Brea Olinda’s Seniors Have Waited Four Years for This

The dream starts early for many young girls who grow up in the shadow of Brea Olinda High. By age 9, many already are imagining what it will be like in a few years, when they are vying for a state basketball title with the Ladycats.

That time has finally arrived for Catherine Solorio and Erin Kelly, the only senior starters on the 1997-98 team.

Brea Olinda (32-1) meets Redding Shasta (28-2) in the state Division II championship game at 6:15 tonight in Sacramento’s Arco Arena.

It has been four years since the Ladycats have been in a state title game. That drought seems unusually long only because it was preceded by four consecutive state titles, capped in 1993-94 when Brea finished undefeated and was named national champion by USA Today.

Solorio and Kelly were eighth-graders then and played for the Polcats, a community youth basketball program. Solorio, who occasionally practiced informally with members of the Ladycats’ varsity, had played with the Polcats since the fourth grade.

David Kelly had taken his daughter, Erin, and the rest of the family north for four years in a row to watch Brea play in the state championship game. In 1994, they stayed home and watched on TV as Nicole Erickson led the Ladycats to their fifth title in six years. As she watched, Erin Kelly couldn’t help but think that next year, that would be her on the court.

But it wasn’t. She was a member of the Brea junior varsity team as a freshman, and watched as the varsity team, which included Solorio, failed to reach the state final, losing to Woodbridge in the Southern California regional final.

When Kelly and Solorio were sophomore members of the varsity, Brea’s season was ended again by Woodbridge in the regional final. The next year, the Ladycats again lost in the regional final, this time to Laguna Hills. All three times, they lost to the eventual state champion.

Tonight’s game is their final chance.

“This is very important because we’ve worked so hard,” said Solorio, 18. “When we didn’t win my freshman year, it was devastating. And that has been the scenario the last three years. We were favored to win all four years, and when you fall short. . . . It wasn’t because the opponents were better; as a team, we didn’t come ready to play. If we had just been ready to play. . . .”

Added Kelly: “Knowing that the season had to end like that the past three years was really disappointing. [Solorio and I] have told the team we have to play hard in this game, no matter what, because you can never depend on next year.”

Solorio and Kelly have already achieved one of the goals they set for the season by reaching the state final. Had the team lost in the regional final for the fourth consecutive year, the girls would have been among the school’s first seniors since the Class of ’88 to go through high school without playing for a state championship.

Solorio and Kelly understood that coming into the season, and stressed to teammates how important this record seventh state appearance is to them and the team’s other seniors.

“When you come in as a freshman, you are just excited about being in the program,” Solorio said. “It is all still a dream. But for a senior, it is definitely a goal that you want to achieve and you don’t want anything to get in the way.”

Brea hopes to achieve that goal under the leadership of their captains, Kelly and Solorio, who both play off-guard in Brea’s three-guard offense. They are starting in the same backcourt this season for the first time since they played together for the Polcats.

Kelly, 5 feet 9, is the team’s second-leading scorer, averaging 13.8 points and shooting 62% from the field. Solorio, 5-7, is averaging 8.3 points and shooting 47% from the field.

Along with what they contribute on the court, the two also suggested the team’s motto for the season: “United we stand, divided we fall.” It’s a phrase the team repeats before every game.

“This year we are going to do this right,” Solorio said. “We take time out during practice and look up at the [gym] wall and envision ourselves placing another banner up there. It is such a nice thing to see. It’s the product of all the hard work you put in.”

Both believe it’s their turn.

“To end this season with a win will be a whole lot better,” Kelly said. “I used to go watch the Ladycats play in Sacramento. So it personally means a lot to me to win a state title for the school.”

Added Solorio: “We have been working and dreaming of this for four years. Now you are actually going to reach that point in your life where you are going to be the best.”