PREP NOTES / ROB FERNAS : School-Hopping Takes Yoshida for an Emotional Ride

Wendell Yoshida, the girls’ basketball coach at Palos Verdes High School, has gone from euphoria to despair since the season ended last month.

First, the euphoria:

Sophomore prospect Jeffra Gausepohl, a 6-foot-5 center from Kennett High School in Kennett Square, Pa., will transfer to Palos Verdes at the end of the school year, Yoshida said.

The teaming of Gausepohl with 6-3 sophomore center Monique Morehouse, an All-Southern Section choice for Palos Verdes, would have given the Sea Kings one of the most dominant front courts in the South Bay. Or anywhere, for that matter.

That’s where the despair comes in.

Yoshida said Morehouse has transferred to another high school to be with her mother, who recently moved out of the area. Yoshida hopes Morehouse will return (her stepfather still lives in the Palos Verdes area), but isn’t holding his breath.

“I have no idea where (Morehouse) is,” Yoshida said. “The school can’t give out that information, and she hasn’t communicated with me.”

Yoshida said Morehouse left Palos Verdes about three weeks ago, not long after she helped the Sea Kings reach the Division III regional finals. The promising post player averaged 12 points and 12 rebounds per game.

“It’s disappointing,” Yoshida said. “She’s been (in the Palos Verdes area) since junior high. I’ve worked with her both years in high school.”

With that in mind, Yoshida can understand what Ed Hoffman is going through. Hoffman coached Gausepohl at Kennett, a small school of less than 600 students outside Philadelphia. How hard did he take the news of Gausepohl’s transfer?

“The coach went into mourning when he heard that,” said Kennett Athletic Director Vic Schuster.

That’s understandable. At 6-5, the 14-year-old Gausepohl is taller than former Palos Verdes stars Heidi and Heather Burge were at the same age. The 6-5 twins helped the University of Virginia reach the NCAA Final Four this season as freshmen.

Gausepohl averaged 14.2 points and 10 rebounds this season, pacing Kennett to the South Chester County League title and the district semifinals.

Yoshida has never seen her play, but he is aware of her reputation.

“For someone that size and that young, she is pretty coordinated,” Schuster said. “She is highly motivated and her parents are highly motivated for her to do well in basketball. She is definitely a hard-core player; she plays when she’s not feeling well. She is pretty tough for a 14-year-old kid.

“She dominated in our league. She controlled the boards, and much of the offense was designed for getting her the ball. When she went out of the game with fouls, it was a big difference.”

Gausepohl told her school paper that she is looking forward to playing for Palos Verdes next season. She visited the school in January, and her father, Jeff, has been working in the South Bay, Yoshida said.

“They come from a rural area of Pennsylvania,” said the Palos Verdes coach. “They like the trees and that type of surrounding. Really the only area like that in the South Bay is Palos Verdes.”

The other attraction is a fine basketball team.

In 10 years, Yoshida has built Palos Verdes into one of the most successful girls programs in Southern California. The Sea Kings have reached the Southern Section divisional finals two of the last three years and have won 47 straight Bay League games, including four consecutive titles. They were 29-6 this year.

Gausepohl said one of the biggest adjustments she’ll have to make at Palos Verdes is playing with a 30-second clock, which is not used in Pennsylvania.

“I’ve watched some of their games,” she said. “I think I can compete, but it will be a lot faster. I have to work on my endurance.”

Yoshida will coach a team of South Bay seniors Friday in the 10th annual Optimists All-Star Basketball Classic at El Camino College. The girls’ game is scheduled for 6 p.m., followed by the boys’ game at 8.

Area girls expected to play for the South Bay against a team of Westside all-stars are Lisa Humphries, Susan Wilhite and Mary Maloney of Palos Verdes; Suzy McIver and Jennifer Spieske of Redondo; Marquel Weaver and Detra Young of Banning; Rosa Olloque of West Torrance; Shasta Paris, Tiffany Matsumora and Jennifer Ogata of Narbonne; Carolyn Hiramoto of North Torrance; Jstone Vines of San Pedro, and Kawacsi Jackson and Tanika Smith of Leuzinger.

College signings: Rolling Hills goalkeeper Natalie McDowell has signed a letter of intent to play soccer for Washington State. Coach John Vredenburgh said McDowell is the first girl at Rolling Hills to earn a full scholarship in soccer.

Palos Verdes’ Humphries, the team’s leading scorer, has signed a letter of intent to play basketball for Loyola Marymount. The 5-11 senior, who averaged 15 points a game, will receive a partial scholarship.

A chance meeting with John Stevenson two Sundays ago found the El Segundo baseball coach drafting a fantasy baseball team at the Stick ‘N’ Stein in El Segundo.

Asked how his team was shaping up, Stevenson replied: “I don’t know, but I just got Barry Larkin in the fifth round.”

Great pick. As of Wednesday, the Cincinnati Reds’ shortstop was leading the major leagues with a .594 batting average.

West Torrance’s baseball team entered this week tied for second place in the Ocean League with a 4-2 record despite hitting only .235 as a team.

In 366 at-bats, the Warriors have 16 extra-base hits, with just four home runs. Second baseman Dane Cowing (.302) is the only West player hitting above .300.

“We’re just a hitting phenom,” first-year Coach Dick McGrath quipped. “It’s definitely a challenge for the coach.”

The Torrance Volleyball Club is holding tryouts for boys in grades 9-12 for the upcoming United States Volleyball Assn. season. Two sessions will be held Sunday and April 29 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The tryout fee is $5 per player. For more information, contact Tim Ittner at 429-0905 or Lawrence Hom at 770-6607.

PREP NOTES: Gladstone High of Covina has replaced El Segundo as the top-ranked baseball team in the Southern Section 2-A Division sportswriters’ poll. Gladstone ran its record to 13-2 by winning the championship of its own tournament last week, while El Segundo (16-3) took third in the San Luis Obispo Tournament. Gladstone edged the Eagles by the narrowest of margins, 86-85 in voting points and 5-4 in first-place votes. . . . El Segundo, tied for first place in the Camino Real League, will face Ocean League leader Culver City at 7 p.m. Saturday at Redondo High in the semifinals of the Palos Verdes/Redondo Baseball Tournament. Palos Verdes meets Millikan at 4 p.m. in the other semifinal. . . . Leuzinger moved into a tie for first place in the Bay League volleyball race Tuesday with a 7-15, 10-15, 15-6, 15-10, 15-11 victory over visiting Rolling Hills, ranked 10th in the 4-A Division coaches’ poll. Leuzinger and Rolling Hills are each 8-1 in league.