PREP BASKETBALL PREVIEW: CITY SECTION : GIRLS : 5 Mid-City Teams Make First Top 10 : Westchester Looks Best; There Are Challengers

It is only fitting that the City’s toughest league would also have the toughest team. And that’s why Westchester, a member of the Mid-City League, was chosen No. 1 in the first-ever Times City Girls’ preseason Top 10.

The Mid-City League has five of the Top 10 teams in the poll. Joining Westchester are Washington (3), Crenshaw (4), Dorsey (6) and Fremont (9).

If the Mid-City League teams survive league play, they will have to contend with defending 4-A champion Granada Hills Kennedy, the No. 2 ranked team. The Golden Cougars, despite losing three starters, figure to add to their streak of 80 straight Valley League wins.

Here is the Times preseason Top 10, with last season’s records.

1. Westchester (13-6)--New coach Beverly Pendleton takes over what she describes as a “team of stars.” The brightest of them is 6-0 center Trisha Stafford, who will provide the inside game for a Westchester team that plans to press and fast break. “She’s been both (a good inside and outside player) so far, but she’s really strong inside,” Pendleton said. Joining Stafford up front will be 5-6 Tammie Sadler. Rounding out the front line will be 5-7 forward Rulinda Reed, considered one of the best freshman in the City. Melanie Taylor returns at point guard to lead the fast break, with help from Lauri Williams. Tammy Story (5-8) will be back as the off-guard. Westchester hopes to eventually install a press, although the Comets don’t plan to open the season with one.

2. Kennedy (22-3)--The Golden Cougars are not as strong as in past seasons, having lost All-City guard Stacy Parson, among others. But Kennedy returns Diane DeCree and Tisa Rush, and have some promising players to replace the supporting cast of a season ago. DeCree, a 6-0 forward, is the leader. Last season, DeCree averaged 17.8 points and 20.1 rebounds a game. She was also named City defensive player of the year. Kennedy will have to depend a lot on its big gun in the early going. “Feed Diane and get the offense going,” Kennedy Coach Craig Raub said. “We have some really good players to go along with Diane. The question is now we need more experience at the depth positions.” Returning along with DeCree will be Rush, a 5-6 junior guard, who needs to add to her 7.8 points-per-game average of last season. Yolanda Lewis, a senior, will take over at point guard. Raub says Lewis is one of the fastest players he has ever had. One of the top reserves of last season, 5-9 junior Jennifer Wright, moves into the center position. Forward Felicia Williams completes the front line. The bench isn’t depleted, either, led by sixth player April Ham, who was MVP of the junior varsity Valley League last season. The Golden Cougars will find out quickly how good they are, as their nonleague schedule includes No. 4 Crenshaw, plus Southern Section powers Mission Hills Alemany and Woodland Hills Louisville.

3. Washington (22-5)--General Coach Phil Chase says that after his starting five, he doesn’t have much else. Maybe he doesn’t need anything else. Three starters return from last season’s team that lost to Kennedy in the 4-A final, led by All-Central City performer Demetra Johnson, a 5-9 senior. Natasha Norris, a 5-9 junior, also returns at forward. The third returning player is 5-9 Michelle Griffith, who Chase characterizes as a defensive specialist. The newcomers are junior Michelle Tucker, a 5-11 forward, and 5-9 Michelle Moore, the team’s only real guard. “Everyone else is like a wing or a forward,” Chase said. “We have five good players, and not much else.” Defense is expected to be the strength of the team, which the Generals hope will set up the fast-break offense. Washington also has a tough early schedule, as the Generals will play in the Artesia Tournament (starting Thursday) and the Morningside Tournament. Five players might not be enough to get the Generals through their tough Mid-City League schedule, although two players, who are currently ineligible, may be back for the final five league games.

4. Crenshaw (23-4)--The Cougars girls are similar to the boys in one respect--they press, press, press. One City coach said Crenshaw “will press you to death--yours or theirs.” The pressing will be done by quick guards such as Chavele Steward and Pamela Mallory, who will alternate at point guard. Eugenia Miller, a 6-2 1/2 center, returns and will anchor the middle. Joining Miller up front will be 5-10 Melanie Usher and 5-7 Denise Slater. The three will have to pick up the slack for the loss of Yolanda Kelley, who graduated. Crenshaw Coach Marian Flowers was noncommittal about her team, refusing to comment on how the team planned to replace Kelley or on what the team’s style of play would be.

5. Banning (22-5)--The Pilots’ version of the twin towers, Geanine Hobbs and Adela Head, is part of a huge front line. Hobbs is a 6-1 junior, while Head is a 6-2 senior. The Pilots also have Simone Lewis, 6-1, up front and have 6-2 Shalawn Garcia coming off the bench. In the backcourt, the defending Marine League champions have three-year starter Shere Corniel as an off-guard and Candice Burnett as the point guard. If Banning couples its height with consistent outside shooting, the Pilots could be virtually unstoppable. “I expect basically the same as last year,” Banning Coach Carol Cox said. “(Except) hopefully we’ll go all the way this year.”

