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Associate mug of Kenny Connolly, Anaheim reporter.

Date shot: 12/31/2012 . Photo by KATE LUCAS /  ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Here are Five Fast Predictions about the girls basketball playoffs:

1. Mater Dei vs. Brea Olinda will happen: It’s the game everyone has wanted to see since the Open Division bracket was released on Friday afternoon. The Monarchs and the Ladycats have been 1-2 in the county rankings pretty much all season.

On Tuesday, Feb. 24 it happens. Mater Dei gets by J.W. North in their first-round game, and Brea beats Centennial of Corona for the second time this season to advance.  

Bonus prediction: I’ll be there on the 24th to cover it.  

2. The San Joaquin League gets redemption. Both Fairmont Prep and Orangewood Academy advanced to a CIF championship game a season ago. Neither walked away with the title it coveted, however. That changes this year.

The Huskies and Spartans have both been fixtures in the county top-10 this season, and they’ve done so by impressing on the big stage. Fairmont played Mater Dei to a 14-point game, while Orangewood lost to Orange Lutheran by narrow margins twice.

Whoever these two teams play in the 4A and 5AA playoffs is not going to do anything the Huskies and Spartans haven’t seen. Not only do both squads get back to the finals, they walk away with the hardware.  

3. Troy vs. Foothill in the Division 1A semifinals. Sure, it’s chalk, but it would be such a great matchup pitting two of the best defensive teams in the county against one another. You rarely see two squads that press 94-feet square off against one another. The intensity levels would be off the charts, as would the amount of floor-slapping. It would be Mike Krzyzewski’s dream game.

4. El Dorado finds its way back to the finals. Brooke Salas and Jaylin Jones make up one of the area’s best scoring duos, and Miranda Martinez is an underrated big that rebounds, plays good defense and can play pick and pop. With them all being seniors this year, they’ll guide their way through the tough 3AA bracket and face off against another Torrance-based school this year in North High.

5. Coco and company finish on top. No one expected Coco Miller to come back from an ACL, but here she is, starting for Mary Rossignol with playoffs just around the corner. The Lions seniors close out their careers in style, winning the program’s first-ever CIF championship with their captain on the court… not the sidelines.

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Girls basketball playoffs: All pairings, analysis, more