COLLEGE BASKETBALL NCAA WOMEN’S TOURNAMENT : Spotlight Still Shines on Leslie : Trojans: Expectations have never let up on the 6-foot-5 sophomore.

Stand tall. Put your shoulders back. Be proud of your stature.

Those were the lessons, among many others, that Christine Leslie taught her daughter, Lisa, when she kept growing up and up in Inglewood, before finally topping out at 6 feet 5. This was long before the family surname became synonymous with the words dunk and 101 points . Back then, the preteen Lisa was better known for not playing basketball.

Even without a basketball in one hand, her height and steely poise scared people. And once Leslie started going to the hoop in seventh grade, she single-handedly created an epidemic of teen-age angst among her opponents. One high schooler even decided the bench was better than taking on Leslie.

But there is more to the person who once scored 101 points in one half in high school, or the steadily improving sophomore center/forward who has helped revive USC’s basketball fortunes enough to secure a spot in tonight’s West Regional semifinals in Seattle at 6:30 against No. 4-ranked Stephen F. Austin.

Stanford, ranked third, plays No. 12 Texas Tech in the other semifinal.

Lisa Leslie wants the world to know some other things about her. To watch Lisa on the basketball court isn’t to know Lisa, she maintains.

“People have the wrong impression of me,” Leslie said. “In a way, they can get intimidated because of my height, the way I walk, the way I dress or the way I talk. That, by itself, is enough.”

Leslie knows what goes through others’ minds when they first spot her on or off the court, saying: “People just cringe and it’s like, ‘Oh my God, here she comes.’

“It’s because of my height. I don’t slouch over. And I have a lot of confidence. It may come across as confident equals cocky. Which isn’t true. That’s the way my mom taught me: Don’t be ashamed of being tall. Be proud.”

Stanford’s Tara VanDerveer coached Leslie last summer in the World University Games at Sheffield, England, and enjoyed working with her. Which is why VanDerveer was surprised by a fan’s comment during USC’s second-round victory over Montana at Lyon Center Sunday.

“Someone even said to me, ‘God, what an attitude she has out there,’ ” VanDerveer said. “I said, ‘You’ve got to be kidding. She has a great attitude.’ ”

Leslie finished with 15 points, 14 rebounds and one spectacular blocked shot to help turn the game around. What else was she supposed to do? Smile during the whole game?

For Leslie, it hasn’t been easy to meet everyone’s expectations. Even in high school, she was projected to be the Cheryl Miller of the 1990s, the designated star who could lead women’s basketball to greater national popularity.

Miller took USC to national titles in her first two seasons. But almost everyone seems to forget that when Miller stepped on the court she would look one way and see standouts Pam and Paula McGee, then glance another way and see Rhonda Windham or Cynthia Cooper.

As for Leslie, who averaged 20.6 points a game this season, she joined a program in transition. The Trojans went 8-19 the season before she arrived, which was Marianne Stanley’s first as coach. In Leslie’s freshman season, she averaged 19.4 points, and the Trojans more than doubled their victory total, finishing 18-12, and reached the NCAA’s second round.

Now, the No. 23-ranked Trojans (22-7) are in the Sweet 16 for the first time in four years. But no matter what Leslie does on the court, it almost never seems to be enough in some circles. Several coaches--all off the record--say she should be playing better, doing more. The casual fan asks: Why hasn’t she dunked yet?

“I don’t think it’s fair,” VanDerveer said. “You have to let her prove herself. She’s young. More than anything else, women’s coaches and writers are looking for a star. Whenever they feel a star is not shining as bright as they think it should, they start wondering why.”

Stanley has a succinct explanation on why expectations are so high, saying: “When you score 101 points, you come across as superhuman, you can do anything. When you’re not doing that, people think you’re not playing hard.”

Said Leslie: “I just try to take the role and put it in a positive way. Sometimes people look at the game only in the amount of points I’m scoring. If I don’t score a lot of points, I’m not having a good game. That may not necessarily be true.”

Another major concern for her is the adjustment to a more physical game. Leslie is on a weight program, attempting to break away from being just a finesse player.

And she’s trying to stay out of foul trouble, which isn’t easy. Last season, she had nearly four fouls a game and fouled out nine times. Leslie has cut it down, a bit, fouling out seven times this season.

“You feel like when you get to college, you should be able to play a little rougher,” she said. “I couldn’t wait to get out of high school--just to get out of foul trouble, dang it. It seems like they have my number right from the beginning.

“It’s frustrating. That can be overwhelming because I feel like there’s no player that can stop me. The only person that can stop me or make me have a bad game is the referees.”

The last time Leslie played in Seattle she didn’t exactly log a great deal of playing time, only 12 minutes. She fouled out early, but her teammates went on to pull out a 62-58 victory over Washington.

Leslie even made fun of herself when asked about playing again at Hec Edmundson Pavilion. “Everyone should be comfortable here--except for me,” she said.