College Basketball Previews : THE MASTER’S : Off-Court Losses Dampen Playoff Hopes

This was supposed to be the season that The Master’s women’s basketball team became a contender in the NAIA District III.

Don’t make playoff plans yet. Coach Becky White already has encountered problems that are more restrictive than the tightest zone defense.

Michelle Carter, last year’s team captain and Master’s female athlete of the year, recently withdrew from school saying that she was forced to take that action after administrators accused her of violating rules. Master’s, a Christian school, forbids dancing and enforces a 1 a.m. curfew on weekends.

Also lost, at least for this season, is Laurel Hudgens, a 6-1 junior forward from Kentucky. Hudgens was expected to bolster Master’s rebounding but will redshirt this season after being declared academically ineligible.

Teresa Stanley, a 6-2 junior center who played at Allan Hancock last season, is academically ineligible for six weeks but can join the lineup in January.

“Stanley will give us good size on rebounding when she plays,” White said. “She will help us a lot because she’s a real good athlete.”

White has four returning starters from last season’s team that finished 6-20 and ninth in district with a 3-16 record.

The four are forwards Shelmarie Tatum and Michelle Spink, and guards Michele Rowell and Kelli Pattison. Tatum averaged 12 points and 13 rebounds a game as a sophomore last season, and Spink averaged nine points and six rebounds as a freshman. Rowell is the team’s only senior.

White, who also coaches Master’s volleyball team, feels she has improved her lineup through recruiting. Kim Vargas, a 5-8 point guard out of Woodland High, and Deanna Mincks, a 6-foot forward from Fontana, are expected to add offensive punch.

“Kim is very quick and she should cause a lot of things to happen in the passing lanes,” White said. “Deanna is a good outside shooter. She’s a little bigger and will help us on the boards.”

White expects The Master’s to vie for one of the six District III playoff positions. Fresno Pacific will be pressed to defend its district title by Biola, Azusa and Cal Baptist, White said. Master’s opens its season against Occidental on Tuesday.

“We have to play well to beat those teams, but we can stay with them much better this year,” White said.