Few County Teams Have Reached the Pinnacle

Cherokee Parks never won one at Marina High even though he is one of the most famous players Orange County has produced. Amy Jalewalia never won one even though she scored more than 1,000 points one season at La Quinta High.

Of all the basketball stars who have played for Orange County high school teams, only a few have reached a state final. Even fewer have won it--seven schools have brought state basketball championship trophies back to the county.

The Orange High boys’ team paved the way in 1920, defeating Stockton, 45-29, at Stockton. Since then, county boys’ and girls’ teams have made 22 appearances in state finals.

The Brea Olinda girls have been the most prolific, setting state tournament records with five championships in six consecutive appearances from 1989 to 1994. On the boys’ side, Mater Dei has won three championships in four appearances (1987, ‘90, ’92 and ‘95).

Here’s a look at how Orange County teams have fared in the state finals:

BOYS

1920

* Orange 45, Stockton 29. In the days when there was a center jump after every basket, forward Dwight Roberts scored 17 points and center Albert Kuechel scored 14 points for Orange. Bill Hart of the Orange Daily News wrote: “The ease with which that shower of field goals rained stunned the Stockton players and the crowd alike.” Many people from the town gathered at the train station to welcome the team home.

1987

* Mater Dei 69, Ygnacio Valley 51: The Monarchs opened a 15-6 lead in the first quarter of the Division I final in the Oakland Coliseum Arena and were never threatened. LeRon Ellis kept things interesting in the second half with a variety of dunks. He finished with four blocked shots, six rebounds and a game-high 28 points. Kevin Rembert had 14 points and 11 rebounds for Mater Dei.

* Woodbridge 89, Richmond DeAnza 63: Adam Keefe had 25 points, 11 rebounds and five assists as a Warrior junior in the Division II final in the Oakland Coliseum Arena. But Keefe couldn’t have done it without his talented supporting cast of seniors, guard David Townsend and forward Vince Bryan (12 rebounds). The next season, after Townsend and Bryan had gone, Woodbridge fell two games short of the state final.

1989

* Central Valley 62, Trabuco Hills 61: Rick Swanwick scored all 24 of the Mustangs’ points in a second-half charge but then missed the second of two free throws with two seconds remaining in the Division III final in the Oakland Coliseum Arena. The ball bounced out of bounds as the buzzer sounded. Said Swanwick, who scored 33 points: “That’s the stuff that movie material is made of.”

1990

* Mater Dei 62, San Francisco Riordan 60: Dan O’Neil made two free throws with eight seconds remaining to clinch Mater Dei’s 26th consecutive victory and its second state Division I title in the Oakland Coliseum arena. Mater Dei made 12 of 17 free throws in the fourth quarter to hold off a frantic rally by Riordan. The defense of Monarch forward Charlie Andres was key against Riordan’s Dwayne Fontana.

* Servite 67, Hayward Mt. Eden 51: Paul Stapleton scored 12 of his 20 points on four consecutive three-point baskets in the second quarter to break open a 36-29 halftime lead for the Friars in the Division III final in the Oakland Coliseum Arena. Steve Marusich scored 21 points to help Servite.

1991

* Tustin 66, Danville San Ramon Valley 54: Tustin trailed by nine points at halftime but came out of the locker room with a vengeance and outscored San Ramon Valley, 16-6, in the third quarter of the Division II final to take a 40-39 lead in the Oakland Coliseum Arena. It was the Tillers’ first lead of the game and they never gave it back. Center Brian Reider said Tustin Coach Tom McCluskey got the team fired up at halftime but refused to repeat McCluskey’s speech. “You couldn’t print it anyway,” he said.

* Estancia 82, Fremont Washington 72: Estancia lost in the Southern Section final but defeated three section champions--San Diego Ramona, Servite and Pomona--in regional play to make it to the state Division III final in the Oakland Coliseum Arena. Estancia scored 17 consecutive points to take a 20-3 lead in the first quarter and never looked back. Mike Haas scored a game-high 27 points.

1992

* Alameda St. Joseph 59, Mater Dei 37: St. Joseph’s Jason Kidd brought his 26-point scoring average and enormous reputation into Sacramento’s Arco Arena and handed Mater Dei its only loss in a state Division I final. It was Kidd’s last high school game and he scored 28 points and had nine rebounds while leading St. Joseph to its 122nd victory with him in the lineup. Not even Miles Simon, then a sophomore, could steer Mater Dei back on track as things went from bad to worse. The Monarchs were outrebounded, 48-32, had 20 turnovers and shot 27.1% from the field (13 for 48).

1993

* Emeryville Emery 74, Brethren Christian 47: Brethren faced a school with an enrollment of only 155 students, but two of them were Darrell Robinson, a 7-foot, 270-pounder who would go on to play his college ball at Arkansas, and 6-8 Endiecko Battles. Robinson scored 31 points, had 18 rebounds and blocked five shots, and Emery scored 17 of the game’s first 19 points to take control.

