Some Favorites Stumble, While Others Are Off to Fast Start in Girls Basketball Races

In Westside girls prep basketball, some of the highly rated teams have not been playing as strongly as expected in pre-league competition. And some have.

University High, a 3-A team that was considered the equal of many 4-A clubs, was just 6-4 in the early going, and three of its losses were to Venice, also a 3-A team. Venice is in University’s league, the City West, but some thought the Gondoliers, who got off to a 9-1 start, were not in the same class as the Warriors.

Crossroads, which usually walks away with the Delphic League championship and finished last season with a 21-2 overall record, has had trouble picking them up and laying them down this season. The Roadrunners were 3-5 as the week began.

Fairfax, ranked eighth in the City by The Times in preseason, lost its first four games--to giant-killer Venice and Reseda, Westchester and always-powerful Buena--in the first round of the Simi Valley tournament. The Lions began turning things around in the Simi tournament, winning three straight, including the consolation title game over Canoga Park.

Strong Westside teams that have been living up to their reputations include Westchester, Culver City, Notre Dame and St. Bernard.

Westchester, top-ranked in the City in The Times preseason poll, got off to a 4-0 start in pre-league competition before stumbling in the Morningside tournament. The Comets were bumped from the tournament by two straight losses, but they lost to Morningside and Muir, both ranked in The Times top 10 in the CIF-Southern Section.

Culver City lost to Compton and Louisville, two Southern Section powers, but bounced back to win the Beverly Hills tournament and was 9-5 as the week started.

Notre Dame was 7-2 at the beginning of the week, including a convincing win over archrival Marymount, which was undefeated last year in the 1-A Sunshine League and dealt second-place Notre Dame two one-point losses in league play.

After winning the Marlborough tournament, St. Bernard won two more games, raising its record to 8-3, and the team was entertaining thoughts of dethroning five-time defending champion St. Mary’s Academy in the 2-A Camino Real League.

A capsule look at some representative Westside teams and league races:

Westchester

First-year Coach Beverly Pendleton didn’t have two starters for much of the time in the Morningside tourney. Tammie Sadler, a 5-6 forward, had a sprained ankle and missed both games, and Tammy Story, a 5-8 off guard, injured a knee and didn’t suit up for Muir.

But Pendleton expects both to be ready for the start of competition in January in the City’s toughest league, the Mid-City. Other top-10 teams in the league are Washington, Crenshaw, Dorsey and Fremont.

Rounding out a strong front court for the Comets are 6-0 center Trisha Stafford, one of the City’s best, and 5-7 forward Rulinda Reed, one of the City’s best freshmen. Melanie Taylor is starting again at point guard.

Pendleton said that “everybody’s tough” in the league, “but I think we have a good chance. We all have a good chance.”

Venice

The Gondoliers defeated University twice in the South Gate tournament, including the championship game, and once in City West League play. Did that surprise Venice Coach Jean Edwards? No, she said, adding: “They’re a very good team, but this team has a lot of heart and a lot of desire.”

And quite a bit of senior talent, including 5-7 forward-center Latisha Burnett, 5-8 center Racquel Davis, 5-6 forward Roshea Maderer, 5-4 guard Jenice (Necie) Cooley, 5-0 guard Carol Ishioka, 5-7 forward-center Sharon Jones and 5-7 forward-guard Latanya Franklin. Burnett has been averaging about 13 points and 16 rebounds a game, Coolie has been blocking about three shots a game, often against much taller players, and also has been averaging five steals a game, and Ishioka has about four steals a game.

University

Patricia Peisner, Warriors coach, said her star junior center, 6-2 Kesha Martin, injured an ankle in the South Gate tournament and played with the injury but did not play much in the league loss to University.

But Peisner didn’t use her star’s injury as an excuse for the losses to the Gondoliers and said she was surprised that Venice was “so tough.” She said Venice has some very good players and that Cooley “is exceptional,” that all the 5-4 guard lacks is “maybe another foot (in height).”

She said Martin wasn’t up to par in about five games but that she has been averaging more than 20 points and more than 20 rebounds a game, though her shooting percentage has been down. And she’s still been “blocking a lot of shots,” Peisner added.

Others who have been doing well for University are forward Dina Miller, averaging about 11 points and 12 rebounds a game, and guard Patricia Harada, averaging about 10 points.

Peisner said the Gondoliers are “definitely the ones to beat (in the league). But I’m confident we can beat them (in their second league game). It should be another close game, but we do have the potential to beat them.” She said Martin should be ready when league play resumes.

Culver City

Jon Chapman, who lettered in basketball at UCLA in 1970-72, is the new Culver City coach. Chapman replaces Warren Flanagan, who retired from full-time coaching in football several years ago but continued, with much success, to be the part-time coach of girls basketball.

The new coach inherits three top players: 5-10 forward Nina Revoyr, 6-1 junior center Kathy McGriff and junior guard Yvonne Gutierrez.

Revoyr was a Times All-Westside selection last year when she averaged in double figures in scoring and rebounding, and she averaged 17.5 points and 9.7 rebounds in 12 games this season. McGriff, the most valuable player of the Beverly Hills tournament, is averaging 13.2 points and 8.1 rebounds and Gutierrez 11.4 points.

Melissa Punch, a 6-0 sophomore forward-center, injured her right shoulder while horseback riding and may be lost for the season, Chapman said.

Chapman said his players tell him that Hawthorne is the team they’ll have to contend with in the Ocean League.

