O.C.'s top teams tumble in wacky week

The Orange County girls basketball scene officially went bonkers last week.

Six of the county's top 10 teams went down in defeat, including the top four teams in the county.

"We've been on both sides of those games this year," Canyon coach Matt Dale said. "Orange County is a great place for high school basketball, and I love competing in an atmosphere where you know that great preparation, attitude, and performance are needed on a daily basis."

Dale's team got the week off to a crazy start, knocking off No. 2 Brea Olinda, 64-46, in a Century League showdown after losing to the Ladycats in overtime in the first meeting. Lindsay Uyematsu knocked down four 3-pointers and scored 21 points and Christina Salvatore had 18 points, including four 3-pointers, and 13 rebounds to lead the Comanches.

Dale said he believed it is the first time the Comanches have beaten the Ladycats.

"The girls were really excited for the rematch, especially after coming so close to beating them at their place a few weeks earlier," Dale said. "They were eager to make the most of their opportunity. To play as well as we played and to come away with the win was satisfying on a number of levels, but probably most so for Shanice and Christina, who have been cornerstones of the success of our program and endured 3 years of lopsided losses to Brea."

How does anybody top that one?

Huntington Beach went out and upset No. 3 Edison, 73-70, ending the Chargers' 46-game Sunset League winning streak. Kelsey Minato drained four 3-pointers and finished with 31 points for the Oilers.

"This win means a lot to our school, the team and all of the families involved," Oilers coach Russell McClurg said. "A victory coming against a strong Edison team gives us the momentum going into the playoffs. I believe we are battle tested and we hope to advance deep into the playoffs this year."

Mater Dei hooked up with Windward of L.A. in the main event of the Nike Extravaganza on Friday night at Mater Dei High. Windward and Mater Dei entered the matchup ranked No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, in the state by Cal-Hi Sports. The game more than lived up to the hype as the Wildcats pulled out a 65-62 victory over the Monarchs.

"That's why those kids got to Windward and that's why these kids go to Mater Dei," Monarchs coach Kevin Kiernan said. "They want to play in these kinds of games. When you play in these kinds of games, you take a risk. You're taking a risk that you're going to lose. You're taking a risk that you're going to have some heartache. I'd rather take the risk. I'd rather take the swing."

No. 4 Troy took a 20-point loss to Long Beach Poly, ranked No. 4 in the state. No. 6 JSerra got beat by 31 points by La Jolla Country Day, ranked No. 3 in the state. No. 10 Orange Lutheran got beat by Mater Dei and Oaks Christian of Westlake Village, ranked No. 16 in the state.

This is the final week of the regular season. CIF-SS releases playoff pairings on Sunday.

Get ready for a wild postseason.

NOTES

Orangewood Academy is a team to keep an eye on heading into the playoffs. The Spartans, ranked No. 1 in Division 6, have been to the semifinals twice in the past three seasons. Orangewood Academy will be making its fifth consecutive trip to the playoffs and its has won 95 games in the past five seasons. The Spartans, who are riding a 12-game winning streak, clinched their third consecutive Express League title with a victory over Bethel Baptist last week. Junior center Raquel Spencer (13.2 ppg, 8.0 rpg) and senior guard Jareni Nunez (12.2 ppg, 6.6 spg, 4.5 apg) are the team's top two scorers. ...

This week's top games: Los Amigos at Rancho Alamitos, Wednesday, 6 p.m.; Laguna Hills at San Clemente, Wednesday, 7 p.m.; No. 2 Brea Olinda at No. 5 Foothill, Thursday, 5:45 p.m.; Kennedy at Yorba Linda, Thursday, 7 p.m.; and Whitney of Cerritos at St. Margaret's, Thursday, 6 p.m.