JC NOTES : El Camino, Shocked by Mt. SAC Last Time, Expects to Be ‘Ready to Play’ on Saturday : Basketball: Mt. SAC’s 60-58 league-opener win over the Warriors was the Mounties’ only conference victory. El Camino can’t afford to slip again.

The second time around will be different. At least that’s what El Camino basketball Coach Ron McClurkin says of Saturday’s game at Mt. San Antonio College, which launches the second round of league play.

McClurkin watched as his team was stunned, 60-58, by Mt. SAC in its South Coast Conference opener on Jan. 6. It’s the only league victory for the unranked Mounties, who are 1-3 in the SCC and 5-17 overall.

“We shouldn’t lose another one,” McClurkin said. “We can’t. We’re ready to play.”

The ninth-ranked Warriors stand in third place in the five-member SCC behind Long Beach (3-1) and Cerritos (3-1). El Camino is 2-2 (17-6 overall) with victories over Pasadena and Long Beach.

The Warriors’ last conference game was a 77-69 home victory over Long Beach on Jan. 17. So is McClurkin worried about the 10-day gap between games?

“I don’t think the layoff will hurt us,” he said, “because we’re practicing hard these days. I look at them at practice and I know they’re ready to go.”

Mt. SAC Coach Ralph Osterkamp says there’s no doubt the Warriors will be prepared to play.

“They’ll definitely be fired up,” he said. “I’m sure they’re a little upset with us. I would be if I were them.”

The flu that struck players and coaches on the El Camino women’s basketball team this month is nothing compared to the team’s latest health problem.

The Warriors’ top player and captain, Kim Bly, is out three to five weeks because of a knee injury suffered last week during practice. The 5-foot-7 guard was going through a defensive drill when another player bumped her left knee while going to the hoop.

“I just fell,” Bly said as she watched her team practice this week. “But when I went to the ground I didn’t think it was that serious. Then, when I tried to walk, something felt loose.

“Now it’s just frustrating. It’s hard for me to just sit in here and watch them practice. It’s hard not to be out there. All I can do is watch and cheer.”

Bly, a sophomore from Hawthorne High, led the team with 22.1 points a game. She also helped the Warriors (15-6, 5-2 in the SCC) with 5.8 rebounds a game.

At Hawthorne, Bly was a Times All-South Bay player in 1987 and the Ocean League co-Most Valuable Player. That year she led the Cougars to the 4-A Southern Section playoffs with 14.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists a game.

“I’m very concerned,” said El Camino Coach Kristy Loesener. “Whenever your top scorer is out, that’s a reason to be concerned. We just have to change a few things. We’re not going to have such a quick-hit team anymore. We’re going to slow down our offense.”

Why was Harbor Coach Ken Curry yelling “UCLA! UCLA! UCLA!” during Wednesday’s game against Marymount?

“I told the kids they (Marymount) would be ready to play because this is their big game. I used the comparison of UCLA and USC. When they play it doesn’t matter what the record is; they play hard because of the rivalry.”

And he was right. Marymount, the cellar team of the Southern California Athletic Conference, almost pulled away with a victory. The Mariners have a 10-game losing streak and an 0-6 league record.

That means Harbor represented UCLA on Wednesday. The Seahawks, winners of their last four games, are strong contenders in the conference race with a 4-2 mark.

James Anderson’s glory days ended after his two-year basketball career at Marymount. Last year the 6-foot-3, 200-pound guard was the state’s third-leading junior college scorer with 25.9 points a game.

This season at Cal State Los Angeles, Anderson averaged 1.8 points and 4.8 minutes a game before becoming academically ineligible. He played in only five games.