Muir Looks Like Cream of Basketball Crop : Girls’ sports: West Covina and Pasadena figure to be the closest challengers to the powerhouse Mustangs.

When it comes to girls’ high school basketball in the San Gabriel Valley this season, the spotlight figures to be clearly focused on Muir High School in Pasadena.

That should not come as a revelation.

With four second-place finishes in CIF Southern Section play since 1983, the Mustangs may be the best team that has never won a division championship.

But with another corps of outstanding players, the Mustangs are hoping that this is the season when they finally reach the top spot.

Muir appears to be the class of valley basketball teams. Its two closest challengers could be West Covina and Muir’s cross-town rival, Pasadena.

The other contenders are Ganesha, Los Altos, South Hills, San Dimas, Covina, Walnut and St. Lucy’s.

A look at the top 10 teams:

1--Muir (Pacific League; 4-AA Division)--It was a brilliant debut for Mel Sims as coach of the Mustangs last season.

In their best season since 1986, the Mustangs wound up with a 24-5 record, finished second in 4-A and reached the state Division II regional playoffs.

“I think this team is better than last year because I’ve been here a year,” Sims said.

It certainly helps to return an All-Southern Section point guard, 5-1 senior Rose Jong, and an all-valley forward, 5-10 senior Karen Banks. Jong averaged 10 points and 10.1 assists last season and Banks, who has signed a letter of intent with UC Santa Barbara, averaged 15 points and six rebounds.

The other starter returning is all-league guard Taunya Johnson, a 5-7 senior.

One of the major concerns after last season was replacing All-Southern Section center Lisa Salsman, who is a freshman at Arizona State. But the Mustangs should have more than adequate players to fill the void.

Besides Banks, front-line players include centers Josie Pacheco (6-0) and Kim Davis (6-2) and forward Melinda Armstrong (6-0), a talented transfer.

2--West Covina (Sierra League; 5-A)--Expectations are high at West Covina, and why not?

The Bulldogs return an all-valley center, 6-2 senior Ingrid Dixson, and one of the valley’s best floor leaders, 5-6 senior point guard Lisa Sloan, from a team that went 19-3 and advanced to the 5-A quarterfinals.

Dixson, a major-college recruit, averaged 17.4 points and 11.4 rebounds last season and Sloan averaged 11.2 points and six assists.

First-year Coach Bill Torricelli said Dixson will be a marked player: “Everybody seems to know her, and if they don’t they just see her out there and set their defense to stop her.”

But the coach is not certain about the players surrounding his two stars.

“The wings that played last year were great players and we don’t really have that kind of players right now,” he said. “I think the kids realize that they will have to work, and it’s going to take some time.”

A key will be the development of sophomore guards Thao Tran (5-5) and Lisa Pearl (5-6). West Covina also expects to be led by forwards Anna Hernandez, a 5-7 junior, and Anette Jacobs, a 5-8 senior, and also starts junior Evelyn Johnson (5-11) in its twin-post alignment.

3--Pasadena (Pacific League; 5-A)--The Bulldogs are probably only the second best team in Pasadena, but that doesn’t mean they are not one of the best in the valley.

The Bulldogs do not have Muir’s size, but with four starters returning from a 16-9 team and depth, Pasadena figures to be among the best in the valley.

“I’ve always had good teams with mostly individual talent, and this is the deepest team I’ve ever had,” says Coach Dudley Stewart. “We go about 12 deep. This is going to be more of a team effort.”

The leader is all-league forward Kim Rice, a 5-10 senior who missed about half of last season because of personal reasons. The return of junior center Stephanie Hall (6-0) gives the Bulldogs respectable size on their front line.

Two other starters returning are seniors Anita Bilboussian (5-5) at point guard and Shauntel Webster (5-6) at the other guard. The Bulldogs should have depth at guard with the return of senior Tamara Wallace (5-6) and Teyonye Mosley (5-7).

Pasadena can also draw players from a junior varsity that was 18-0 last season, including junior point guard Nyree Derderian (5-7).

4--Ganesha (Hacienda League; 4-A)--It was an inexperienced Ganesha squad that finished 14-9 and reached the second round of the 3-A playoffs last season.

Even Coach Wesley Stewart, was in his first year.

That is not the case this time around with the return of four starters and several top reserves.

Topping the list are center Andrea Rutland (6-2) and center/forward Monica Hicks (6-1), a pair of juniors who combine to give the Giants a tall one-two punch on their front line.

The other starters returning are point guard Nadina Powell (5-4), an excellent passer and ball handler, and forward Shontel Patterson (5-7). Beverly Hackett (5-8) starts at the other guard.

The Giants also return top reserves Tinesha Cole (5-8) and Leslie Macon (5-9) at forward and have an understudy at point guard in sophomore Dominique Lindsay (5-3).

“It’s a pretty good group of kids,” Stewart said. “I feel that my bench will be a lot stronger than it was last year.”

5--Los Altos (Sierra League; 4-A)--With the graduation of All-Southern Section players Susan Peters and Jonna Steffens on the front line, the Conquerors will take on a different look this season.

“We probably will have better outside shooting,” Coach Don Holbrook said. “It’s the inside game that’s suffering. But if we can get through December (tournament play), I think we’ll be better by January.”

“We’re coming down from last season but we still have good people,” Holbrook said. “We have a good group and we should be stronger in the future.”

