Brea Makes Big Shots in Final

Brea Olinda got clutch shooting from the three-point and free-throw lines Monday to beat Berkeley, 65-56, and win the girls’ basketball Tournament of Champions in Santa Barbara.

The Ladycats (8-0), ranked No. 1 in Orange County and the state, and fifth nationally, defeated the defending North Coast Section Division I champion--which played three of its four returning starters. Berkeley is 9-2.

Brea Olinda trailed in the fourth quarter, 48-47, but Marissa Bradley’s three-pointer with 6 minutes 3 seconds left gave the Ladycats the lead for good. Lindsey Davidson (19 points) added an NBA-distance three-pointer as Brea Olinda stretched the lead to 57-51. Still, Berkeley closed to 57-56 with 1:35 remaining. Bradley (22 points, eight rebounds), named to the all-tournament team, got two defensive rebounds and made all eight of her free throws in the final 1:05 to seal the victory.

“Everyone has high expectations of us, so everybody’s aiming for us,” Bradley said. “It’s kind of hard sometimes coming to a tournament like that. We have to prove that we are No. 1.”

In the fifth-place game:

Laguna Hills 58, Woodbridge 42--Led by the most assertive performance of the season by 6-foot-6 Tayyiba Haneef (21 points, 11 rebounds), third-ranked Laguna Hills (7-2) went on 8-0 and 9-0 runs in the first half to beat second-ranked Woodbridge (6-2).