Notre Dame Academy

Notre Dame Coach Renee Esquer-Goepel said her team will be a contender for the Sunshine League title, which it barely lost to Marymount last year.

Esquer-Goepel has strong returning players in 5-9 junior guard-forward Leah Stevenson and seniors Missy Kurt, a 5-7 guard; Letty Chavez, a 5-9 forward, and Kim Munday, a 5-7 forward. Stevenson has been averaging about 14 points, Kurt about 10 after finishing an All-CIF volleyball season, Chavez more than 8 rebounds and Munday about 11 points.

Carmita Cruz, a 5-2 senior guard, has made a good transition from the junior varsity, the coach said.

Fairfax

New Coach Timi Pickard said she doesn’t think her team’s poor start stemmed from the departure of veteran Coach Jo Ann Heller, now at Canoga Park. Pickard, a former USC player who is in her first season of basketball coaching, said the 0-4 start was a result of little scoring, no offensive rebounding and fouling problems.

The Lions seem to have solved those problems, and star junior Jessica Fairbanks, a 5-10 center-forward, has been scoring more. She poured in 36 points in a 61-51 win over Saugus. Last year she averaged 19 points and 17 rebounds.

The only other returning starter is point guard Ladon Echols. Newcomers include 5-6 forward Karen Watson, guard Jenny Calderone and 5-10 center Mya Dobson.

Pickard said her players “are still getting used to playing with each other. There have been a lot of personnel changes, and there’s a big speed difference between playing junior varsity and varsity.”

She said defending Marine League champion Banning is the team to beat in league.

Crossroads

Crossroads Coach Larry Wiener said the Roadrunners have been losing “basically because we have not been shooting well or executing. We’ve been trying a fast-breaking attack this year, and (recently) showed signs of doing well with it.”

Weiner said he expects great improvement from his team, which includes four veterans: forward Roxanne Owens, guard Gaby Banks, forward Shana Margolis, all seniors, and junior guard Diane Cano. The other starter is 5-9 freshman center Antherica Edmerson. Owens has been the leading scorer and rebounder, averaging 11.1 points and 9.6 boards.

First players off the bench are junior guard Lori Geffner and 6-2 sophomore center Michelle Birnkrant.

Delphic League coaches have picked Campbell Hall to win the title this year, and Weiner said he doesn’t mind that his team has been rated second in the league. “We haven’t been challenged in the league the last couple of years, and it’s nice (that Crossroads hasn’t been picked to repeat as champion). That way the girls can’t relax in league.”

St. Bernard

St. Bernard Coach Monica Westhead said her star senior, 5-7 forward-guard Felicia Dixon, has been averaging more than 12 points a game despite tendinitis in her elbow that threw her shooting off in the team’s first three games.

Dixon, an All-CIF second-team selection last year, teams with 5-8 senior Candace Austin at the other forward. In an early game, which Dixon missed, Austin scored a career high of 24 points.

At center is 5-11 junior Demetra Smith, who has been averaging 12 rebounds. The point guard is 5-5 junior Crystal Nettles, who had a high of 20 assists in one game this season, and 5-9 junior Maresha Johnson starts at the other guard when Dixon is in the front court.

Westhead said St. Mary’s Academy has won the Camino Real League title for the last five years and “is always strong. But I think we’re going to get them a little bit nervous at least. We should be able to beat them. We have the talent to do it. It’s just a matter of getting our emotions going the right way.”

Marymount

Marymount, 4-3 as the week began, will try to defend its Sunshine League championship without graduated star Cathy McNamee, who made the Loyola Marymount University roster as a walk-on. McNamee’s 20 points a game will be missed in the back court.

Coach Christopher Utz said last year’s squad was guard-oriented with McNamee but that this year the Sailors should be “tough on the front line.” At one forward is 5-7 junior Molly O’Sullivan, who averaged 10 points and 9 rebounds a game last year, and the other front-liners are 5-8 senior forward-guard Ann Mulville and 5-8 senior forward Kerry Cummings.

The center, 6-1 junior Kristen Klein, is better known as an All-CIF volleyball player, and this is her first year of high school basketball. Utz called her “one of the most coachable, energetic kids I’ve every seen.”

The guards, 5-0 senior Noelle Clark and 5-7 junior Denise Derry, are up from the junior varsity. Clark will be the point guard.

Utz said he looks for “a very tough year. It’s time to rebuild, but we should be pretty competitive and the kids want to win.”

Hollywood

After finishing second in the Northern League last year with a 7-3 record (8-6) overall, Hollywood got off to an 0-3 start this season.

The chief reason for the losing record is that Emilza Tielmans, who averaged 20 points a game last year, turned 19 and is no longer eligible. Tielmans, an immigrant from Guatemala, got a late start in an American high school.

Hollywood Coach Lorraine Bradley hopes two guards will take up the scoring slack: 5-0 senior Mary Lou Lopez and 5-2 junior Lilit Sarkissian. At center is 5-9 Rose Luledzhyan, a junior varsity standout last year.

Windward

Coach Gail Edson has no seniors on her team, which got off to a 2-5 start. The Wildcats are led by 5-0 junior point guard Laurie Hill, who is averaging 13.7 points a game, and 5-6 sophomore guard Danielle Laff, averaging 11.2.

Other starters are 5-6 sophomores Kim Aran at forward and Alexandra Alvarez at center and 5-4 junior Alma Medina at the other forward.

Edson said hers is “a very quick team with a real good chance of finishing in the top three in the Liberty League if we play well.” She said the league’s tough teams are Holy Martyrs and First Lutheran.