Warriors Bring Brea Olinda Era to an End, 53-49 : Division II girls: Woodbridge victory keeps Ladycats from playing for State title for first time in seven years.

After the two teams played each other 2 1/2 months ago, both coaches and players expected to meet again.

And they did.

Saturday at The Pond, with a trip to the State title game on the line.

Brea Olinda was bolstered by tradition, with five State championship banners on its gym wall.

Woodbridge had resolve, to return to the title game and make good on a personal vow to win its first State championship.

And now, Woodbridge gets its chance.

The Warriors, ranked No. 1 in the state and No. 15 in the nation, survived Brea Olinda’s furious assault from the perimeter and defeated the Ladycats, 53-49, in the girls’ Southern California Regional Division II basketball final.

It marked an end to Brea Olinda’s dominance of Orange County basketball, destroying the Ladycats’ hopes of winning an unprecedented fifth consecutive State title; it also ended their 39-game playoff winning streak, and means Brea Olinda (30-3) won’t be playing for a State title for the first time in seven years.

It was punctuated by Erin Stovall’s five points in the final 59 seconds that broke a 48-48 tie. Stovall scored half of her 14 points in the fourth quarter, and the threat of her explosiveness opened the door for Melanie Pearson to score a game-high 18.

“This is a bittersweet moment, given our tradition,” first-year Brea Olinda Coach Jeff Sink said. “This was a classic rebuilding year (with nine new players), but I think we stopped rebuilding in the middle of January.

“We’re a culture that loves winners. . . . For us to say we’re overjoyed at how far we went--that would be a lie. I know the fire will burn deep next year and we’re looking forward to it.”

Woodbridge (32-2) will play in its second consecutive State final, against Fair Oaks El Camino, last year’s opponent, at 6 p.m. Friday at the Oakland Coliseum Arena. El Camino defeated Amador Valley, 59-56.

El Camino beat Woodbridge in last year’s final, 71-38. When Woodbridge defeated Brea Olinda in December’s Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions, the teams were ranked 1 and 2 in Orange County. The Warriors won by 18 points, 51-33, over a Brea Olinda team that was coming off consecutive victories against nationally ranked teams.

It looked as if this game was going to be a rout too.

The Warriors jumped to a 12-2 lead four minutes into the game, but then Brea Olinda switched to a man defense and a soft press--and then went into a shooter’s zone.

Two three-point baskets by Lee Moulin--her only points--another by Kiyoko Miller, and Marissa Bradley’s basket with seven seconds left gave Brea Olinda a 13-12 first-quarter lead. It also served notice that Woodbridge’s December victory was nothing more than a memory.

Pearson, probably Woodbridge’s best player, had not really stepped up in a big game this season, but two three-point baskets (and eight points) in the second quarter helped Woodbridge take a 27-24 halftime lead.

“I thought I could make my shots,” Pearson said, “and I called for the ball.”

Pearson had 11 at halftime--her season average is 11.1--and she had five consecutive points in the third quarter to give Woodbridge a nine-point lead, 40-31, with 2:03 remaining. But Brea Olinda had one comeback left.

Sophomore Jennifer Saari (12 points) had three of her four three-pointers over the next five minutes to cut Woodbridge’s lead to 46-45, and Miller’s three-pointer tied the score, 48-48, with 2:17 left. Woodbridge was clearly on the run.

But then Stovall took over. She scored the next five points, on a three-point play in which Miller fouled out, and a breakaway layup after stepping in front of Saari’s pass.

And that allowed the Warriors to overcome Brea Olinda’s eight-for-23 performance from the three-point line.

Woodbridge shot 47.8% (22 for 46) from the field--Pearson was seven for 14, Stovall six for 11 and Krissy Duperron (13 points) five for six.

Brea Olinda shot 35% (20 for 56) from the field, but had only two free-throw attempts--with no time left on the clock. Woodbridge was seven for 10 from the line.

Sink said Pearson killed the Ladycats, but it was his team’s respect for Stovall that created Pearson’s opportunity to step up.

“The teams we played before, I didn’t know that much about them--I wasn’t that pumped up,” Pearson said of her big-game performance. “But this time, it was Brea.”