No. 1 Brea Olinda Rallies to Beat No. 3 El Toro

Third-ranked El Toro led top-ranked Brea Olinda with less than two minutes remaining, but a critical fourth-quarter performance by Lindsey Davidson helped the Ladycats to a 72-67 victory.

“Any time a team can shoot the rock like they do,” Brea Coach Jeff Sink said, “it will keep them in the game.”

El Toro made 21 of 42 from the field, seven of 15 from beyond the three-point arc and 17 of 19 from the free-throw line.

“I definitely have more respect for them,” said Davidson, who had nine points, four steals and four rebounds.

Davidson was one for 11 before her tip-in at the third-quarter buzzer gave Brea (22-3) a 56-53 lead.

But it was her three steals with less than two minutes left and a 31-point, 17-rebound effort by Chelsea Trotter that helped Brea avoid its first home loss in four years.

One steal led to Trotter’s free throws that tied the score at 67; Davidson’s second steal came on an inbounds pass right to her that she converted for a 69-67 lead with 52 seconds remaining.

“Those two offensive possessions were the ones we needed to win the game,’ El Toro Coach Vincent Avitabile said.

Davidson’s third steal, with 5.4 seconds left, enabled Trotter to sink a free throw for the final score.

Jeri Costello’s 18-footer pushed Brea’s lead to 71-67 with 20 seconds remaining.

Davidson also guarded Giuliana Mendiola (26 points) in the second half, limiting the Chargers’ leading scorer to eight.

Gioconda Mendiola scored 17 and Amy Rikimaru scored 14 for El Toro (17-4), which had won 10 in a row.