Girls’ State High School Basketball Championship : Grant Can’t Wait for Second Chance at Pt. Loma

Felix Duncan is not intimidated by the Point Loma High School girls’ basketball team or Terri Mann, its All-American forward.

Duncan, whose Grant High team (33-1) plays the three-time defending state champion Pointers (33-0) tonight in the Division I state title game at the Oakland-Alameda Coliseum Arena at 6:15, is confident.

He says he respects Point Loma and Mann. But Grant’s coach and players aren’t overwhelmed.

The Pointers beat Grant, 56-50, in last year’s title game. Duncan maintains that Grant has improved while Point Loma isn’t as strong this season, largely because Point Loma lost three starters to two for Grant.

Duncan also believes that his team is deeper, as Grant uses several players and Point Loma usually plays only five.

And while most teams this season developed their game plan around stopping Mann, Duncan is not straying from his regular scheme.

“We will be concerned whether we can achieve our goals first,” he said. “We’ll work on our individual style. If we can execute that, we will be able to dictate what Terri Mann does.”

Lee Trepanier, Point Loma coach, takes a similar approach. He’s confident with the style of play that has helped Point Loma dominate the state the past three seasons. Defensively, that means a man-to-man defense.

That suits Duncan fine. He believes his offense will force Trepanier to alter his game plan.

“I’m sure they won’t play a man-to-man defense for too long,” he said. Grant’s quickness will wear Point Loma down quickly, Duncan said. In last year’s title game, Grant did just that with its run-and-shoot offense, outrebounding the Pointers, 32-22, in the first half.

The score was tied at halftime, 24-24, but Mann took over in the second half, finishing with 20 rebounds. Point Loma outscored Grant, 14-6, at one point during the second half.

“Our running game will make them use all five players on defense and offense,” said LaTonya Wilson, a returning starter.

Three have been starters for three years--Wilson, Selene Belton and Chris Ellis.

Wilson averages 17.4 points and 11.3 rebounds. Ellis, Grant’s tallest player at 5-11, averages 15 rebounds and 8.2 points. Wilson will cover Mann in the low post and Ellis will handle her in the high post.

Grant outscored its opponents by an average of 25 points this season, while Point Loma outscored its competition by an average of 48.

Still, Duncan isn’t worried.

Friday, Duncan strolled Grant’s halls, shaking hands and promising a championship trophy for the school.

It was hard to tell Grant is the underdog.

“He’s always relaxed,” Ellis said of Duncan. “We’ve been together so long, he knows how we are and what we are capable of.”

The Grant players are also comfortable playing Point Loma again. After last year’s game, the teams got together in a hotel room and stayed up through the night discussing basketball.

“They said we were the best team they played,” Ellis said. “Terri said she thought it was going to be a cakewalk. Actually, Terri Mann was the nicest of them all.

“We had hoped that we would get to play them again. We still haven’t beat them. . . . We owe them one.”