This fierce battle of ‘Cats belonged in an alley.

The Ladycats of Brea Olinda (Calif.) proved simply too big, too tough and too composed in a 69-45 runaway win over the Konawaena Wildcats last night in the semifinals of the ‘lolani Classic.

Keitra Wallace, a 5-foot-11 junior, powered inside for 18 points and six rebounds to lead Brea Olinda. The ‘Cats entered the tourney ranked No. 3 in the USA Today Super 25 and looked every bit the dominant team.

Five other Ladycats scored at least seven points each. Guards Taylor Spears (nine points) and Alexis Perry (seven) guided a smooth offense that generated 14 assists and just six turnovers against the normally pesky Wildcats.

In all, Brea Olinda shot 64 percent from the field (28-for-44) and used a smothering man-to-man defense to force Konawaena into 16 turnovers.

For the Wildcats, the No. 1 team in the Star-Advertiser Girls Basketball Top 10, it was a struggle from the start. Lia Galdeira finished with 24 hard-earned points, eight boards and five steals.

"Twenty-three (Galdeira) is as good as any I’ve seen. She can play at any D-I level," Brea Olinda coach Jeff Sink said. "We hung tough. A lot of times with travel, you’re highly ranked, we’ve seen at the college level teams get upset in Hawaii. Our kids were focused enough to make things happen in the second half."

Galdeira, a 5-8 junior, wowed the crowd of about 300 with several hustle plays, diving for loose balls everywhere, even with the game out of reach. She was composed, but in tears after the game.

"I’m upset because this was our only chance to play a team that’s ranked this high," she said.

Dawnyelle Awa chipped in with nine points, but the rest of the squad combined for just 12 points on 4-for-18 shooting.

"I thought some of the girls showed up to play tonight. As a whole, they were kind of in a phobia. We missed shots right at the basket," Konawaena coach Bobbie Awa said. "Dawnyelle played a great game (Thursday) night, but she struggled tonight. It was a physical game and she kind of shied away from it. Some of our starters were kind of invisible."

The smaller Wildcats chose to stay in a man-to-man defense after falling behind.

"They hit some wide-open outside shots, so we didn’t even want to chance a zone," Awa said. "When we tried to trap in the third quarter, not everyone was rotating."

Konawaena, which outlasted Incarnate Word (Mo.) in the quarterfinal round, was within range in the first half. Makayla Awa’s layup before the first-quarter buzzer pulled the Wildcats within 14-10.

The second quarter belonged to Wallace, whose three-point play capped a 16-7 run to end the first half. Brea Olinda led 30-17 at the break.

Konawaena, which had rallied in the second half against Incarnate Word, pulled within 32-25 after Awa scored four points in a row. However, center Anuhea Wall left the game with her fourth personal foul and the Ladycats went on an 11-3 run.

Janier Olukeme, who missed most of the first half with an injury suffered in warmups, scored six points during the Brea Olinda run. The Ladycats led 43-28 late in the third quarter and pulled away from there.

Brea Olinda’s deep bench stretched the lead to 28 points in the final quarter.

Despite the lopsided loss, Awa was grateful for a chance to play a national powerhouse.

"I wish we had more of these kinds of games day in and day out. Brea Olinda is very aggressive, physical. I thought they outhustled us. They played great halfcourt defense," she said.

Sink’s demanding ways have the Ladycats in the tourney final, but he hasn’t forgotten his years in another remote part of the country.

"I used to coach in Alaska at a very small school, and we had a tournament where we’d bring in four top-ranked teams," Sink said. "(Konawaena) is very well coached. They have two, I think, D-I players. It’s a classic Hoosiers scenario. Kids who play hard, and they played harder than us 90 percent of the game. We’re deeper and in the second half, we tired them out. That’s our only advantage."

Memphis Central 55, Archbishop Mitty 52

Danielle Ballard sank four free throws, snatched a key offensive rebound and came up with a pivotal steal in the final 58 seconds as the Lady Warriors of Tennessee escaped with the narrow win.

"Defensively, we didn’t play well all night," Memphis Central coach Niki Bray said. "I like our perseverance. Mitty got the momentum a lot. We got a little shaky a couple of times, but we settled in and got confidence."

Memphis Central, ranked No. 8 in the USA Today Super 25, was on the ropes for much the way against the tall, talented Monarchs of California. However, Ballard was clutch down the stretch. Her driving layup opened the lead to 49-42 with just under 3 minutes to play.

CONSOLATION

Incarnate Word (Mo.) 64, Farrington 39
Tsinghua (China) 45, ‘Iolani 39

HIGH SCORERS–IW: Rita Flynn 14, Brittany Carter 13, Brianna Puni 11. Farr: Brydgette Tatupu-Leopoldo 11, Kirsten-Marie Liana, 11. Tsing: Rong Wang 12, Tong Jiang, 12. Iol: Lahela Usui, 15.