Pohlen scores 27 to lead Brea Olinda to title game

Just as she has done throughout the playoffs, Jeanette Pohlen turned Brea Olinda’s Southern California Regional Division II championship game into a showcase event.

Her showcase.

Pohlen scored 27, and top-seeded Brea positioned itself to win a ninth state title by beating third-seeded Norco, 66-59, Saturday at Pauley Pavilion.

One of the things that makes Brea (33-1) so good is that Pohlen, who’s headed to Stanford, creates so many opportunities for teammates, and they didn’t let her down. Freshman Kelsey Harris scored 14, sophomores Jonae Ervin and Kendall Rodriguez scored 11 and eight, respectively, and junior Lauren Bell had six.

Though Pohlen scored the most, it was her teammates who made many of the biggest shots. Twice they made three-pointers as the shot clock was striking zero, and the Ladycats made 17 of 17 free throws.

The score was close primarily because of a late rally by the third-seeded Cougars (29-4), who got two three-pointers from Kasey Philyaw in the final 24 seconds. She set a regional championship record with five three-pointers.

Brea will play for the state title against San Jose Archbishop Mitty at 6 p.m. Friday at Arco Arena in Sacramento.

La Puente Bishop Amat 54, Santa Margarita 43 -- Candice Brown will play her college career at UCLA, so on the court of her future basketball home, she turned in a performance in the Division III regional final that would make Bruins fans proud.

Brown, a 6-foot-3 senior forward and the Lancers’ only player taller than 5-11, scored 13 points and pulled down 18 rebounds against a Santa Margarita lineup that featured no fewer than three 6-footers at any one time.

Second-seeded Bishop Amat (27-5) advances to its fourth consecutive state title game with a chance to win its third in a row. The Lancers will play San Francisco Sacred Heart Cathedral at 1 p.m. Saturday at Arco Arena.

Melissa Zornig, a freshman, scored 13 points, including three three-pointers, and senior Whitney Wood had 16 points for Santa Margarita (27-6), which failed to convert a field goal in the fourth quarter.

-- Martin Henderson

Los Angeles Marlborough 69, La Jolla Country Day 62 -- Junior guard Nikki Speed scored 14 of her 19 points in the second half, including nine in a row, to give Marlborough its first lead since the first quarter, and the top-seeded Mustangs went on to victory in the Division IV regional final at Cal State Fullerton.

With the Mustangs trailing, 54-46, late in the third quarter, Speed scored the last four points of that period on a layup and a jumper from the left side and then opened the fourth quarter with a three-point basket and a layup that gave Marlborough a 55-54 lead with 5:44 to play.

Marlborough (26-6) will play Vallejo St. Patrick/St. Vincent for a state title at 9:30 a.m. Saturday at Arco Arena

Junior guard Dominique Conners had 19 points and eight rebounds to lead second-seeded La Jolla Country Day (24-8), which was making its fifth consecutive appearance in the regional final.

Los Angeles Pacific Hills 55, San Luis Obispo Mission Prep 42 -- Susy Rascon scored 14 points, and Bree Richardson and Ariel Dale each had 13 as top-seeded Pacific Hills defeated second-seeded Mission Prep in the Division V regional final for the second year in a row at Fullerton.

For the third consecutive season, Pacific Hills (30-5) advances to the Division V state final game, where the Bruins will take on Ross Branson at 4 p.m. Friday at Arco Arena.

Leigh Yetter had 20 points for Mission Prep (22-10).

-- Lauren Peterson