinals 1988 3-A Lost to Hacienda Heights Los Altos, 52-45, in quarterfinals 1989 3-A Defeated Atascadero, 69-40, in championship game 1990 3-AA Defeated Palos Verdes, 50-33, in championship game 1991 2-AA Defeated Ventura, 50-42, in championship game 1992 3-AA Defeated Inglewood Morningside, 49-35, in championship game 1993 2-AA Defeated Cerritos Gahr, 75-39, in championship game 1994 III-AA Defeated Newport Harbor, 70-40, in championship game 1995 II-A Defeated Pasadena Muir, 55-43, in championship game