Soaring Above the Competition : Calvary Chapel: Behind McFarland and Linsey, Eagles may have tallest front line in county.

On a clear day, you can see the twin towers rising north of the San Diego Freeway at the Fairview Road overpass.

No, the twin towers are not another high-rise office building sprouting out of the lima bean fields. Prospects for any new high-rise projects during the current recession are anything but good.

Prospects for Sunshine McFarland and Blythe Linsey--the twin towers of the nearby Calvary Chapel High School girls’ basketball team--however, are very good, indeed.

McFarland, a slender junior, stands 6 feet 4 1/2. Linsey, a husky sophomore, stands 6-3 3/4. Together, they might comprise the tallest front line in Orange County prep girls’ basketball.

“We consider ourselves to be the towers of originality,” McFarland said. “There’s nobody like us, that’s for sure.”

Under the tutelage of first-year Coach Dave Starr, the towering Eagle players could prove to be quite an obstacle for opposing teams and quite an eyeful for four-year college coaches.

“They’re going to be tough,” Starr promises. “Blythe has an intense desire to succeed. Sunshine is totally coordinated. They jump and do exactly as they’re told.”

Although Linsey pulled down 14.5 rebounds per game to rank 12th in the Southern Section last season, the towers did not have a significant impact on the prep scene as Calvary Chapel finished with a 9-14 record and fifth in the Arrowhead League.

“The basketball team last year wasn’t that good,” Linsey admitted. “But I know we’ll be good this year. We’re working really hard.”

McFarland, who lives in Huntington Beach, has been a student at Calvary Chapel, a primary and secondary school, since first grade. “I’ve been going here my entire life,” she said. “I didn’t know if I wanted to pursue basketball. Then a new coach (Starr) came. He’s instilled a lot of discipline. I respect him because he’s very strict and that has given me more desire.”

In contrast, Linsey, who resides in Cerritos, comes from the public schools.

“My mom wasn’t happy with the public schools because I was getting in a lot of trouble,” Linsey said. “She wanted to put me in a Christian school, so she put me here. I like this school compared to the public schools because the people here are a lot nicer.”

Linsey is definite about her basketball plans.

“My goal is to get a really good scholarship to a school like UCLA or UNLV,” she said emphatically. “I hope to go really far and get the most out of it. I have to improve on running. I’m big, but I need to run faster. Our drills have been helping a lot, and I’ve really been pushing myself.”

UCLA and UC Irvine are already aware of the two, according to Starr. “They both have about a 3.0 average (on a 4.0 scale), but I’d like to see some improvement in the classroom, too,” he said.

“Sunshine was ambiguous about basketball when I arrived,” Starr said. “But I think once she realizes how dominant she can be, she’ll become more motivated.”

Both girls are philosophical about their height, in spite of the fact they tower over most classmates.

“We feel very special at this school,” McFarland said. “Everybody knows us by our first names.”

“The guys kind of pick on us a lot because they don’t think we’re good enough to play, but we’ll show them this year,” Linsey said. “It’s a privilege to be tall, but I want to be good.”