1994

* Sacramento Foothill 81, Pacifica 61: Pacifica, which twice had to overcame large deficits to advance through the regional tournament, appeared poised to do so again after falling behind, 40-24, at the half. Chris Vlasic scored 17 of his 28 points in the third quarter and the Mariners cut the lead to five points early in the fourth quarter. But Foothill, paced by Alvin Houston’s 27 points, had an answer for every Pacifica rally.

1995

* Mater Dei 71, Oakland Fremont 67 (overtime): Clay McKnight made two free throws with 17 seconds to play in overtime in the Oakland Coliseum Arena to seal the Monarchs’ third state Division I title. Monarch stars Schea Cotton and Shaun Jackson sat on the bench in the third quarter with four fouls apiece. Frank Knight capped a Fremont rally with a 25-foot shot at the buzzer to send the game into overtime. Cotton finished with a game-high 29 points.

GIRLS

1982

* San Anselmo Sir Francis Drake 58, Mission Viejo 53: Cindy Rohrig led the Diablos with 20 points and 13 rebounds and Mary Madigan added 11 points, but it wasn’t enough. Mission Viejo was held scoreless from the field for nearly nine minutes in the second half by a balanced Drake team in the Division II final in the Oakland Coliseum Arena.

1989

* Brea Olinda 70, San Francisco Mercy 46: The Ladycats experienced stormy weather on the flight to the Bay Area but cruised smoothly to their first state title in the Division III final in the Oakland Coliseum Arena. The Ladycats held off a third-quarter rally by Mercy before running away with it. Jinelle Williams scored 23 points and Aimee McDaniel had 22 for Brea Olinda.

1990

* Auburn Placer 54, Brea Olinda 43: The loss in the Division III final in the Oakland Coliseum Arena brought an end to the Ladycats’ 55-game winning streak. Christa Gannon led Placer with 22 points and 15 rebounds. McDaniel, a senior, had 22 points.

1991

* Brea Olinda 54, Moreau 46: Williams scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to complete her three-year high school career with her 99th victory in the Division II final in the Oakland Coliseum Arena. Jody Anton scored all eight Brea points in the final quarter and finished with 22 points, 13 rebounds, four blocked shots and four assists.

1992

* Brea Olinda 47, Healdsburg 44: Nicole Erickson made a three-point shot to give Brea Olinda a four-point lead with 1:30 remaining and the Ladycats held on for the victory in the Division III final in the Arco Arena. Anton scored 19 points in her final game as a Ladycat.

1993

* Brea Olinda 42, Fair Oaks Bella Vista 41: Erickson made a 12-foot jumper with 3.5 seconds to play to give the Ladycats their third-consecutive state championship in the Division II final in the Oakland Coliseum Arena.

* Sacramento St. Francis 50, Costa Mesa 43: St. Francis forward Andee Whalen limited Costa Mesa star Olivia DiCamilli to eight points in the Division III final.

1994

* Sacramento El Camino 71, Woodbridge 38: El Camino senior Emily Hart was an inch shorter than Woodbridge junior Angela Burgess but Hart came out ahead in the Division II final in the Oakland Coliseum Arena. Hart finished with six blocked shots and El Camino guard Kristin Niemann scored 21 points.

* Brea Olinda 54, San Jose Archbishop Mitty 44: For four Ladycat seniors--Erickson, Colleen Hudson, Sarah Beckley and Susan Rhodabarger--it was their fourth-consecutive state championship. Officials waved off a basket by Mitty’s Allison Barrett because time had expired in the Division III final in the Oakland Coliseum Arena. It was Brea’s fourth consecutive title, which tied a record. Erickson finished her career 130-5 and currently is playing for Duke.

1995

* Atherton Sacred Heart Prep 52, Mater Dei 50: Sacred Heart Prep, enrollment 288, defended its Division I title in the Oakland Coliseum Arena. The game featured two of the best guards in the state, Sacred Heart junior Renee Robinson, who finished with 17 points, and Mater Dei junior Melody Peterson, who finished with 12.

* Woodbridge 55, Sacramento El Camino 40: In the Division II final in the Oakland Coliseum Arena, Woodbridge avenged the previous year’s loss to El Camino and became the second county team to win a state championship. It was Woodbridge’s defense that won the game, limiting El Camino to its first sub-50-point game of the season. Senior Angela Burgess finished with eight points and six rebounds.

1996

* Mater Dei 59, San Jose Archbishop Mitty 48: Rhonda Gondringer scored a game-high 20 points and Peterson and Lori Hurlbut each had 13 points to lead the Monarchs to their first girls’ state championship in the Division I final in the Arco Arena. Allison Luckey had six steals.

* Woodbridge 51, Sacramento El Camino 44: It was the third consecutive year these teams met in the state Division II final. Erin Stovall led Woodbridge with 21 points and seven steals and Melanie Pearson had 16 points. Krissy Duperron added two points playing her first game since suffering a knee injury several months before. Carly Moss had five steals and eight rebounds and Cathy Joens had nine rebounds.