Ladycats Show They Still Have Some Fight Left
Mired in adversity and stung by criticism, Brea Olinda turned in another surprising performance on Saturday.
This time, with a twist.
The Ladycats, ranked fourth in Orange County, unveiled new plays and a new attitude in defeating state power Hanford, 73-51. With its victory, Brea also forged a decidedly new outlook on the season.
“We were like a joke in our own county,” said 6-foot forward Jill Trader, who scored eight points and had a team-high six rebounds. “It was time to put our foot down and show what we can do.”
Among the things Brea did:
* Passed the ball in outstanding fashion, opening the way for Chelsea Trotter to score 29 points and Jackie Lord 16.
* Played tough defense that forced 17 turnovers, while committing only eight.
* Made 27 of 56 from the field, including five of 11 from the three-point arc.
“They played about 10 times better than I’ve ever seen them play,” Hanford Coach Dwayne Stubbs said, “and I’ve seen them about a half-dozen times.
“They shot extremely well, and they beat us on the boards.”
Brea (14-5) has lost as many games this season as it had since the 1981 season, and when the Ladycats, ranked No. 1 in the county at the time, were beaten badly two weeks ago by San Clemente, the jeers of “overrated” could be heard.
But in defeating Hanford (19-3), Brea beat a team ranked No. 19 by a national publication, and No. 5 in the state by Cal-Hi Sports. Long a fixture in the state’s top 20, Brea is unranked.
“It’s been a tough season,” said junior Tara Hefferly, who scored 12 and sparked the Ladycats with six steals and outhustled the taller Ladypups to grab five rebounds. “This proves to everyone we can win a big game and everyone can stop doubting us.”
Brea couldn’t have played much better. Smaller than Hanford, which started a front line that went 6-4, 6-3 and 6-1, the Ladycats were outrebounded by only 24-21 after three quarters, and by then, they had a 49-37 lead. Hanford won the overall rebound battle, 35-28.
Brea led at halftime, 34-25, prompting Coach Jeff Sink to say, “This is as good as we can play.”
And more importantly, the Ladycats did it for two more quarters.
In three of its five losses, Brea has led nationally ranked teams only to let victory slip away.
“We really came together,” Hefferly said. “Usually, when we play a good team, we play well in the first half. This is the first game we played a solid 32 minutes.
“That’s what we have to do against this competition.”