Brea Olinda Finds Its Groove in Upset

Could Brea Olinda be back?

After the host Ladycats defeated third-seeded Irvine Woodbridge, 66-36, in a Southern Section Division II-A girls’ basketball quarterfinal game Wednesday night, the answer just might be yes.

Junior guard Jeanette Pohlen scored 22 points and had 15 rebounds, six assists and three steals as Brea (18-11) reeled off its season-best performance against Woodbridge (25-4) after enduring its worst season in decades.

Brea has won 14 section titles since 1986, and lost in two other championship games. But it finished third in the Century League this season, and if ever the eight-time state champion was ripe for the picking....

“We’re a totally different ballclub than we were earlier in the season,” Brea Coach Jeff Sink said. “We were very young. Other than Pohlen, not many girls played many minutes last year. But now we’re getting contributions from a couple of different kids.”

Brea received 11 points from Sarita Stamps and eight each from Jenni Lane and Stephanie Servin.

“We showed we can be just as good as any team in the division if we play like we did tonight -- hard, aggressive and as a team,” Pohlen said.

The Ladycats will host top-seeded Newbury Park on Saturday at Sonora. Newbury Park defeated Temescal Canyon, 75-57, in its quarterfinal.

-- Martin Henderson

Boys’ Basketball

Woodland Hills Taft defeated 16-time City Section champion Crenshaw, 84-63, in a Championship division quarterfinal playoff game, receiving 24 points from senior guard Calvin Haynes and 16 points from sophomore guard Oscar Bellfield.

While top-seeded Los Angeles Fairfax and fourth-seeded Westchester will meet in one semifinal Friday, third-seeded Taft (22-5) will take on seventh-seeded Sylmar (18-8), a team the Toreadors defeated by 24 points in a nonleague game.

Taft took a 30-13 lead only 10 1/2 minutes into the game Wednesday, when Haynes had 15 points, Crenshaw had 10 turnovers and the Cougars’ leading scorer, Traveion Finister, was held scoreless.

Finister finished with 28 points, but Crenshaw (20-5) never got closer than 11 points afterward.

“It was an open-court game,” Taft Coach Derrick Taylor said. “That’s what we do well. When Calvin is off and running, we win.”

The Toreadors have won their two playoff games by 39 and 21 points.

-- Eric Sondheimer

Honors

James Keefe, a senior at Santa Margarita, was chosen to play in the 29th McDonald’s High School All-American boys’ basketball game March 29 at San Diego State.

Morghan Medlock of Harbor City Narbonne and Abi Olajuwon of Los Angeles Marlborough were among the selections for the fifth girls’ game, which will precede the boys’ game.

Last week, L.A. Fairfax Coach Harvey Kitani was named coach of the West boys’ team.