Skip to content
Jaylin Jones is one of El Dorado's two Divison I-bound players, but the team has been up and down in the Crestview League.
Jaylin Jones is one of El Dorado’s two Divison I-bound players, but the team has been up and down in the Crestview League.
Author

In so many sports, it’s not even a discussion – the Trinity League is the best high school league in Orange County.

It’s not so easy in girls basketball.

Sure, Mater Dei is head and shoulders above every team in the county – some might even argue in the state – but there might not be a better set of four teams than the group that composes the Crestview League.

With the realignment of the Century League (now called the Century Conference) prior to this school year, two tiers of competition exist in the group of eight schools and they can be different in every sport. In girls basketball the top group consists of Brea Olinda, Foothill, El Dorado and Canyon.

Brea (14-2), Foothill (15-2) and El Dorado (14-5) have been in the county’s top 10 all season, and Canyon (9-9) has shown signs of excellence this year, most notably a 44-35 upset over the Trinity League’s Santa Margarita on Jan. 3.

“You could argue that it might be the strongest single league in Orange County,” Brea coach Jeff Sink said. “With us, El Dorado and Foothill all in the same league, with only two (automatic) playoff spots, that’s tough.”

With a deep, but young rotation headlined by junior guard Reili Richardson (16.9 points per game), Brea has looked like the favorite for most of the nonleague season, but Foothill isn’t far behind with consistent scorers Kaylani Maiava (15.7 points per game) and Sydney Sharp (14.6).

El Dorado, which has had some ups and downs this year, has its share of NCAA Division I college talent in seniors Jaylin Jones (University of San Francisco) and Brooke Salas (New Mexico State). Both are averaging more than 17 points per game.

The Golden Hawks will look to spring an upset in their first Crestview game tonight against Brea at El Dorado.

“It’s very challenging for us and the players,” El Dorado coach Wayne Carlson. “They know every game is going to be difficult. We’re not going to win any more games by (40 or 50) points. That’s not going to happen.”

It’s also a point of pride, by all accounts, for the group of public schools to be considered just as good as the best private schools in the county, while the divide between the two parties appears to be growing in other sports.

“All of us see it as a point of pride,” Sink said. “It’s healthy. Even if I wasn’t at Brea and I was looking from afar, it’s a great thing to have a group of public schools who can compete with anybody.”

BENSON TEARING UP ADADEMY LEAGUE

If Crean Lutheran (10-9, 4-0) ends up winning its first Academy League girls basketball title this season, you can probably give much of the credit to senior forward Anna Lynn Benson.

Since the beginning of league play, Benson has been one of the most consistent performers in the county. In league games she is averaging 18 points and 18.3 rebounds, with the highlight being a triple-double (17 points, 20 rebounds, 10 steals and six blocks) against Whitney of Cerritos on Saturday.

FAIRMONT PREP NOT SHYING AWAY

A school of just more than 500 students, Fairmont Prep has not been apprehensive about playing above its head, against teams with both more talent and a larger student body from which to draw.

The No. 7 Huskies are 13-2 overall, and their two losses have come to No. 2 Brea and Horizon Christian of San Diego, a top-100 team in the state. They’ve also defeated traditionally stronger programs in Bishop Montgomery of Torrance, Santa Margarita, Edison, St. Anthony of Long Beach and Valencia of Valencia.

All those matchups will pale in comparison to Fairmont’s game Saturday, when the Huskies will take on Mater Dei, the top-ranked team in the county and the country. The game is at Orange Lutheran at 4:30 p.m.

Contact the writer: jbalan@ocregister.com