Trakh Gives Brea-Olinda Its Annual Test : Girls’ basketball: Ladycat coach matches county’s No. 1 team against Palo Verdes Peninsula, USA Today’s top-ranked team.

BREA — Every season, Brea-Olinda girls’ basketball Coach Mark Trakh schedules a home game against one of the toughest opponents he can find. Just to keep his troops honest, you understand.

Trakh has lined up a real doozy for tonight.

The Ladycats (12-1), No. 1 in Orange County and the defending Division II State champions, face Palos Verdes Peninsula (14-0), the top-ranked team in the nation according to USA Today, in a nonleague game at 7:30 tonight at Brea-Olinda.

A capacity crowd is expected for the game, which, Trakh says, the Ladycats--in a rare underdog role--will use as a barometer to see where they stand against tough competition and in preparation for a run at another State title, this time in Division III.

“We put together games like these to get ready by the playoffs,” said Trakh, who has 304 career victories.

He might have a rough time adding to that total tonight.

Peninsula, a new school formed this year from a merger of Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills and Miraleste high schools, features one of the finest girls’ teams ever in California.

Under veteran Coach Wendell Yoshida, who last year took Palos Verdes to the State Division III title, the Panthers have disposed of their opponents with a starting lineup that includes four seniors already committed to Division I colleges.

Leading the charge are 6-foot-5 center Jeffra Gausepohl, 6-3 forward Monique Morehouse, guard Raquel Alotis and guard Kristen Mulligan, a former standout at Santa Margarita who transferred to Palos Verdes two years ago. Mulligan also was the Southern Section Division III co-player of the year last season. The only starter who is not a senior is 5-10 sophomore forward Mimi McKinney.

Mulligan is the playmaker, Morehouse controls the boards and Gausepohl is a shot-blocking, intimidating force in the middle. All five can score and, this week, even Yoshida wasn’t sure what their statistics are for the year.

“We haven’t added them (averages) up yet,” Yoshida said, “but I can tell you that all five starters are averaging in double figures (scoring), somewhere around 10 or 12 points. In 14 games, we’ve had only three different people score more than 20 points in one game.”

The Ladycats will try to counter with some first-rate players, forwards Jody Anton and Katie Bauer, and point guard Nicole Erickson.

Anton, a 6-0 senior, averages 15.5 points and seven rebounds. Erickson, a 5-6 sophomore, averages 14.7 points and four assists, and has 37 steals. Bauer, a 5-11 senior, contributes 5.9 points and five rebounds.

The trio might help Brea stay in the game, but Trakh knows the odds don’t favor the Ladycats. In fact, Brea’s only defeat this season was a 47-34 loss to Thousand Oaks in the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions in December. Peninsula beat Thousand Oaks in the finals of the same tournament, 56-47.

“We are in a no-lose situation,” Trakh said. “They are the No. 1 team in the nation. The pressure is on them. They have to blow us out to maintain their No. 1 ranking. We are just going to have fun and see what happens.”