Players Come and Go, but the Powers Remain the Same : Who’s No. 1? Brea-Olinda a Cut Above

Brea-Olinda should be the top high school girls’ basketball team in Orange County this season.

Fountain Valley and Foothill won’t be far behind.

Other members of the Top 10 include Ocean View, La Quinta, Esperanza and Mater Dei.

Same teams, same thing.

What a shock.

Sure. And Sylvester Stallone plans to take off his shirt in his his next movie.

Brea-Olinda ranks as No. 1, again , because of Coach Mark Trakh’s sophisticated farm system that teaches girls the Wildcat way to play basketball in grammar and junior high school.

Fountain Valley and defending 3-A champion Foothill again will have superior athletes and simply will overpower teams.

Last season, 30-point wins were commonplace. Some coaches complained that victories came so easily they didn’t get a chance to work their best players.

Well, the coaches have no one to blame but themselves. Players come and go, but the same coaches win every season.

“That’s what stability will bring you,” said Mission Viejo’s John Hattrup, in his ninth season. “You can build on a program, and kids know what to expect coming in.”

Trakh is in his sixth season at Brea-Olinda, Carol Strausburg is in her ninth season at Fountain Valley and Sheila Adams is in her 11th year at Foothill.

“Success breeds more success,” Edison Coach Dave White said. “Once you put together a winning program, more and more people want to come out and be a part of it.”

Here’s closer look at the preseason Top 10.

1. Brea-Olinda: Trakh’s farm system has struck again. After Foothill’s Chris McFerson exposed an obvious weakness, the Wildcats lack of height, in last season’s final, up from the ranks steps Susan Tousey, a 6-foot 2-inch sophomore.

“We’ve known about Susan since she was in the fifth grade,” Trakh said. “It wasn’t like she just appeared or we went out and got her because we needed someone tall. I could have used her last year, but she wasn’t ready for that kind of responsibility.

Tousey’s main responsibility was as the Wildcats designated tipper. She would start the game to control the opening tip, and then when the game’s first pause came she would be replaced.

Tousey will be an important role player for the Wildcats, but the important player remains junior

forward Carrie Egan. Though the Wildcats won’t depend solely on Egan, generally considered the best pure shooter in Orange County, they do tend to follow her lead.

Example: In the loss to Foothill in the final, Egan missed her first eight shots.

The Wildcats shot 26% for the game.

But Trakh is quick to point out the Wildcats went 30-2 playing without Egan this summer, who was recovering from strained muscles in her shoulder.

Brea-Olinda has a good ballhandler returning in senior Charlene Sheussler. Six-foot Kristen McPhee also returns and will start at forward, giving the Wildcats the size they lacked last season. Add that to Egan and the rest, and it may bring Trakh another first, a Southern Section championship.

2. Fountain Valley: The Sunset League is the best girls’ league in Orange County. Edison, Ocean View and Marina are rated high by all coaches. But none is rated higher than the Barons, who return every player from last season’s league co-champion.

The Barons aren’t huge but have excellent athletes who give them exceptional team speed. Speed and quickness allow Fountain Valley to execute an aggressive offensive and defensive game plan. The same athletic ability allows them to outrebound most teams, even though their tallest player is 5-11 Jackie Cook.

“Fountain Valley is like a well-oiled machine,” said El Toro Coach Greg Yeck after scrimmaging the Barons. “They all move very well, they can all handle the ball. They’re strong on both sides of the court. They’re so quick, it allows them to do so many things and compensates for the fact that they don’t have one exceptionally tall player.”

All-league guard Kerri Clower, 5-8, returns at guard and will be joined in the backcourt by 5-7 Susan Walin. Melissa Hanley, a 5-10 forward, is adept at taking the ball outside and may be the Barons’ best perimeter shooter. Dawn Lawler, 5-11, will start at the other forward.

3. Foothill: The high ranking depends on the performance of one player--Chris McFerson. Adams lost two extraordinary players in CIF Player of the Year Jennifer Osur and her sister, Jill. McFerson’s 28-point, 13-rebound performance in the 3-A final proved she can dominate a game, but too often she played poorly against opponents she should have handled easily.

Without the Osurs, McFerson, 6-3, will become more involved in the Knights’ offensive scheme. It could be a big season for her.

Also returning is 5-7 point guard Felice Geddy. Besides being a good ballhandler, Geddy is excellent in penetrating the key area.

Outside shooting could be question for the Knights, but if McFerson performs well, they may not need an exceptional perimeter game

4. Ocean View: The Seahawks split games against Fountain Valley to tie for the Sunset League title last season. They lost all-league selection Michelle Chomicz from that team, but Trina Vlachos, Sunset League Most Valuable Player, returns.

Vlachos, 6-0, averaged 18 points and 10 rebounds a game last season.

“What’s going to make Trina even tougher this year is that she’s worked on her outside shot,” Coach Kelly Painter said. “Last season the majority of her points came inside. This season, she’ll be able to score consistently from 15-feet on in.”

Also returning is 5-10 point guard Dana Douty, a four-year varsity starter. A smooth ballhandler, Douty’s height allows her to view the court over smaller defenders.

