PREP BASKETBALL ‘91-’92: SUNSET LEAGUE

FOUNTAIN VALLEY

1990 RECORDS: OVERALL: 18-10 LEAGUE: 9-3

COACH: Carol Strausburg RECORD AT SCHOOL: 242-120

RETURNING STARTERS YR. HGT. P Christina Coleman Sr. 6-0 F-C Michelle Kravik Sr. 5-11 F-C Julie Murdent Jr. 6-1 C Shilpa Shah Sr. 5-2 G

TOP RETURNERS YR. HGT. P Sally Nuruki Jr. 5-2 G Marsha Poepaart Sr. 5-3 G Kathleen Traw Jr. 5-9 F-C

TOP NEWCOMERS YR. HGT. P Gina Ybarra So. 5-8 F-C

OUTLOOK

With four returning starters from last year’s second-place team, Fountain Valley is one of the preseason favorites to win the league. “Their entire front line will cause problems for everyone,” Huntington Beach Coach Nick Bartlett said. The Barons’ front line includes the 6-foot-1 Murdent, 6-0 Coleman, and 5-11 Kravik. “We have some size, and our inside people have improved from last year,” Strausburg said. Shah, Nuruki, and Poepaart will be the guards Strausburg will depend on to get the ball inside. Although none of the returnees averaged scoring in double figures last season, Strausburg said the team’s confidence level is higher this season. That confidence will be tested early in the Gahr, Santa Barbara and Artesia tournaments. “Don’t expect us to show well in those tournaments,” Strausburg said. “We don’t match up well with those teams, but I think that experience will help us prepare for a better league season by playing those tough teams.” Strausburg says Marina is the team to beat, with the Barons, Edison, Huntington Beach and Ocean View also challenging for the title. “This has always been a very strong league, and nobody is going to walk away with the title.”