Martinez Will Lead Knights Into the Fray : Division II: Senior point guard has been the catalyst behind Bishop Montgomery’s run to state final.

Drawing as much from memory as common sense, Cedric Hurt made a decision when he became the Bishop Montgomery High girls’ basketball coach.

He decided that the quick little guard that caught his attention on game films--the same one he remembered from his days officiating grade-school contests--would handle the ball for the Lady Knights. And if Mirlen Martinez played like Hurt believed she could, Bishop Montgomery would be a force in her junior and senior seasons.

So far, Martinez has done nothing to prove Hurt wrong. The 5-foot-7 senior point guard is averaging 13.3 points, 5.5 assists and four rebounds a game and will lead the Knights (27-7) into the State Division II final against Hayward Moreau (30-2) tonight at 6:15 at Arco Arena in Sacramento.

“After watching films and seeing her style of play, I saw her as the player that needed to have the ball for us,” Hurt said. “With her intelligence and play-making capabilities, she needed to be running our offense. Her quickness was suited to the running style I wanted to employ, and there was never any doubt that she was the person we needed to have handling the ball.”

Moreau has won three consecutive Mission League titles and is playing in the state championship game for the second year in a row.

The Mariners are led by 5-8 senior point guard Kim Manifesto, who averages 15.3 points and is the Northern Section leader in career steals. She made 15 steals in a game this season and twice finished with 13 assists.

Junior guard Jennifer Kennedy averages 14.1 points and 5-9 center Michelle Wenzler, who averages 10.3, is the leading rebounder at 5.5. Senior guard Denise Noleroth averages 12.3 points and five rebounds.

Moreau tries to play an up-tempo style but is also effective in a half-court game because of Noleroth’s accurate outside shooting. At one point this season, the Mariners were averaging 25 steals per game.

In the postseason, the Knights have been playing an aggressive defense to complement their balanced scoring attack. Four Knight players average more than 10 points a game.

But somebody has to run the offense and get the ball to senior center Keisa Smith (16.2 points), guards Shelly Dungo (12.3) and Natalie Graham (11.6) or forward Nicole Haynes (9.7). Martinez has been that player.

“I understand that my role is to be the leader of the offense,” Martinez said. “I’m supposed to get the plays from coach and then direct the team out on the court. They say I’m basically supposed to be the quarterback out there.”

In Saturday’s Southern California Regional championship victory over Alemany, Martinez took three shots and managed only three points, but she had seven assists and five steals. Her only field goal came early in the fourth quarter and gave the Knights a nine-point lead. They eventually won the game, 45-44.

In Bishop Montgomery’s victory over Gahr in the regional semifinals, Martinez had 10 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals. With Martinez leading the fast break, Bishop Montgomery scored a surprisingly easy victory over one of the division’s top-ranked teams.

“She keeps us excited and ready to play,” Smith said. “She’s really enthusiastic out there and keeps the team together by being the leader on the floor.

“She really wants to win, and it feels like whenever she’s in the game we have a chance to win. We’ve never been blown out this year and have been in every game. A lot of that has to do with her leadership.”

In helping Bishop Montgomery reach the regional semifinals last season, Martinez averaged almost 15 points a game, although she was not thought to be a good shooter.

Hurt said Martinez, who has a 3.9 grade-point average, studies basketball as intently as her schoolwork. That, as much as anything, is contributing to her improvement.

“She’s a coach’s dream,” Hurt said. “You want 15 just like her on your team. She’s eager to learn and hungry for anything you want to teach her.

“She’s also very intelligent and is not afraid to speak her mind. The difference is she knows when to speak up at the right time. She won’t do it when she thinks it might hurt us.”

Martinez, Graham and senior Shauna Saiz all enjoying running the fast break, playing aggressive defense and battling bigger players for rebounds.

At times, with the three guards scurrying about, it appears the Knights are playing out of control. But Martinez said the Knights have the situation under control.

“I’m just very eager to play and I always want to be out there on the court,” she said. “Like everybody else on our team, I’m always trying to do my best and help us get a win.”

Martinez has a goal of 10 points, six rebounds and six assists each game. In the victory over Mission League rival Alemany, she was dissatisfied with her three-point game.

But Hurt said Martinez’s numbers can be deceiving.

“She may have scored just three points, but she did so many other things for us,” he said. “In fact, she’s matured so much in the last three games that it’s unbelievable. We’ve been running the same offense, but she’s become so much more observant.

“She starting to see when things aren’t working out there and is able to come to me and tell me what she sees. I really trust her judgment.”

A Hawthorne native, Martinez started playing basketball as a sixth-grader at St. Joseph’s Elementary School. Hurt first noticed her while officiating a St. Joseph’s game five years ago.

If it wasn’t for basketball, Martinez would probably devote more time to judo. A third-degree brown belt, she became interested in the sport from watching her parents, both of whom hold black belts.

Her brother Manuel also graduated from Bishop Montgomery and is now attending Penn State medical school.

Martinez is hopeful of earning a basketball scholarship and would like to become an accountant.

But at the moment, she only wants to win a state title.

“We all know that this is one of the biggest games of our lives,” she said. “But I’m not nervous. I’m just pumped up and ready to give 110 percent.”