PREP NOTES / ROB FERNAS : Life After Leslie: Morningside Accepts the Challenge, Palos Verdes Gets the Ranking

Not surprisingly, a South Bay high school has been ranked among the top girls’ basketball teams in the nation by Street and Smith’s magazine.

What is surprising is that the school is not Morningside.

Instead, the magazine has bestowed the nation’s No. 13 ranking upon Palos Verdes. Morningside, the two-time defending state Division I champion, didn’t even rate an honorable mention.

Obviously there are those who believe the Lady Monarchs will have trouble matching their past accomplishments without 6-foot-5 center Lisa Leslie, who has moved on to USC with her high school coach, Frank Scott.

Ron Randle, the new Morningside coach, said the rankings are misleading. He contends his team is capable of challenging for the mythical national title.

“(Street & Smith’s) has issued a challenge I think the team is willing to accept,” he said. “I don’t think it will anger our young ladies, but it will inspire them to prove they can still be a championship team without Lisa Leslie. I think time will prove that we are as good if not a better team without Lisa.”

Randle bases his prediction on the fact that Morningside returns four of five starters, led by two All-CIF selections--6-4 junior center Janet Davis and 5-9 senior guard Princess Murray, who has given an oral commitment to play for Loyola Marymount.

Palos Verdes Coach Wendell Yoshida, whose team has been strengthened by three transfers and a talented incoming freshman, also believes the magazine overlooked Morningside.

“I’m really surprised they’re not in there,” he said. “They should be.”

Of his own team’s ranking, Yoshida said: “It’s nice, but it’s hard to say what it means right now. We haven’t played a game. I don’t know how they come across these type of rankings. I’m sure the new kids have something to do with it, and the past success of the program has helped put us on the map.”

Palos Verdes was successful last season despite the graduation of highly regarded twins Heather and Heidi Burge. The Sea Kings finished 29-6 and were runners-up for the Southern Section 3-AA and Southern California Division III titles.

Many believe Palos Verdes will be even better this season because of the addition of 6-5 junior Jeffra Gausepohl, a transfer from Kennett Square, Pa.; 5-6 junior guard Kristen Mulligan, who averaged 25 points a game last season for Santa Margarita High in south Orange County; 6-2 senior Nicole Dietel, a transfer from Westminster High; and 5-9 freshman guard Mimi McKinney, whom Yoshida calls the most talented freshman he has ever coached.

The Sea Kings’ top returning player is 6-2 junior center Monique Morehouse, an All-CIF choice last season.

Regardless of the rankings, the moment of truth will come Jan. 9, when Morningside and Palos Verdes meet for the first time in the realigned Ocean League. If each team wins its opener, which is more than likely, Morningside will bring an 89-game league winning streak and Palos Verdes a 48-game streak into the showdown.

The Battle of the Beach will take place Friday night, when Redondo plays host to rival Mira Costa in an Ocean League finale that will go a long way to determining playoff berths in the five-team league.

One of the featured players figures to be Mira Costa running back James Franks, who in recent weeks has emerged as one of the area’s top rushers. An outside linebacker early in the season, the 6-foot, 200-pound senior has run for more than 120 yards in three of the Mustangs’ past four games.

Franks enjoyed his best outing last week in a 20-16 loss to league champion Morningside. He rushed for 212 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries and showed deceptive speed on an 80-yard scoring run.

Rolling Hills will never be mistaken for Houston University, but the Titans have enjoyed surprising success this season passing the ball.

Quarterback Bill DeMucci has completed only 33 of 77 attempts (43%), but a good portion of the completions have resulted in big plays. His average completion mark of 21.2 yards in the best in the South Bay, and nearly a third of his completions (10) have gone for touchdowns.

“We haven’t thrown much, but it’s been effective,” Rolling Hills Coach Gary Kimbrell said.

Wide receiver Ron Misetich has been DeMucci’s main target, catching 15 passes for 409 yards (a 27.3 average) and eight TDs. The two hooked up for three completions totaling 111 yards and one TD last week in a 22-21 victory over Torrance.

If you haven’t already noticed, the current issue of Sports Illustrated includes a two-page Toyota ad featuring the North Torrance basketball team competing in last season’s Torrance tournament.

Toyota sponsored the tournament, held at North, and asked the Saxons to participate in the ad, which first appeared last month in Time Magazine.

Here’s a sample of the copy: “The boys played their hearts out,” said a disappointed Coach (Jim) Nielsen after the big game. The Saxons, in a tight, nail-biting finish were eliminated from the area tournament finals. “It was a gutsy effort, we’re all real proud,” said the coach.

There’s only one problem with that. Narbonne beat Leuzinger in the final.

Nielsen, who resigned as North’s coach after last season, has been replaced by John Fowler, a former basketball coach at Miraleste and with Athletes in Action.

Bill Atkinson, who assisted Nielsen last season and coached North during the summer, is now an assistant under Glenn Marx at Mira Costa. Nielsen is teaching at Mira Costa and is coordinator for this year’s Pacific Shores Basketball Tournament.

Notes

Three teams are still needed to fill out a 16-team bracket for the Morningside Girls’ Basketball Tournament, which runs Dec. 8-12. The fee is $175 and teams are guaranteed two games. Information: Morningside Coach Ron Randle at 419-2708. . . . Ocean League girls’ volleyball champion Mira Costa (17-1) begins defense of its Southern Section 5-A Division title at 7 tonight in a first-round playoff match against visiting Newport Harbor (13-5). In the 3-A Division, Pioneer League champion South Torrance (12-4) plays host to Sonora of La Habra (17-7) tonight. . . . The Southern Section cross-country prelims, featuring the outstanding Palos Verdes girls’ team and Torrance standout Israel Pose, will begin at 7:45 a.m. Saturday at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut. . . . Palos Verdes has been seeded No. 1 for the Southern Section 4-A Division girls’ tennis playoffs, which begin today.

South Bay’s

Football Top 10

Selected by Times Sportswriters Rank, School, League: Record

1 Serra (Camino Real): 7-0

2 Carson (Pacific): 7-1

3 Hawthorne (Bay): 8-1

4 Banning (Pacific): 5-3

5 West Torrance (Pioneer): 8-1

6 Morningside (Ocean): 7-2

7 Leuzinger (Bay): 6-3

8 Mary Star (Santa Fe): 6-3

9 Rolling Hills (Ocean): 6-3

10 Torrance (Pioneer): 6-3