6. Dorsey (12-4)--The Dons lost four players last season before the playoffs to injuries and ineligibility, and as a result, the Dons were dumped in the first round by Fairfax. The four are back, but All-Central City player Demetra Johnson isn’t, having graduated and gone on to Valley College. This season’s team can go inside or outside. Senior guard Gayvon Ooten will direct the offense. “One of the best ball-handlers around,” Dorsey Coach Sandy Cox said of Ooten. “With a real nice outside shot.” Jackie Cormier is the off-guard, and will play some forward. The Dons inside game is propelled by a pair of 6-0 forwards, Cynthia Yocum and Shelby Smith. Dorsey is also in the Mid-City League, and its versatility means the Dons won’t be vulnerable to any particular team. “We’re quick and fortunate to have an outside and an inside shooting team,” Cox said.

7. Jordan (10-12)--The Bulldogs will have to overcome their inconsistency to improve on their performance of a season ago, when they were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. Returning is Latrese Hunter, a 5-9 center who outmuscles her opponents. Hunter averaged 17 points and 19 rebounds a game last season. Senior Michelle Wright returns at forward, along with 5-8 guard Kim Young, who will lead the offense. “We rely on getting it to the middle,” Jordan Coach Debbie Dreier said. Consistency is the problem, as last season the team looked great one quarter but struggled the next. Dreier hopes that experience will correct the problem. “Hopefully (we won’t be inconsistent) this year because we have a lot of 12th graders,” Dreier said. “We were a junior-dominated team last year.” Jordan will have to be consistent right away, as the Bulldogs open their season with the Artesia and Morningside tournaments, two of the better tournaments around.

8. Fairfax (14-6)--Every season it seems the Colonials have a star player, and this season is no different. Junior Jessica Fairbanks, a 5-10 center-forward, is this year’s star. “Each year, she (former Coach JoAnn Heller) has had a star,” Fairfax Coach Timi Pickard said. First-year coach Pickard describes Fairbanks as a legitimate Division I prospect. Fairbanks will be especially important to the team in the early going, as she and point guard Ladon Echols are the only returning starters. “In our first scrimmage game, she (Fairbanks) scored 44 of our 67 points,” Pickard said. “Right now, we’re working on getting everyone else to shoot.” Everyone else consists of Karen Watson, a 5-6 forward; Jenny Calderone at guard; and Mya Dobson, a 5-10 senior center. Fairfax hopes the three can blend effectively with Fairbanks so the Colonials can overtake Banning, who they finished second to in the Marine League a season ago.

9. Fremont (10-10)--The Pathfinders have the City’s toughest job--replace City Player of the Year Linda Broomfield. “We’re going to be hurtin’ trying to make up for Linda Broomfield,” Fremont Coach Mathew Taylor said. “(We’ll have) play together well as a team. (And) Fremont’s known for their heart.” Broomfield will be replaced with not just one player, but seven or eight players. “We don’t have any great players like Westchester or Washington,” Taylor said. Taylor, who was an assistant at Washington before taking over at Fremont this season, says the Pathfinders will rely on a “good, strong nucleus of seven to eight players.” Leading the way is “Miss Magic,” junior point guard Porchia Brown. “I think she’s the best point guard in the City,” Taylor said. She earned her nickname because she wears No. 32 and runs the offense for what Taylor promises will be an exciting team. Other returning starters besides Brown include three-year starter Sandra Hester, a 5-9 forward, and Sylvia Love, a 5-8 forward. Taylor also has Michelle Davis, who he describes as an excellent defensive guard; Traci Smith, a “quick, sharp-shooting guard; Lisa Simpson, a senior center; and Debra Mitchell, a 6-0 center. Mitchell, a sophomore transfer from Florida, will be available next week after recovering from a foot injury. The depth should help Fremont make it through the Mid-City League schedule. “We hope to be the best defensive team around,” Taylor said. “A defensive, fast-break team. It should be an exciting team.”

10. University (11-7)--The Warriors are the only 3-A team in the Top 10, and Kesha Martin is the reason. Martin, a 6-2 junior, is described by one coach as “impossible to stop.” Martin is also an impressive rebounder who averaged 23 rebounds per game in a summer league. It is because of her that University is favored to win the 3-A title. The Warriors ran last year but expect to switch to more of an inside game this year. “We’re not quite as fast as we were last year,” University Coach Patricia Peisner said. “Real strong under the basket. Not so much running and gunning.”

Preseason Top 10

CITY No. School, League ‘85-86 Record

1. Westchester, Mid-City 13-6

2. Kennedy, Valley 22-3

3. Washington, Mid-City 22-5

4. Crenshaw, Mid-City 23-4

5. Banning, Marine 22-5

6. Dorsey, Mid-City 12-4

7. Jordan, Marine 10-12

8. Fairfax, Marine 14-6

9. Fremont, Mid-City 10-10

10. University, City West 11-7