Mater Dei, Brea Olinda No Strangers to Finals

Orange County’s basketball powerhouses--Mater Dei and Brea Olinda--have reached the state basketball finals . . . again.

The Mater Dei boys and Brea Olinda girls have made a combined 12 trips to the state finals. The rest of the schools in Orange County have played in a combined 15 state finals. The Mater Dei girls won a Division I state title in 1996 and were runners-up in 1995.

The Mater Dei boys won their third state title in 1995, but have not returned to the state finals until this season. And Saturday at Arco Arena in Sacramento, Mater Dei will face a familiar foe: Oakland Fremont.

In 1995, Mater Dei needed overtime to defeat Fremont in the Division I state final at the Oakland Coliseum. Schea Cotton scored 29 points, and teammates Shaun Jackson and Kevin Augustine made key free throws to seal the victory for Mater Dei.

*

Brea Olinda is seeking its seventh girls’ basketball state championship Friday at Arco Arena, although the Ladycats will be without their leading scorer, forward Chelsea Trotter.

Trotter suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in the Division II regional semifinal and did not play in Brea’s 69-65 victory over Fresno Edison in the regional final.

In last season’s Division II state final, Trotter played, but wasn’t the team’s top scorer. Kate Ides, a senior starter on this season’s team, shut down Redding Shasta’s leading scorer and scored a team-high 14 points in Brea’s 51-32 victory.

*

Although the girls’ basketball state finals might be old hat for Brea Olinda, they’re brand new for Calvary Chapel.

Calvary Chapel advanced to the Division IV final with a 46-43 victory over La Jolla The Bishop’s, but the first question from the Eagles wasn’t about who, when or where they would be playing.

The victory cry from several players: “Do we get to miss any school?”

Calvary Chapel will play Atherton Sacred Heart Saturday at 9:15 a.m. at Arco Arena.

*

Though Foothill was seeded third, behind Brea and Fresno Edison in the Southern California girls’ basketball playoffs, their travel priority was fifth. The Knights opened the playoffs Tuesday in San Diego, and then played Thursday in Fresno.

And Coach Ty Watkins discovered what he considered a distinct home-court advantage.

“We got homered, we should have beat them,” Watkins said. “‘We went on an 8-0 run at the end of the third quarter and tied the game at 29. Then the refs took over.”

Foothill’s leading scorer, Kristen Mann, fouled out one minute into the fourth quarter even though Watkins contested--and said videotape and the visiting scorebook supported--that Mann had committed only three fouls to that point. Point guard Jacky Williams fouled out about 30 seconds later.

“Basically, we were without our two top dogs,” Watkins said.

Foothill lost by 13 points, 57-44. The final free-throw totals: Edison was 21 of 47, Foothill was 10 of 18.

*

What’s so tough about winning a state basketball title? Getting there.

That’s what Brea Olinda Coach Jeff Sink said last week in the midst of victories over La Jolla, La Puente Bishop Amat and Fresno Edison.

“It’s the hardest week of the year--you have to win games back-to-back-to-back,” Sink said. “As a team and as a coaching staff, you have only one preparation day between games. If you exhaust yourself in one game, it hurts because the kids lose their focus on the prep day. I think the preparation day is as important as the game.”

That’s why Sink was so happy with an easy victory over La Jolla in a first-round home game. He was able to use 15 players and rest Trotter, Ides, Lindsey Davidson, Jackie Lord and Jeri Costello in the fourth quarter.

Bishop Amat Coach Richard Wiard agreed that fatigue plays a huge role during the state playoffs.

“[Tuesday] we could only practice 45 minutes because the kids were so beat up,” Wiard said before his team took the floor against Brea in the second round.

Bishop Amat played in Bakersfield on Tuesday and was pushed in a 70-60 victory. Against the Lancers, Brea jumped to a 27-point lead even though it didn’t play particularly well on offense, then withstood a rally after Trotter’s season-ending knee injury in the third quarter.

“That was an aberration in terms of how we’ve been doing--we were sluggish,” Sink said. “Nobody’s on top of their game every night. The trick in [the state tournament] is to play eight or nine games in a row and not lose.

“We’ve reached what is essentially the state semis [the regional finals] the last five years. You’ve got to be a little lucky, injuries can’t ding you, and you have to play well enough on those bad nights to win.”

*

Sink said after Trotter’s injury but before Brea’s victory over Edison: “You hope the other kids find their role. Fortunately, we’re deep.”

Of course, it was Brea’s depth that helped it beat Edison to advance to the final. Brea played 11 players in the first half.

Jill Trader, making her first start of the season, scored a game-high 17 in place of Trotter. Reserve point guard Jerri Armendariz, who stands only 5 feet 3, scored 14, catching the attention of college coaches in attendance.

“I had four phone calls Monday morning from college coaches who had expressed no interest previously,” Sink said. “They saw her penetrate fearlessly against bigger kids, and now they’re thinking, ‘She could be a backup point guard for our program.’ ”

*

Some golf vacations don’t measure up to the schedule for the Newport Harbor varsity golf team.

The Sailors played today at Spyglass Hill in Monterey, one of the host courses for the PGA’s Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. And when spring break rolls around, the Sailors head to Hawaii.

Newport Harbor will play one day on Lanai and three days on Maui--two days at Kapalua and one at Royal Kaanapali. The Kapalua Plantation course is home of the PGA’s Mercedes Championships.

*

The Esperanza boys’ volleyball team lost to Newport Harbor in the final of the San Diego Tournament of Champions last weekend, but the Aztecs and many of the top teams in the county will get another shot at the Sailors, the Times’ preseason No. 1-ranked team, this weekend.

Marina is hosting the Orange County Championships, which begin at 3 p.m. Friday with pool play. Pool play and single-elimination bracket play continues Saturday morning and the finals are Monday at Golden West College.

*

San Clemente is adding to the flood of basketball tournaments around the holidays. The girls’ basketball program will host a varsity tournament Dec. 16-21 at the Triton gym.

Coach Mary Mulligan said there is a four-game guarantee for teams hoping to participate. Coaches interested in the tournament should call Mulligan at (949) 492-4165, ext. 2227.

Times staff writer Martin Henderson contributed to this report.