No. 2 Brea Forces 26 Turnovers, Beats Oilers

Brea Olinda called it a Saturday Night Special, but with Huntington Beach’s Amy Sanders on the bench with a sprained ankle, there was nothing special about it.

Brea, the No. 2 team in Orange County, ran away from the seventh-ranked Oilers, 58-32, with a defensive performance that yielded 26 turnovers.

Sanders, a 5-foot-11 junior averaging 20.8 points and 13.9 rebounds, couldn’t run Saturday and didn’t play. But Brea (19-4) ran, linking steals to baskets and turning an expected showdown into a rout . . . despite shooting 31.3%.

Senior Jackie Lord scored 17 points and had seven assists, five rebounds and three steals. Sophomore Jennifer Katsuyama scored 11 and had six steals. Six-foot freshman Carrie Noyes, Brea’s only starter over 5-9, had 10 points against the Oilers, who used three players over 6-0, four 5-10 or taller.

“People underestimate us a lot, losing [junior Daveri Bonnewitz], being small, being young,” said Lord, one of two seniors in the regular rotation. “But we have heart, tenacity and good defense.”

Bonnewitz, a 5-10 guard/forward, is out for the season with a knee injury. Still, the elfin-like Ladycats outrebounded Huntington Beach, 35-33, led by Lauren Pedersen and Tara Hefferly, both 5-8, with seven apiece.

Brea committed only six turnovers and made 16 of 18 from the free-throw line.

“I don’t know if we would have beat them [with Sanders], but it would’ve been a game,” said Oiler Coach Bill Thomson, whose team lost to No. 1 Esperanza on Thursday, 58-51. “You can’t minimize what she means to us.”

Jenny Skrifvars also had a good night guarding Kelsey Ball, holding the Oilers’ second-leading scorer to 11 points, including only one field goal in the second half after Brea took a 32-19 lead. Brea’s largest lead was 28 points.