3-A Girls : Point Loma Seems a Prohibitive Favorite

Of the six high school basketball championship games today at the Sports Arena, there seems little doubt as to the outcome of one. Come 6:30 p.m., Point Loma should beat Monte Vista for the girls’ San Diego Section 3-A title. Easily.

That’s not a knock against Monte Vista. The Monarchs are 25-2, including a 15-game winning streak. They average 65.6 points a game, and their average margin of victory is 24.4.

But Point Loma is in a class by itself. The Pointers (26-1) are two-time defending section and state champions and have four starters back from last year’s team.

They average 86 points per game, and their average margin of victory is 56.5. Their lone loss was to Pasadena Muir, the No. 1-ranked team in the nation. Point Loma, 83-1 since 1983-84, hasn’t lost to a San Diego team in three years.

Most teams have been satisfied trying to keep the score close against the Pointers. Not the Monarchs. They are thinking upset.

“My teams always play to win,” Coach Manny Silva said. “We’re not going in with the attitude that we’ll be satisfied if we only lose by 20.”

But Silva admitted it will take a perfect game by Monte Vista to pull it off.

“We have a very good team, but they have great team. It’s like David vs. Goliath,” Silva said.

Senior guard Paula Mascari, the Monarchs’ floor leader and leading scorer (25.7) agrees with her coach.

“We know we’ll have to play the game of our lives to win,” she said, “but that’s what competition is all about.”

Height is the first of several disadvantages with which the Monarchs must contend. The Pointers go 6-feet 4-inches, 6-2 and 6-0 across the front line. They also have a 5-11 guard.

Monte Vista’s tallest player is 5-9 forward Becky Aikin, who averages 15.6 points a game. Rounding out their front line is 5-8 center Liz Larceval and 5-7 forward Renee Fritzenkotter. Melissa Smith, a 5-6 sophomore guard, joins Mascari (5-6) in the backcourt.

Point Loma is led by Terri Mann, a 6-2 junior forward and last year’s section player of the year. She led the county in scoring (27 points per game) and rebounding (18) and also averaged eight steals and six blocked shots a game.

She also gets plenty of help. Three other Pointers average double figures in scoring--Chanelle McCoy (21), Michelle Collum (17) and Jessica Benton (12).

The Pointers also possess superior quickness and overall shooting ability.

Point Loma Coach Lee Trepanier calls this, “Our best team ever, bar none. Most of these girls have played together the last three years. They’ve learned from the other teams, and they know what it takes to be champions.