Los Altos, which finished 26-2 last season and reached the 4-A quarterfinals, returns starters Natasha Sussoev (5-7), a junior, at guard and senior Jennifer Hovelsen (5-10) at center in the twin-post alignment.

The Conquerors also return senior guards Kyra Watari (5-6) and Teri Hayashibara (5-2), the point guard. On the inside, Los Altos also has post players Tiffany Kendrick (5-9) and Christie Flenniken (5-10), who could be the top offensive player. Kendrick is a sophomore and Flenniken a junior.

6--South Hills (Valle Vista League; 3-A)--There is an aura of confidence surrounding the Huskies, and Coach Paul Reed says it comes from experience.

That’s an ingredient that the team didn’t always demonstrate last season when it finished 16-7 and placed second in league play.

“I kind of feel that with the experience we would have won it,” Reed said.

That does not figure to ring true this season with three starters and six top lettermen returning. Topping the list are senior point guard Karen Hecox (5-5), one of the best distance runners in the state, and post player Kelly Figueroa, a 5-10 senior who averaged a team-high 15 points last season.

The most improved player is the other starter in the post, 6-3 senior Moira Henny, who could be the most dominant inside player in the league.

South Hills has two other good athletes in the starting lineup on the wings in Shelly Kennedy (5-10), an all-league volleyball player, and Susie Robbin (5-9), an all-league softball player.

“They’re all very athletic,” Reed said. “It’s kind of an eclectic team from an athletic standpoint. We have volleyball, cross-country and softball players.”

7--San Dimas (Montview League; 3-A)--Coach Bill Wakely said he could have almost predicted what happened at the end of last season when the Saints were surprisingly eliminated by Duarte in the opening round of the 3-A playoffs after a successful 19-5 season.

But the coach says his team has a much better attitude this season.

“We’re in much better shape,” he said. “The week of the playoffs we had some bad practices and I knew we’d lose. But this year we have a better attitude.”

It helps to return an All-Southern Section performer in 5-11 senior post player Natalie Kramer, who averaged 15 points and 13.1 rebounds and 4.5 steals as a junior. Kramer moved to New Jersey after the season but has returned for her senior year.

The other player in the team’s twin-post alignment is junior Shelly Baughn, another strong inside player. The Saints, who have outstanding quickness and a good full-court press, also expect to start forward Michelle Barnett (5-9) and 5-6 guards Lisa Arizmendez and Tshibola Badibanga.

8--Covina (Valle Vista League; 3-A)--It may be a tall task to expect the Colts to repeat their success of last season when they won the league title and reached the 3-A quarterfinals.

Especially when you consider that Covina does not have a starter taller than 5-8.

“It’s real hard for me to assess this team,” Coach Stu Sims said. “We don’t have the good size, but we’ve got good quickness.”

The Colts return only two starters from last year’s 17-7 team but both were all-league selections: point guard Mindy Marasco (5-4), an excellent outside shooter, and forward Nicole Costigan (5-8).

Covina also returns top reserves in forward Janice Peterson (5-7) and swing man Melanie Mount (5-7). The Colts will also benefit from the addition of swing man Cindy Cagle (5-7) and guard Jennifer Smith (5-4) from a fine junior varsity team.

“I’m confident but I’m not overconfident,” Sims says. “I feel we can stay with most teams that we play.”

9--Walnut (Valle Vista League; 4-AA)--When he became coach of the Mustangs after last season, Kelly Bruce figured he would have to rely mostly on all-valley forward Tristin Alfred to carry the offensive burden.

Fortunately for Alfred, it appears she will have a helping hand or two.

“I think we have more players than just Tristin who can produce for us,” said Bruce, an assistant for the Walnut boys the last two seasons. “I really feel that we have an interchangeable team. We can go with a lot of people.”

Not that Alfred, a 5-11 senior who averaged 18.2 points and 14.1 rebounds last season, will not be a central element in the team’s success. “I think she’s a better player than she was last year,” Bruce said. “She does a lot of things well.”

The Mustangs, who finished 10-14 last season and reached the 4-A playoffs, have two other all-league players in senior forward Shelli Calagna (5-8) and sophomore guard Davette Williams (5-6).

Another top player returning is swing man Mia McBride, a 5-9 sophomore. The Mustangs have talent up from their junior varsity squad in sophomore point guard Michelle Daddona (5-4) and senior forward Tonya Lozano (5-10).

10--St. Lucy’s (Baseline League; 2-A)--On the surface, this may seem like a rebuilding year for the Regents.

There are only four seniors and no starters from a team that finished 19-9 and reached the 3-A quarterfinals before losing to eventual champion Brea-Olinda. But appearances can sometimes be deceiving.

“We’re very young but from day one of practice to now we’ve improved a great deal,” Coach David Confair said. “Once they get a lot more playing time, they should get a lot better.

“There’s plenty of talent in there. The only thing is the kids need to see it in themselves.”

In the beginning, the Regents will probably rely on seniors Stacey Bateman (5-10) at center and seniors Amy Kohls (5-4), Kathy Loyd (5-5) and Marcy Alvarez (5-5) at guard. But Confair will also turn to younger players such as juniors Jennifer Robledo (5-9) and Kelly Schlacter (5-7) and sophomore Nikki Baker (5-6), all forwards.

While the team does not have size, Confair said there is quickness and the best attitude of any team he has coached.