GIRLS’ BASKETBALL

When they met last year in an early-season game, Troy, ranked eighth, ran San Clemente, ranked second, off the court in a 56-39 rout. The Warriors went on to win all 26 of their regular-season games. Then came the second round of the playoffs, and San Clemente provided the payback, ending Troy’s 27-game winning streak with a 55-49 victory.

The two teams meet again on Tuesday at San Clemente, where the seventh-ranked Tritons and Whitney Jones will try once again to slow No. 3 Troy and Veronica Johns-Richardson.

That’s not the only big game on Tuesday. Fifth-ranked Edison will play host to eighth-ranked Rosary. Laguna Hills, coming off an upset of No. 6 El Toro, plays host to Edison on Wednesday.

On Friday, several county teams begin play at the Tournament of Champions in Santa Barbara. Orange County’s top-ranked team, Brea Olinda, playing in the National Championship division, opens against Shelbyville (Tenn.) Central. Win or lose, it hardly gets any easier, with Berkeley or Copperas Cove (Texas) waiting in the second round. According to one publication, Central is ranked 12th nationally, Copperas Cove 14th and Berkeley 15th. Twelve of the nation’s top 20 ranked teams are in the tournament.