JUNIOR COLLEGE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL PREVIEW : Michelson and Valley Primed for Another Big Season

Rarely will a coach put his or her reputation on the line and predict a championship or even a playoff berth before the season.

Instead, one is left to read between the lines when coaches such as Doug Michelson ever-so cautiously talk about expectations for their teams.

“We certainly have a solid foundation,” said Michelson, who directs the Valley College women’s basketball team. “Size, speed, youth and experience. We’ve got all our component parts that are necessary.”

Considering that Michelson’s past four Valley teams have made it to the final four of the state junior college tournament, such talk sounds a bit more ominous to Monarch opponents.

Valley, runner-up to Golden West in last season’s state tournament, starts the new campaign where it left off--rated one notch below the Rustlers.

“Their talent is deep,” said Ventura Coach Ned Mircetic, who watched Valley defeat four-year school Azusa Pacific in a recent scrimmage. “I think they’re a little bit better than last year.”

Valley, last season’s Western State Conference South Division champion, has four players back from that team, including guard Katina Mines, a second-team all-conference selection.

Mines, a 5-foot-9 sophomore from Sylmar High, is Valley’s top defensive player and an accurate shooter from three-point range. Last season, she averaged 10 points a game.

“When she came out of high school she was a three-point shooter exclusively with an abundance of raw talent,” Michelson said of Mines. “Over the past year and a half she has developed into a complete player.”

Mines also has a talented supporting cast. Forward Wendy Bruse is back after averaging 7.5 points and 6.5 rebounds. So is guard Falicia Stanley, who averaged eight points and 2.7 assists.

On the front line, Valley boasts depth beginning with redshirt freshmen Stacie Toon (back from knee surgery) and Andrea Hoffman, along with freshmen Amy Horst and Julie Nelson. At 5-11, Nelson is the shortest of the group.

Michelson also turned in a recruiting coup by securing the services of three All-City players from Roosevelt High’s City 3-A Division championship team--guards Rosa Mendez, the 3-A player of the year; Angie Quezada and forward Luscinda Silva.

Here, listed alphabetically, are the other area teams:

ANTELOPE VALLEY (10-15)

Paula Page (17.1 points, 11.8 rebounds) and Krischele Gill (11.2 points), a pair of All-Foothill Conference selections, are back for second-year Coach Jackie Lott.

Page, a 6-1 forward out of Quartz Hill High, is among the region’s best players. Lott also has freshman guard Charley Johnson, an All-Southern Section choice from Quartz Hill.

Freshman Sasha Garrison from Palmdale High is a 6-foot forward who could make an immediate impact.

CANYONS (15-16)

First-year Coach Debby Blanchard, a former assistant at Ventura, takes over the Cougar program with three returning players and eight first-year players to work with.

Among those who are back is Shannon Solway, a 5-9 1/2 wing who averaged 14.6 points, 9.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists for the Cougars.

Solway will be supported by returning guard Kim Fischer and Point Loma Nazarene transfer Mica Saferite, a 6-foot forward.

Guards Renata Varrusa and Jackie Hearne are among Canyons’ top freshmen.

GLENDALE (0-22)

This time Vaquero Coach Kathy Pudelko doesn’t have to beg volleyball players and cross-country runners to come out for the team. The second-year coach has a group of nine players--all with basketball experience--who plan to make last season’s 0-22 record a distant memory.

“There will be a lot of improvement,” Pudelko said. “These kids have all played basketball and we’re just going to get out and try to play the best basketball we can.”

Guard Stephanie Ball from Duarte High gives Glendale a solid ballhandler who can shoot from the outside. Sweden’s Lisa Bjornberg (5-foot-9), who can play either forward or guard, and freshman guard Denise Dal Ponte are expected to contribute offensively.

The Vaqueros will get a significant boost when guard Jeanna Barsamian completes the volleyball season for Glendale.

MOORPARK (30-5)

The winds of change swept through Moorpark during the off-season. Coach Gary Abraham was hired as boys’ basketball coach at Channel Islands High and Mike Johnson stepped in to direct Moorpark.

Most of the players on last season’s team were sophomores, but Johnson is confident that this year’s group can carry on a winning tradition.

Point guard Lisa Huffaker, the lone sophomore, started and averaged 10 points and five assists in ‘90-91.

Moorpark’s top freshman is Simi Valley High product Lori Church, a 5-10 forward who will be counted on to provide a good deal of offense.

Johnson expects much from 5-9 forward Tamara Pacheco, another Simi Valley graduate. Pacheco is a skilled rebounder and is one of the team’s top defenders.

PIERCE (21-10)

Coach Al Silver did not have much time to recruit after being hired as coach of the Brahmas last summer, but he does have one of the area’s top returning players--Yolanda Davidian, a 5-10 forward from La Canada High.

Davidian, a second-team All-WSC South Division selection, averaged 12.5 points and seven rebounds.

Pierce, which made the playoffs as an at-large team last season, also picked up capable scorers in forwards Maria Vasquez (5-9) and Rae Lynn Gentry (5-7), both of whom played at Antelope Valley College in 1988-89. Another forward, Shannie Samuel (formerly Shannie Smith), was a standout at Thousand Oaks High three years ago. Samuel also plays for the softball team.

OXNARD (7-18)

Nicole Force, last season’s conference scoring leader, is now at UC Riverside so the Condors will look to implement a balanced offensive attack under Alex Flores, in his second year as coach.

Monica Flores, a 5-4 guard and the coach’s niece, is the lone returning starter from last season’s squad. She will be counted on to score from the outside along with newcomers Monica Malban and Laura Stark. Flores’ top recruit is Oxnard High product Karen Revelez, who at 5-7 is the team’s tallest player.

VENTURA (21-11)

Under the guidance of Ned Mircetic, the WSC North Division coach of the year last season, the Pirates gained a share of the division title and reached the Southern California regional finals--in which they lost to eventual state champion Golden West in overtime.

Ventura has only one starter back from that team, but that player happens to be one of the area’s top scorers--All-WSC forward Venessa Hackett (18.9 points, 11.9 rebounds, 50.2 field-goal percentage).

The problem is that Hackett is also a standout on Ventura’s playoff-bound volleyball team and Mircetic said the 5-9 sophomore could miss the first 10 games.

But Ventura has plenty of talent to fill the temporary void. Sophomore Toschia Ruffin, a part-time player last year, and Tebe Bowls, a 5-9 sophomore who played for the Pirates two years ago, will be the forwards.

Ventura High graduate Cori Herman, a Division II All-State shooting guard in high school, is expected to make an immediate impact.

Top Returning Players

Player School Pos. Ht. Wendy Bruse Valley F 6-0 Yolanda Davidian Pierce F 5-10 Venessa Hackett Ventura F 5-9 Lisa Huffaker Moorpark G 5-6 Katina Mines Valley G 5-9 Paula Page Antelope Val. F 6-1 Shannon Solway Canyons G 5-9

Player 1990-91 Statistics Wendy Bruse 7.5 points a game, 6.5 rebounds Yolanda Davidian 12.5 points, 7 rebounds Venessa Hackett 18.9 points, 11.9 rebounds Lisa Huffaker 10 points, 5 assists Katina Mines 10 points Paula Page 17.1 points, 11.8 rebounds Shannon Solway 14.6 points, 9.3 rebounds