Prep Notebook : Raub’s Girls Grew Up, Kept Date With Locke

Craig Raub, who knows something about taking a team to the City finals, didn’t think he would return to the Sports Arena this season.

Not when he was losing three players from last year’s team to Division I colleges.

“I didn’t know if this team was capable (of making the finals),” said Raub, who is in his seventh year as coach of the Kennedy High School girls’ basketball team. “It depended on how it grew up.”

The Golden Cougars have matured in a hurry.

This Friday at the Sports Arena, Kennedy will play Locke for the City 4-A championship. It marks the fourth time in the five seasons that the two teams have met for the title.

Locke has won twice, in 1980 and 1982-83. Kennedy prevailed, 51-49, in 1981. (The City girls switched from a winter schedule to a winter-spring schedule in 1982-83.)

The teams came within one basket of meeting again last season. Kennedy lost by one point in overtime to Dorsey in the semifinals. Locke then defeated Dorsey for its second straight championship.

Despite losing two-time City player-of-the-year Doreatha Conwell, Locke was expected to return to the finals. But the Golden Cougars?

Graduation sent Fonda DeCree to Oregon State, Shondra Dillard to UC Santa Barbara and Carla Reynolds to Pepperdine.

The Golden Cougars’ ability to replace those three would dictate their ability to advance in the City playoffs.

Kennedy, 21-4 overall, went 8-4 in its non-league games, dropping decisions to Locke (69-57), Gahr (60-47), Palmdale (53-46) and Santa Clara (48-38).

“I don’t think we performed as well I would have liked,” Raub said of the Golden Cougars’ pre-league encounters. “They had to be patient, though, because there were so many new faces.”

Kennedy made a lot of mistakes, but Raub said time has “erased many of them.”

The Golden Cougars rolled through the Valley 4-A League, extending their league winning streak to 70 straight games. They won their first playoff game by 47 points, then defeated Dorsey, 61-59, before stopping Washington, 71-52, to reach the championship game.

No matter what Kennedy does on Friday, the team figures to improve next season. Raub starts one senior, three juniors and one sophomore.

A look at Kennedy’s starters:

--Stacy Parson, 5-7, guard, junior: “She may be the most prolific offensive player I’ve ever coached,” Raub said. A second later, he added: “She is the best.” Parson, who will probably be voted the league’s most valuable player, is averaging 22.1 points a game. In the playoffs, she has scored 20, 26, and 23 points. Her 18-footer with four seconds left beat Dorsey in the quarterfinals. Raub calls her a legitimate blue-chipper.

--Diane DeCree, 6-0, forward, sophomore: Another Division I prospect, according to Raub. Diane is the younger sister of Toya and Fonda, both of whom played for Raub at Kennedy. “Toya (now at U.S. International University) was a quick and powerful type,” the coach said. “Fonda was more of a tall, rangy finesse-type player with a great perimeter game. Diane is blessed with a combination of both.” The youngest DeCree is averaging 20 points and 15.5 rebounds a game. She’s also shooting 70% from the field.

--Debbie Jones, 5-11, center, junior: Averaging 4.8 points and 7.2 rebounds a game in only her second season of basketball. “She’s a real strong post player,” Raub said. “I’ve tried to teach her just a few things, have her work on those and perfect them.” Jones has also filled the rebounding void created by graduation losses.

--Wyndee Bailey, 5-6, guard, junior: The team’s point guard. “She’s the hub with the spokes attached to her, like a wheel,” Raub said. “She had 13 assists in the semifinals, which is quite a tribute to her unselfishness.” Bailey has faced more defensive pressure this year with the losses to graduation and has responded well, Raub said. Averaging 6.8 points and 5.6 assists a game.

--Christie Jones, 5-9, forward, senior: Averaging 10 points and 6.4 rebounds a game. Kennedy’s best perimeter shooter, according to Raub. “She is a hard, hard defensive player. As the lone senior, she has a calming effect, a maturing effect on the other girls. She has helped bring them along.” Jones, no relation to the center, is the team captain.

Raub also likes to use Nina Grooms, a 5-8 junior guard/forward, off the bench. “I don’t hesitate to put her in,” Raub said of Grooms, whose numbers include 3.8 points and 5.7 rebounds a game. “There’s not much drop-off when she’s in.”

Before the semifinal game with Washington, Raub told the team that the season was to be considered a success, regardless of the outcome.

“Winning last Friday was one more positive note,” he said.

If he wins this Friday, Raub will be singing another happy tune.

The rumor mill has Alemany’s James Moses going everywhere from Cleveland to Carson to Mater Dei next season.

After Alemany’s loss to St. Anthony in the playoffs last Friday, Moses was asked just where he’ll play next year.

“I don’t know,” the talented freshman guard from Carson said. “But I think I’ll be coming back to Alemany.”

Said Coach Joe Anlauf, when asked if Moses would return to the Mission Hills school: “I hope so.”

Notes

John Austin, a defensive end for the San Fernando football team, has decided to attend Fresno State. . . . The first-ever San Fernando baseball alumni game will be held this Saturday at 11 a.m. at the school. The current Tiger varsity team will play an alumni squad headlined by Anthony Davis, who graduated in 1970. Davis went on to star in football at USC. . . . Crespi’s Alfie Basile, with 187 assists in 23 games, is three assists away from the school record for a year set by Chris Nikchevich, now at Brigham Young. Basile can break the record Friday when the Celts play Serra in the 5-A quarterfinals. A Crespi victory would give ninth-year coach Paul Muff 150 career wins. . . . Lorie Fausett, a two-time all-Southern Section third baseman and catcher for Hart, will attend Oklahoma on a softball scholarship. . . . Franklin captured the City wrestling championship this past weekend, scoring 137 1/2 points, while host San Fernando was second with 122 1/2 points. Canoga Park, with 105 points, came in third. Several area wrestlers won individual titles at the meet, including: San Fernando’s Joaquin Robledo (98 pounds), San Fernando’s Vincent Duran (105), Chatsworth’s David Robinson (112), San Fernando’s Ronald Drake (126), Van Nuys’ Jeffrey Yasuda (132), Birmingham’s Cary Fike (138), San Fernando’s Eric Cortez (145), Birmingham’s Erik Heller (154), Canoga Park’s Mike Caro (193) and Chatsworth’s Brian Ivory (heavyweight).