GIRLS’ PLAYER : Brown Ranks With the Best

For as good as she is, and with as much success as she’s had, Tyeast Brown’s most telling statistic is that her name will fill neither county or school record books.

“It’s hard because of her aunt,” said Lee Trepanier, Point Loma girls’ basketball coach. “Terri owns everything.”

Brown, a senior center and The Times’ girls’ player of the year, is the niece of Terri Mann, the player who led Point Loma to four consecutive state championships (1984-87) and edged Brown out of her place in history.

But she did match Mann in career victories. Brown compiled a 122-7 record to Mann’s 122-1. This year, Brown led the Pointers (29-4) to the San Diego Division II championship and the final of the Southern California Regionals.

A stretched ligament in her knee kept Brown out of three games early in January--Point Loma lost all three--and Trepanier said had she been healthy, she would have edged closer to Mann in career rebounding.

Brown’s initial role for Point Loma was to get the ball to other players, but as they graduated, her responsibilities expanded.

“We moved her to the low post,” Trepanier said of Brown’s sophomore year. “She’s the best low post player I’ve had. I just marvel at how she’s grown up.”

Brown went from a seven-point average her first season to averages of 23.5 points and 10.2 rebounds this year.

Two of the qualities Trepanier admires most about Brown are her loyalty and work ethic.

“She respects me as a coach, she never questioned me,” he said. “And she’d tell other girls not to come out unless they want to work. I never had a bad practice with her group.”

Trepanier rated her as one of the top five players he’s had in his 14 years at Point Loma, and the best player, especially on defense, in the county this year.

Brown will take her talent to Nevada Las Vegas next year, where Trepanier sees her as a small forward or an off guard.