Brea Redeems Itself in Rout of St. Lucy’s

Not often do top-seeded teams and 10-time defending section champions talk about redemption, but that was one of Chelsea Trotter’s favorite words Tuesday night.

After Brea Olinda’s 63-26 victory over Glendora St. Lucy’s in the first round of the Southern California Division II Regionals, Trotter--and her teammates--emphasized they were back.

“I wanted to redeem myself for my pitiful performance Friday,” Trotter said of her 10-point, three-for-11 shooting performance in Brea’s 52-37 victory over Troy in the Southern Section II-AA title game. “You could tell by the way we played as a team we wanted to reestablish our reputation as a great team.”

Trotter, a 6-foot-2 sophomore, made eight of 10 field goals and scored 22 points. Lindsey Davidson was six of 11 and scored 15. Erin Kelly was four of eight and scored 11. And Brea, which it hasn’t done lately, scored a resounding knockout.

Brea (30-1) hosts Compton Dominguez (22-6) on Thursday. The third-seeded Dons beat Lemoore, 57-42. St. Lucy’s is 21-11.

“We rekindled the fire that we didn’t have against El Dorado [in the semifinals] and Troy,” Catherine Solorio said of Brea’s recent playoff games that were still close in the second half.

Solorio had only four points, but had four steals, a good example of the defense that Brea used to suffocate the Regents’ offense. Brea led, 14-12, with 1 minute 1 second left in the first quarter, then went on a 32-2 run. The Ladycats outscored St. Lucy’s in the second quarter, 17-0.

“There was an air of caution, followed by confidence, and then you saw that ‘Eye of the Tiger,’ come out,” Brea Coach Jeff Sink said. “We shot the ball well, moved the ball well, our intensity was tremendous on defense. It was an all-around good game.”

It was the kind of start that players and coaches had been longing for.

“We’ve methodically beaten people,” said assistant Tony Matson, who works with Brea’s post players. “We haven’t exploded on anyone.”

Brea made 21 of 35 shots through three quarters.

“The past couple of games,” Kelly said, “we’ve let our nerves get to us and then we’d pick it up toward the end of the game.”

Against Troy, Brea trailed by six in the third quarter. Against El Dorado, Brea led by one midway in the third before winning, 65-37.

In another Division II game:

Chula Vista Eastlake 67, Troy 57--Troy (29-4) trailed by 12 at halftime, outscored Eastlake in the third quarter, 18-9, but couldn’t overcome a fourth-quarter onslaught.

Eastlake (24-7), led by Brooke McIntyre (24 points), put up 20 points in the final quarter. Troy freshman Veronica Johns (nine rebounds, six assists) led all scorers with 25 points.

Eastlake made 24 of 32 free throws as Sarah Spencer and Kristen Arnold fouled out. Troy was 11 of 17.

Eastlake will play at Fresno Edison, a 69-30 winner over Santee Santana.