HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS’ BASKETBALL PREVIEWS : Tall and Talented Santa Barbara Girls Could Go Undefeated : Lady Dons Have Seven Players 5-11 or Over; Lynwood and Morningside Figure as Top Southern Section Rivals

While Ken Nedler tries to revive the girls’ basketball program at San Marcos High in Santa Barbara--the losingest in the Channel league--his roommate, Scott Blakey, one of the co-coaches at Santa Barbara High might go undefeated.

The Lady Dons are reputedly very good. They have seven players 5 feet 11 inches or over, a surprising fast break and experience all the way through the bench. But could they be as good as Nedler says they are? Could any team?

“He’s just got the most awesome assembly of women’s basketball players I’ve ever seen,” Nedler said of Blakey, who coaches the Lady Dons with Andrew Butcher. “I would bet that they go undefeated.

“They have strength, size, power and experience. I think they’re probably the best team in the nation.”

He may find out soon enough. The Lady Dons, who open the year as The Times’ top-ranked Southern Section team, will hold its Tournament of Champions later this month, competing against perennial power Doss of Louisville, Ky., and top teams from the Southern Section.

Still, it shapes up to be a three-team battle at the top in the Southern Section, with Santa Barbara, No. 2 Lynwood, and No. 3 Inglewood Morningside a notch above the rest.

Both Lynwood and Morningside beat Santa Barbara in tournaments last summer.

“Santa Barbara is the team,” Lynwood Coach Van Girard said. “They have so much height and experience coming back. They’re without a doubt the biggest team in the section.

“But I don’t really think there’s one dominant team of the three. We played each other twice this summer, and it was like a split decision.”

Santa Barbara starts inside with Shannon Frowiss, a 6-2 senior. Her fraternal twin sister, Heather, is a 5-11 forward, and Kate Carnell, 6-1, the other forward.

They don’t shrink much in the backcourt, either. Janelle Thompson is the team’s shooting guard and “silent assassin,” according to Nedler. At 5-6, point guard Faha Banks could play forward for other Southern Section teams.

On the bench are Carrie Kayser and Kristin Knapp, both 6-3.

It keeps going. The Lady Dons have a player without a minute of varsity experience who has already been signed to a full basketball scholarship. Senior Julia Shands, who has been on the team but has not played in games for religious reasons, has signed with Oregon State. She is 6 feet tall, can grab the rim and will be available for games this season.

“We have eight excellent athletes,” Blakey said. “And we can keep the pressure turned on the whole game. We can go to the bench without stepping down our play. We win the war of attrition.”

The Lady Dons have maybe their best shot ever at beating No. 4 Ventura Buena at Buena, something they have never accomplished.

Lynwood, which Morningside coach Frank Scott said should be the No. 1 team, lost last year to Santa Barbara in the quarterfinals of the playoffs and has not forgotten. Still, Girard laughs at Scott’s remarks.

“I don’t know what Frank’s talking about,” he said.

The Lady Knights have typically won with quickness, and this year will be no different. Floor leader Trice Jackson, a guard headed for Cal State Long Beach, is back with her 18-point average. Linda Watson, who started as a freshman last year, is also back at off-guard, giving Lynwood one of the best backcourts in the 4-A division.

Candice Boyd rotates at guard, and 5-10 senior Niecie Williams is a swing player. Senior Tasha Norris is a 5-10 center, but Lynwood is hurt by the loss of 6-2 senior Kim Bivens to ineligibility. Bivens may be back in January.

“We had so much raw talent last year but couldn’t put it together,” Girard said. “But the ladies have come back with a passion. It’s really happening. We have a mental determination. If we’d had that last year, I don’t think we’d have lost in the playoffs.”

Morningside’s Scott likes the Monarchs’ chances.

“We beat Lynwood in the Watts Summer Games and the Bell-Jeff tourney, and I think we’ll get better as the season goes on,” he said. “If we can stay away from our bench, we’ll do OK.”

Morningside’s starting five appears to be more than adequate. Shaunda Green, a senior forward also signed with Cal State Long Beach, returns and is expected to lead the team in scoring. Point guard Carla Gladden is an excellent floor player, and 6-5 center Lisa Leslie is good for about half a dozen blocked shots a game.

The Monarchs also feature one of the section’s best athletes in Althea Moses, a forward who finished third in the state in the 800 meters and won the triple jump at the National Junior Olympics.

“Leslie, Green and Gladden can play with anybody,” Scott said. “I usually don’t brag on players that much, but those three will be tough to stop.”

No. 4 Buena, which lost to surprising Huntington Beach Edison in the 4-A final last season, has lost its top scorer, Teresa Palmisano, but Coach Joe Vaughn always has a strong team. The Bulldogs have won the Channel league title 11 straight times.

Vaughn, who has been to the final five times and won twice, will have three players returning, most notably All-Southern Section guard Mary Klemm. The 5-7 senior averaged nearly 10 points a game and handed out a school-record 212 assists last season. Also returning are senior Stephanie Rainwater and junior Joanie Weinerth.

No. 5 Brea-Olinda is the top team in Orange County and the 3-A, but will probably be pressed by No. 6 El Toro. One of the section’s top coaching units got better when Brea added John Hattrup, the former coach at Mission Viejo, to Coach Mark Trakh’s staff. Since 1980, either Mission Viejo or Brea has played in the championship every year but one. Susan Tousey, a 6-3 senior, averages 16 points a game for the Wildcats.

Trakh, however, favors El Toro: “If they (the Chargers) don’t win the title, I don’t know,” he said.

Elaine Youngs is El Toro’s top player and one of four returning starters.

Other Section teams to watch include No. 7 Pasadena Muir, always a 4-A power; No. 8 Chino, which went 24-4 and advanced to the 2-A final last season; No. 9 Santa Ana Mater Dei; and No. 10 Thousand Oaks, which should easily win the Marmonte League.

Another team to watch is No. 14 Oxnard Santa Clara, which will try to continue its 55-game Frontier League winning streak.

TIMES’ SOUTHERN SECTION GIRLS POLLS

No., School, League 1986-87 Record 1. Santa Barbara, Channel 21-6 2. Lynwood, San Gabriel Valley 28-3 3. Morningside, Pioneer 27-3 4. Buena, Channel 26-2 5. Brea-Olinda, Orange 21-2 6. El Toro, South Coast 20-8 7. Muir, Pacific 15-10 8. Chino, Hacienda 24-5 9. Mater Dei, Angelus 22-7 10. Thousand Oaks, Marmonte 13-12 11. Antelope Valley, Golden 17-5 12. Marina, Sunset 16-11 13. La Quinta, Garden Grove 19-6 14. Santa Clara, Frontier 18-5 15. Palos Verdes, Bay 21-6