Promising Stars Are Poised to Take Center Stage : Girls’ prep basketball: Loara’s Titus, Brea-Olinda’s Williams among those in a talented crop of players.

With the dawning of another Southern Section girls’ basketball season, it’s time to take inventory of the talent pool to see who will shoot, rebound or steal--the ball, that is--their way into the headlines this year.

Many of those who did so last season are gone, ready to showcase their wares for college crowds. La Quinta’s scoring machine Amy Jalewalia, for instance, is at UCLA. Brea-Olinda’s all-everything guard Aimee McDaniel has moved on to Pepperdine, and Marina’s three-point specialist Melisa Sortino is at the University of San Diego.

Now it’s time for last year’s outstanding underclassmen, who labored in the shadows of Jalewalia & Co., to take center stage.

Here are some of the top players in that talented crop:

FRONT ROW, CENTER

Tracy Titus (6-2, senior, Loara)--An all-section Division II second-team selection and Times’ all-county honorable mention in 1989-90, Titus is being recruited by several major universities. She averaged 16.6 points and 10.9 rebounds last season and helped the Saxons to the semifinals of the Division 4-AA championships.

Jinelle Williams (5-9, senior, Brea-Olinda)--Did not receive as much recognition as her more-publicized teammates (McDaniel, guard Tammy Blackburn and forward Jody Anton), but Williams played an integral part in getting the Lady Cats to the Division 3-AA state final. She averaged 15.5 points and was first-team all-section Division III.

Zrinka Kristich (6-5, junior, La Habra)--One of the premier girl volleyball players in the county, Kristich is an equally imposing figure on the basketball court. She averaged 13 points and was a first-team all-Freeway League selection last season. Sister Ana is a senior forward on the team.

Heather Flaherty (6-0, senior, Corona del Mar)--An all-Sea View League selection last season, Flaherty averaged 14 points and 15.3 rebounds.

Deanna Harry (6-2, senior, Woodbridge)--She averaged 12.5 points and was fourth among county rebounders with a 14-rebounds-per-game average. Harry was an all-section Division II second-team selection and the Pacific Coast League’s MVP.

THE FRONT LINERS

Leslie Ferguson (6-0, senior, La Habra)--Ferguson was the leader of the team that was the class of the Freeway League and reached the Division 4-A quarterfinals last season. She was named the league’s MVP after averaging 15.8 points and 10.9 rebounds.

Ana Kristich (6-1, senior, La Habra)--One of the primary reasons La Habra won the Freeway League title last year. She is one of the county’s top rebounders with an average of 10.4 per game. Kristich made the all-Freeway League first team. Her sister, Zrinka, is the Highlanders’ center.

Jody Anton (5-11, junior, Brea-Olinda)--Named to the 1990-91 Street & Smith magazine All-American high school team, Anton was an all-section Division III selection in 1989-90. Although she only averaged 11.1 points, Rancho Alamitos Coach Bob Becker said she’s the best player in Orange County.

Joyce Pea (5-10, senior, Magnolia)--Among the county scoring leaders with a 14.1 average, she is a good player on a weak team.

Belinda Taub (5-11, junior, Woodbridge)--She averaged 10 points and seven rebounds last season.

Heather Brannan (5-11, senior, La Quinta)--Brannan combined with Jalewalia to spark La Quinta’s offense last season, when she averaged 15 points and 11.8 rebounds.

Jana Davis (5-8, senior, Huntington Beach)--An all-Sunset League selection last season, she collected 200 rebounds for the Oilers in 1989-90.

BACKCOURT GEMS

Olivia DiCamilli (5-10, sophomore, Costa Mesa)--Perhaps the best guard in the county, if not the section, DiCamilli averaged 14.8 points and 11 rebounds in leading the Mustangs to the Division 3-A title last season. She was selected to the all-section Division III and all-Pacific League first teams.

Rachel Ward (5-11, senior, Costa Mesa)--Teamed with DiCamilli, Ward gives Costa Mesa a potent backcourt. She averaged 10.8 points and made the all-section Division III second team and the all-Pacific Coast League first team.

Valerie Ruiz (5-1, senior, Kennedy)--A four-year varsity player and two-time all-Garden Grove League selection, Ruiz averaged 19.3 points last season. “(She’s) one of the best point guards in the county,” Kennedy Coach Pat O’Hern said.

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK

Nicole Erickson (5-6, freshman guard, Brea-Olinda)--Lady Cats Coach Mark Trakh calls her the best freshman in the state.

Julie Murdent (6-0, sophomore center, Fountain Valley)--Baron Coach Carol Strausburg tabs her as a potential all-county player, as does Marina Coach Pete Bonny.

OTHERS TO WATCH

--Martha Hernandez (5-7, sophomore guard, La Habra).

--Lynly Matsumoto (5-6 sophomore guard-forward, Kennedy).

--Carrie Elsaesser (6-3, senior center, Los Amigos).