Brea-Olinda Girls to Play No. 7 Team in Nation Tonight

The Brea-Olinda High School girls’ basketball team will face what is probably its toughest test of the season at 7 tonight when it plays host to Christ the King, the Queens, N.Y., team that was ranked No. 1 nationally last season by USA Today.

Christ the King, 11-2 and seventh in the USA Today national rankings, is the defending New York state girls’ champion. The Royals have won 96 consecutive Brooklyn-Queens Catholic League games and five consecutive league titles. They defeated Brea-Olinda in their only other meeting, 63-62 in overtime, at the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions in 1985.

Brea-Olinda, 17-0 and 4-0 in the Orange League, is the top-rated team in Orange County. The Lady Cats won the state Division III championship in 1988-89 and were the runners-up last season. They are 79-3 the past three seasons.

The Lady Cats are led by 5-11 junior forward Jody Anton (15.3 points per game), senior center Jinelle Williams (15 points) and freshman point guard Nicole Erickson (12.2 points).