Douty has only an average outside shot, but she knows how to direct the team. “When Dana Douty arrived at Ocean View the varsity had won only four games the year before,” Painter said. “Since she’s been here, we’ve won 20 games each season.”

Shelly Straight, 6-2, will start at center. Gretchen Bock, 5-10, will start at forward.

5. Mater Dei: Gone is Mary Gainey. Gone is her 17 points and five assists per game. Gone is her floor leadership and the experience that came with being a three-season starter. So, how will the Monarchs do this season? Just fine, thanks. Mary Gainey might be gone, but her sister, Geri, is back. The junior averaged 12 points last season. Point guard Noelle Manfre and center Kim Ellerman also return.

Size was a, uh, shortcoming of the Monarchs last season. Nothing much has changed. Ellerman, at 5-11, will play the post for Coach Carolyn Campbell.

To overcome the lack of size, Mater Dei will once again employ a ball-hawking man defense.

“Our team will have the same personality as last year’s,” Campbell said. “Aggressive, pressing. We have to play that way.”

6. Edison: White is splitting time between his basketball team and his duties as defensive coordinator on the Edison football team, still playing in the Southern Section playoffs.

“It’s not really fair to the girls,” White said. “We have to practice at 6:30 in the morning or 6:30 at night. But they understand my situation and most of the players already know the system, so there’s not a lot of new things we’ll be putting in.”

Denise Ogburn, who averaged 13 points, returns. Also back is point guard Michelle Hennessey, who averaged 11 points. Like Mater Dei, the Chargers rely on quick and aggressive play.

“A nice, big, dominant center would be nice,” White said. “But we have to play with what we have. To be successful, we’ll have to pressure all over the place. To win, we can’t allow other teams to set up their offense. We’ve got to keep the ball moving up and down the court.”

7. La Quinta: Coach Mike Linck took a small team to the 2-A championship game last season. But Linck resigned as coach and the job has fallen to Kevin Kiernan.

The result shouldn’t change drastically. The Aztecs are still one of the class teams of the 2-A division.

The Aztecs have good size in 6-1, All-Garden Grove League center Donna Godringer. She’ll be asked to carry more of the offensive load this season with forward Mellissa Fejdasz and guard Kim Takayama, who have graduated.

Taking Takayama’s place will be her sister, Kris, who missed 10 games last season because of the swimming season.

“We’re losing a couple key players,” Kiernan said. “I don’t know if someone is going to emerge to to pick up the scoring bulk. We have good players, but I’m not sure about the chemistry.”

Another key element will be 5-11 forward Jane Utu. The Aztecs will be home for Christmas, but not before. They don’t play a home game until they host a tournament over the holidays.

8. Esperanza: Sharon Warmus returns for her senior year. Last season, as a guard, she averaged 13 points a game in a balanced Aztec offense. Esperanza cruised to the Empire League championship with a 14-0 record.

Coach Marc Hill said he will move Warmus to forward, where she’ll be able to take advantage of her quickness.

In fact, the Aztecs may have the quickest front line in Orange County. Joining Warmus will be 6-0 sophomore Karin Davidson.

“She’s the quickest kid I ever seen inside,” Hill said of Davidson. “She’s got explosive moves to the basket. She’s so fast that she tries to fill the wing on our fast break all the time. We’ve got to tell her to take it easy and fill the trail position.”

Filling out the front line is 5-8 Laura Jones. Transfer Dana DeFillippo, an All-Orange League selection as a sophomore, figures to strengthen the Aztec backcourt.

9. Mission Viejo: Last season, with a talented but inexperienced team, everyone said Hattrup’s team was a season away.

It’s time.

Junior Michelle Reid, a 5-10 All-South Coast League forward, returns. She’ll be the Diablos’ strongest perimeter shooter. But Mission Viejo will not depend on outside shooting; once again the Diablos will run to success.

“This team runs very well, and it’s always been my philosophy to run and pressure at all times,” Hattrup said.

Mission Viejo went 24-5 over the summer largely because of junior Christy Wile. Though she’s only 5-6, Wile averaged 10 rebounds last season and was named team MVP. Lori Totosz, 6-0, will start at center.

10. El Toro: First-year Coach Greg Yeck thought he should have been rated in the Top 10 this season. Thought . His best player, Jennifer Uecke, injured her ankle in a scrimmage and will be in a cast for four to six weeks.

“After that, the doctors will determine if she’ll require surgery,” Yeck said. “If we’re lucky and she doesn’t need surgery, we could have her back by the second half of league.

The Chargers’ Top 10 ranking rests on Uecke’s ankle. Yeck said he doesn’t care much about his record this season, just as long as the Chargers can get to the playoffs.

Uecke is one of the county’s best centers. She’s 6-3 1/2 and had improved her outside shot to the extent that she was confident shooting from 15 feet.

Kathy Nickel, 6-0, will fill in for Uecke. Nickel’s sister, Karen, will start at one forward.

Others to watch: La Habra, El Dorado, Kennedy, Marina.

The Teams

1. Brea-Olinda

2. Fountain Valley

3. Foothill

4. Ocean View

5. Mater Dei

6. Edison

7. La Quinta

8. Esperanza

9. Mission Viejo

10. El Toro