Edison Draws Powerful Teams

There will be no credibility issues on Saturday.

By then, when the Orange County Championship reaches the final day, the 12 girls’ basketball teams participating will have had their abilities pushed, their emotions tapped, their mettle tested.

And for some, their records turned upside down.

That’s the prospect facing Mater Dei, Calvary Chapel and Laguna Hills, which are expected to be easy targets for No. 1 Troy, No. 2 San Clemente and No. 4 Esperanza, among others.

Eight of the 12 teams--11 from Orange County--have been in county’s top 10 poll. So when the county’s top teams begin scrapping for the title beginning today at Edison High, it’s inevitable that someone will lose all four games.

Last year, it was Laguna Hills, which also turned out to be the only county team that won a Southern Section championship.

“Teams in the Edison tournament played tough defense, just like in the playoffs,” said Megan Aaker, a junior guard for Laguna Hills. “[The tournament] also prepared us for close games in the fourth quarter, and helped us keep our composure in the playoffs.”

That composure yielded a title for the Hawks, who finished third in the Sea View League, and were 14-13 at the end of the regular season. In the playoffs, Laguna Hills defeated third-seeded La Puente Bishop Amat, and second-seeded Newbury Park. The latter was a road win in which Laguna Hills trailed by seven in the fourth quarter before pulling out a 54-43 victory in the semifinals.

This season, Laguna Hills is 7-5 and plays Esperanza and No. 10 Foothill in pool-play games. Coach Jim Martin second-guessed himself in the off-season about whether his team should be in this tournament.

“Ultimately, I’m glad we’re here,” said Martin, whose team has beaten one ranked team this season, Huntington Beach. “There’s always a concern that there’s not a good showing and it shakes your confidence. . . . We’re trying to learn to compete at the best level. We could play in a lesser tournament and we could rack up a better record, but you have to keep an eye toward the playoffs.

“I remember when we were down by seven against Newbury Park, and the kids digging down and winning a game we probably shouldn’t have won.”

That’s what Calvary Chapel is banking on.

“For us, it’s a learning experience, an opportunity to see a different level of basketball,” said John Barney, Calvary Chapel’s first-year coach. “When we got to the [Division IV-A] final last year against [Playa del Rey] St. Bernard, we just weren’t ready for that level of competition.”

St. Bernard won that game, 82-52.

“We play Troy in our second game,” Barney said. “We’re not going to see anybody like Troy the rest of the year.

“I wanted to go into this tournament with a little better record where we could say, ‘We don’t have anything to lose.’ But we’re 6-4. There’s a chance we could come out and not be .500, and we’re a much better team than that. It’s a great opportunity for people who don’t normally get to see us in that environment. These, basically, are playoff games.”

The tournament will expand to 16 teams next season. Dave White, tournament director and Edison’s former coach, says Calvary Chapel is doing the right thing.

“They’ve been a quality program, but they might be the Laguna Hills of this year--take their lumps, and make a run for it in the playoffs,” White said. “Playing better teams can only make you better.”

Mater Dei Coach Ollie Martin agrees that the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. Winning at the end of the season is more important than winning earlier, said Martin, who doesn’t have a single starter back from last season and whose team is 4-6.

“We want to develop as fast as we can before we get to league,” Ollie Martin said. “I could have scheduled an easier preseason and come in with a better record going into league, but I don’t think we’re going to beat the quality teams in league without being pretty good ourselves. Playing these teams will help us do that.”

But there is a mental price to pay.

“I think [the losses] took an emotional toll,” Jim Martin said. “We lost some heartbreaking games, and it took awhile to rebound from that. But that experience really made us a savvy team.”

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Orange County Championship

Site: Edison High School.

The teams: Pool A--No. 2 San Clemente, Huntington Beach, Mater Dei; Pool B--No. 4 Esperanza, No. 10 Foothill, Laguna Hills; Pool C--No. 1 Troy, No. 8 Edison, Calvary Chapel; Pool D--No. 5, Rosary, No. 6 Irvine, Riverside North.

The setup: Two pool games, with first-place from each pool advancing into a four-team championship bracket, second-place teams advancing to a fifth-place bracket, and third-place teams advancing to a ninth-place bracket.

Tuesday: 3 p.m.--Foothill vs. Laguna Hills; 4:30 p.m.--Irvine vs. Riverside North; 6 p.m.--Calvary Chapel vs. Edison; 7:30 p.m.--Huntington Beach vs. Mater Dei.

Wednesday: 3 p.m.--Troy vs. Calvary Chapel; 4:30 p.m.--North vs. Rosary; 6 p.m.--Laguna Hills vs. Esperanza; 7:30 p.m.--San Clemente vs. Mater Dei.

Thursday: 3 p.m.--Rosary vs. Irvine; 4:30 p.m.--San Clemente vs. Huntington Beach; 6 p.m.--Esperanza vs. Foothill; 7:30 p.m.--Edison vs. Troy.

Friday--Ninth-place semifinals, noon, 1:30 p.m. Fifth-place semifinals, 3, 4:30 p.m.. Championship semifinals, 6, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday--noon--11th place; 1:30--ninth place; 3 p.m.--seventh place; 4:30 p.m.--fifth place; 6 p.m.--third place; 7:30 p.m.--final.