Brea Olinda Reaches Section Final

LA HABRA — There is this notion that teams with tall post players have an advantage over Brea Olinda because 5-foot-11 Stephanie Wettlin doesn’t match up.

But Wettlin, taking on tall tasks all year as Brea’s tallest player, added another notch to her belt on Wednesday, leading Brea Olinda to a 52-42 victory over La Puente Bishop Amat in the Southern Section Division II-A girls’ basketball semifinals at Sonora High.

The Ladycats (26-3), eight-time defending champions, will play Moorpark at 6:15 p.m. Friday at the Pyramid for the title. Moorpark (25-2) was a 52-42 winner over Compton Dominguez.

The Lancers (27-4), with a talented point guard, three-point shooter and post player, matched up as well as any team in the division against Brea.

Wettlin, who had a big first half (eight points, four rebounds, three blocks, two steals) to give Brea a 32-26 halftime lead, negated the mismatch the Lancers had with 6-4 sophomore Shannon Wosman, who was averaging 12 points and nine rebounds. Wosman finished with seven points and eight rebounds--more than half of each coming in the fourth quarter.

“I try to use my leaping ability to my fullest potential,” Wettlin said. “When I’m outsized, I have to play bigger than I am. [Tonight] I was as big as I needed to be.”

Wettlin and Rochelle Anthony picked up their third fouls early in the third quarter, but reserves Amanda Strum, Catherine Solorio and Sarah Bonilla made baskets that helped Brea take a 40-29 lead into the fourth. “Manna from heaven,” Coach Jeff Sink said, especially noting the last two baskets that came in the final 1:10.

When Marissa Bradley (12 points) scored to make it 42-29, the game appeared to be in the bag.

Instead, four turnovers followed and Bishop Amat went on an 11-0 run to make it 42-40 with 3:12 left.

Enter Wettlin (12 points, four steals, five-for-seven from the field) and her late heroics.

She made two free-throws (on Wosman’s fourth foul) to give Brea a 45-42 lead. And, after Brea had made only one of seven fourth-quarter field goals attempts, Wettlin took a bullet pass inside from Marissa Bradley and put the ball onto the rim. It crept through with 35 seconds left.

“We had gone into a dry spell,” Sink said. “That broke [Bishop Amat’s] heart, and we got sent to the free-throw line. If we don’t make that bucket. . . .”

There wouldn’t have been that sigh of relief from most of the 2,000 in attendance.

“You learn to expect really good passes in high risk situations,” Wettlin said, “and you have to be ready to shoot when you’re open.”

Jennifer Saari (10 points, three steals) couldn’t put enough emphasis on the basket that gave Brea its 47-42 lead: “We knew if we made that basket, we knew [the game] was ours.”

Lindsey Davidson followed with two free throws with 22 seconds left, then Bradley added another. Saari’s 17-footer at the buzzer gave the impression the game wasn’t as close as it was.