Laguna Hills Upsets Brea Olinda

The game was played between teams ranked Nos. 1 and 2 in the state, teams with contrasting styles and histories, but with the same goal.

Laguna Hills, ranked second in the state, defeated Brea Olinda, 40-29, to win the Southern California Regional girls’ basketball Division II title at the Pond.

In the state finals, Laguna Hills will play Newark Memorial, a 52-44 winner over Fair Oaks Del Campo in the Northern California Regional final. The title game is 6:15 p.m. Friday at the Pond.

The Hawks (30-3) defeated a five-time state champion that has been to the regional final the past seven years.

“It’s been a long journey,” said senior Whitney Houser (10 points, seven rebounds), whose school had never won a section semifinal before this season. “I never thought my freshman year we would get this far.”

Laguna Hills, which had three starters who played on the varsity as freshmen, got its 22nd consecutive victory over a team that shot horribly and scored only 10 points in the first half. Brea had averaged 63 against 15 opponents who reached their section semifinals.

Brea Olinda (29-4) shot only 13% from the field in the first half (four for 30) and 20.7% in the game (12 for 58). This from a group with five starters shooting better than 44%, four shooting better than 50%.

Rochelle Anthony (14 points, three steals) was the only Ladycat who came close to her average, making six of 12.

Laguna Hills shot 41% (16 for 39), mostly from mid-range and closer.

“We were able to establish our tempo, play at the slower pace and Brea never could get a run on us,” Laguna Hills Coach Lynn Taylor said. “They never could get their fastbreak going and we were able to stop them. That was the key.”

Playing a half-court game, Brea Olinda was unable to shoot down Laguna Hills’ 2-3 zone defense. The Hawks, initially confused by the NBA three-point stripe on the Pond floor, began its zone too wide and Brea held a 7-5 lead with 2 minutes 35 seconds left in the first quarter on Anthony’s putback. Five of those points came after the Ladycats got offensive rebounds.

But that’s when the game changed. On Anthony’s scoring play, Inoue took a knee to her thigh and began limping badly. Taylor called timeout and told his defense to sag inside, daring Brea to make an outside shot. It didn’t happen.

Inoue (six points, six assists) left the game for almost 3 1/2 minutes. The Ladycats jumped into a press to exploit her absence, but got nothing.

Taylor called it a huge three-minute span because Inoue returned with the score tied, 8-8, and 6:38 left in the second quarter.

Laguna Hills’ 6-foot-6 senior, Tayyiba Haneef (14 points, 12 rebounds, four blocks), wasn’t a factor in the first quarter, but finally scored her first basket at 5:23 and six of the next eight points as part of an 11-0 run. As Haneef exerted her presence, the Hawks exerted their dominance. Their 12-2 scoring advantage in the second quarter gave them an 18-10 lead.

Brea Olinda was outrebounded under its basket, 28-14.

Brea Olinda Coach Jeff Sink said Haneef’s presence in the middle and “probably the poorest shooting night in three years” accounted for the bottom line.

Brea Olinda, which didn’t use its press more often for fear of expending too much energy on the larger court, rallied in the third. The press, and Anthony’s basket with 1:55 left in the quarter, cut the deficit to 20-18.

It was the Ladycats’ last hurrah. Haneef, seven inches taller than Brea’s Stephanie Wettlin (one point, two rebounds), hit a four-footer and Houser buried a 12-footer on the baseline. Reserve Mandy Mayfield (six points) opened the fourth quarter with two uncontested baskets. Houser followed with another 12-footer and Mayfield hit another, ending the 12-0 response to Brea’s rally.

Jennifer Saari (11 points, all in the fourth quarter) scored her first basket with 4:57 remaining, but Haneef added two more baskets inside to give Laguna Hills a 38-20 lead.

“To have an 18-point lead was mind-boggling,” Taylor said.

Said Brea’s Marissa Bradley: “They weren’t scared. They wanted to beat Brea, and they did.”