Lisa Leslie Slam Dunks SAT on 3rd Try

For Lisa Leslie, the third try at the Scholastic Aptitude Test proved to be the charm.

Morningside High’s highly recruited center learned last week that after two failed attempts she scored over 700 on the SAT, making her eligible to play collegiate basketball as a freshman next fall.

But the 6-foot-5 Leslie, an honor student who carries a 3.5 grade-point average, was still unsatisfied with her 750 score. Echoing what others have charged, Leslie said the SAT is “biased” against minority students because it does not cover what they have learned in high school.

“The test is basically biased, as far as I’m concerned,” she said. “We should all learn the same things. It shouldn’t differ as to what area you live in. In a way, it’s like segregation. Not everyone is fortunate enough to live in Palos Verdes.”

Asked if her education at Morningside has failed to properly prepare her for college, Leslie said: “I know I’m not in the worst education situation, but I know it’s not the highest either.

“A lot of what’s on the SAT, we haven’t covered in our everyday learning. It might be because of our books. We have books that the school was using years ago. It’s kind of unfair, because we’re not all provided with the same materials.”

Leslie said she was “embarrassed” that it took her three tries to score 700, the NCAA cut-off point for freshman eligibility. She scored 680 on her first two attempts despite a strong academic background that includes being named winner of the Dial Award, given to the nation’s top high school female scholar-athlete.

“I’m glad I can play my freshman year, but the 750 is not as good as my own standards,” she said. “To me, it’s kind of terrible. Hopefully I won’t be too far behind in college.”

Leslie said she will take her final recruiting trip this weekend to Long Beach State. She is also considering USC and Notre Dame. The deadline for signing letters of intent is May 15.

In the meantime, Leslie is competing in track and field for Morningside. She qualified Tuesday for Friday’s Ocean League finals in the high jump, long jump and triple jump.