San Diego Player of the Week : Mann Won’t Settle for Being One of the Girls

Point Loma’s Terri Mann has never been the kind of girl who yearned for frilly dresses, pony tails and teddy bears. Words like sugar and spice wouldn’t be appropriate in describing the 6-foot 2-inch junior.

Solid rebounder, controlled shooter and team leader are better labels for Mann, the only girl in her family of six kids growing up in Detroit. Surrounded by five older brothers who had better things to do with their time than play dolls with their little sister, Mann had to adapt to her environment.

“I was the only girl on my block, so I always played with my brothers and the guys down the street, and they got me into basketball,” she said.

Since coming to Point Loma, Mann has shown what she learned on those Detroit playgrounds. Last Wednesday against Mira Mesa, Mann, The Times Player of the Week, had 55 points, 21 rebounds, 10 assists and 15 steals as the Pointers crushed the Marauders 122-30.

Mann currently leads the county in scoring and rebounding, averaging 27 points and 17 rebounds a game.

“Every time (Mann) takes a shot she amazes me,” Point Loma Coach Lee Trepanier said. “She is the best that’s ever played here.”

Mann, who was CIF San Diego Section Player of the Year last season, has played for the varsity since her freshmen year, when she led the team in scoring. Since then, the Pointers have won two CIF championships, three league championships, and six tournaments. They have also compiled an 80-1 record.

This season, she already rewrote her 1985 season rebound with 594, second in the nation. She had 538 last season. And she is sure to shatter Cathy O’Brien’s (San Marcos, 1979-82) career scoring record of 1,839 points. Mann has more than 1,300 career points with her senior year yet to come. She finished the regular season with 594 points, although sidelined for three games with an injured ankle.

The Pointers, who finished the regular season with 10-0 in the City Eastern league and 24-1 overall, are headed for the playoffs and favored to repeat last year’s state championship season. Mann is aided by seniors Michelle Collum and Jessica Benton, both averaging in the double figures in rebounding and scoring.

“By playing on a better team (Mann’s) learned how to utilize other kids,” Trepanier said. “And when she plays well, the rest of the team plays with her.”

Still, Mann finds her best competition against boys--she played Pop Warner football and Little League baseball when she was younger. Maybe she just likes to show off a little in front of the guys, like she did a couple of weeks ago at the Ocean Beach Recreation Center.

“They were picking teams and I was the last one to be picked,” Mann said with a grin. “The guys picking for one of the teams said he didn’t want me, so I went to the other team and we won by nine points. After the game, that same guy said ‘I wish I had her on my team.’ ”

Coaches in the City Eastern League are echoing that sentiment.

Terri Mann

Point Loma High School

Position: Forward.

Height, Class: 6-2, Jr.

Last Week: Had 55 points, 21 rebounds, 10 assists and 15 steals in Point Loma’s 122-30 win over Mira Mesa.

Season: Averaging 27 points and 17 rebounds per game. Leads San Diego County girls in scoring.