Jalewalia Now Makes Her Mark on Court by Preventing Points : College basketball: As first player off bench for UCLA women, former La Quinta scoring star has picked up defensive intensity.

When Amy Jalewalia was a senior at La Quinta High School, her offense took the Aztecs to the Southern Section 4-A championship in 1990.

But at UCLA, the 6-1 sophomore forward’s forte is defense.

“All I’m out there to do is play good defense and whatever I can contribute on the offensive end is a bonus,” Jalewalia said from Boulder, Colo., where the unranked Bruins will face No. 10 Southwest Missouri State (29-2) in an NCAA Midwest Regional semifinal game today. “I think I’ve held my own (defensively.)”

Jalewalia was the state’s leading scorer as a junior, averaging 32.4 points during 1988-89 season. She was second as a senior with a 34.2 average and set a county girls’ single-game record--since broken--with 60 points. The Aztecs won four Garden Grove League titles Jalewalia’s high school career.

“She put us on the map,” said Kevin Kiernan, who coached Jalewalia at La Quinta and is now the school’s boys’ coach. “She’s a very good athlete, tall and very quick. She played every position for us, handled the ball well and could shoot the three-pointer. She had more versatility than any player I ever coached.”

Jalewalia knew the college game would be different than high school, but said she, “was prepared” for the transition both to a higher level and an emphasis on defense and rebounding. A starter in 27 of the Bruins’ 28 games as a freshman, Jalewalia averaged 7.6 points as UCLA went 15-13.

Jalewalia found there was a “quantum leap” in talent level between the high school and college games. The single biggest difference was defense.

“In high school, you can get by with (a minimal effort) but here there’s no way,” Jalewalia said. “It took me all last year to learn and understand our defense.”

Said UCLA Coach Billie Moore: “The biggest part of the transition has to do with learning the intensity it takes to play night in and night out at this level. The thing we’ve been working on with Amy is trying to get her a little more consistent.”

Jalewalia was a starter for the first eight games this season, but moved to the bench when Natalie Williams joined the team after leading the volleyball team to the NCAA championship.

“Amy had not been as consistent (as Lynn Kamrath) in starting,” Moore said. “I thought it would help her to sit and watch the game and see what was happening and then give us a lift. I always say it’s not nearly as important who starts the game, as it is who’s on the floor when the game is being decided. Amy been on the floor a lot when the game is being decided.”

Jalewalia especially proved her worth when leading scorer Rehema Stephens sustained a possible stress fracture in her left foot Feb. 29.

“We relied a whole lot on Amy because she’s the (first) person off the bench,” said Stephens, who sat out one game and had her playing time limited in five others since being injured. “We expect a lot out of her and she’s dealing with it very well.”

As UCLA has improved to a 21-9 record, Jalewalia has improved as well.

“Amy has gone through some peaks and valleys,” Moore said. “The difference between this year and last year are that her peaks are much higher meaning she’s had more productive games and her valleys are not as low. Even when she has a bad game, she’s still been able to contribute and make somewhat of an impact. The best part is the peaks and valley been few and fewer.”

In the tournament, Jalewalia scored 21 points, all in the second half, in the Bruins’ 93-72 victory over Notre Dame March 18 and three in Sunday’s 82-81 upset of No. 19 Texas. Jalewalia is averaging 9.3 points.

“She got her points against Notre Dame by filling the lanes and going to the boards,” Moore said. “Even though she wasn’t as productive point-wise against Texas, I thought she played as strong if not a stronger game. She did a really nice job on defense, was much more active for us on the boards, filled the lanes and helped us force the tempo.”

Moore is most optimistic about Jalewalia’s future.

“I though she was good in high school, but I’ve become even more impressed about how much talent she has,” Moore said. “If she can learn to utilize that and get the mind-set that this is the kind of level she wants to play it, she has a tremendous two years ahead of her.”

Times staff writer Pete Thomas contributed to this story.