County Teams Shoot for State Berths

The Saddleback men’s basketball team and the Santa Ana and Irvine Valley women’s teams will play Saturday for berths in the state community college basketball tournament.

The Saddleback men’s team (31-2), seeded second in Southern California, will host seventh-seeded Ventura (24-8) at 7 p.m. The Gauchos, who have won 26 in a row, are trying to return to the state tournament for the first time since 1996, when they were led by current Miami Heat guard Anthony Carter.

This season, Saddleback is led by Orange Empire Conference most valuable player Mark Brown, a freshman guard who is averaging 11.8 points and five assists. Sophomore forwards Adrian Aguayo and Rahshaw McAfee and center Mike Donegan also made the all-conference first team for Saddleback, and Saddleback’s Bill Brummel was named coach of the year.

The Santa Ana women’s team is trying to reach the state tournament for the second consecutive season. But to do so, the fourth-seeded Dons (25-6) must beat Orange Empire Conference rival Riverside (26-9) for a third time when the teams play at 7 p.m. Saturday at Santa Ana. Santa Ana, the Orange Empire Conference champion, beat fifth-seeded Riverside, 55-54 on the road and 74-63 at home during the regular season.

Santa Ana is led by all-conference players Aceve Barre (18.5 points per game), Jennifer Green (10.3 rebounds) and Terrial Cole (4.2 assists). Riverside is led by conference MVP Claudine Auld, who averaged 17.4 points. Auld, who didn’t play in Riverside’s second-round victory over San Diego Mesa Wednesday because of a sore ankle, is questionable for Saturday’s game. Santa Ana’s Jack Single and Riverside’s Mike Barnes were co-coaches of the year in the conference.

Irvine Valley, which last reached the state tournament in 1999, is at second-seeded Mt. San Antonio (28-5) in a 7 p.m. game Saturday. Irvine Valley, which allowed a conference-low 55.5 points a game this season, is 22-10. The seventh-seeded Lasers are led by all-conference players Amber Avestruz and Fala Suiaunoa. The state tournament is March 8-10 in Stockton.