Notre Dame’s Aronin and University’s Collins Earn Top Honors : Girls’ team: Coach guided Regals to 8-0 Sunshine League record and 17-2 season. Warrior senior forward averaged 19 points a game in league play.

Notre Dame Academy Coach Ed Aronin took a struggling girls’ basketball program and elevated it to a new level during the 1991-92 season.

University High forward Alana Collins could outleap most of her opponents, but she earned her reputation as an aggressive player by frequently diving to grab a loose basketball.

For their accomplishments, Aronin has been named The Times Westside Coach of the Year and Collins is the Player of the Year.

It is the third time Collins has been selected to The Times All-Star team.

Other returning first-team selections are last season’s player of the year Joi Turner of St. Bernard, Nancy Culver of Notre Dame and Jennifer Nakanishi of Culver City.

Rounding out the team are Kim Cooper of Crossroads, Lisa Corona of Westchester, Eri Cronkite of Venice, Olympia Scott of St. Bernard, Kathleen Stewart of Marlborough and Julie Uhrman of Brentwood.

The 10-player team was selected based on ballots received from area coaches, who were asked to nominate their own players and opposing players and to select a coach of the year.

The players named to the first team along with their parents and coaches will be guests of The Times at an awards breakfast at 9 a.m. Sunday at the Guest Quarters Suite Hotel in Santa Monica.

Notre Dame finished the season 8-0 in the Sunshine League and was 17-2 overall. The Regals lost to Beaumont in the quarterfinals of the Southern Section IV-AA playoffs. It was the first time since 1948 that the Regals had reach the quarterfinals.

Since Aronin took over the program in 1990, the Regals have twice set a school record for most victories in a season. Notre Dame also earned its first-ever ranking in Southern Section polls and seeding in the playoffs.

“I inherited a team from last year that I thought maybe had a shot at winning a Southern Section championship and possibly a state championship,” Aronin said. “It takes so long to develop a team and we came a long way. I needed another year with the same girls.”

In a game against undefeated Marlborough, the Regals lost Culver in the first two minutes because of a knee injury. Although they had lost their leading scorer, Aronin guided Notre Dame to a 44-40 victory that helped it win the Sunshine League title.

Collins, a 5-10 senior, averaged 19 points a game in Western League play, 23 in Coastal Conference play and scored a game-high 30 points in a 68-58 City Section 3-A Division quarterfinal loss to Jefferson. She has narrowed her college choices to USC and Arizona State.

Although Warrior Coach Patricia Peisner kept track of Collins’ scoring, she could not keep up with the number of floor burns her standout player received chasing loose balls.

“Probably the most humorous thing about Alana was that she spent most of her playing time on the ground,” Peisner said. “She would come back to the bench with these cuts and bruises. It got to the point that we would have to tape up a half-dozen of her body parts to keep her in the game.”

Clearly, Collins was cut above the rest.

Here is a look at the rest of the players on the 1992 team:

Kim Cooper, Crossroads--Cooper, a 5-11 senior center, provided leadership and rebounding for a team that started four sophomores. Cooper, who averaged 16.6 points, had 816 rebounds to break Kim Turner’s school career record of 781 set from 1982-84. Crossroads finished 14-8 and lost in the first round of the Southern Section IV-A playoffs. Cooper, who has been accepted to Cal and UCLA, is hopeful of continuing her basketball career as a walk-on.

Lisa Corona, Westchester--Corona, a 5-11 senior center/forward, earned four varsity letters. She averaged 13.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and three assists a game. Corona helped the Comets improve from a 3-15 record in 1990-91 to a 17-6 record and Western League championship in 1991-92.

Eri Cronkite, Venice--A three-sport standout, Cronkite was selected to the first team All-City 3-A Division team this season in basketball and volleyball. She also competes in track. Cronkite averaged 12 points a game, but was better known for her ball-handling, rebounding and defense. “She was a real good leader on the court,” Coach Debra Dreier said. “She rarely made a mistake.”

Cronkite, a 5-10 senior center/forward, is hoping to continue playing at either Stanford or Loyola Marymount next season.

Nancy Culver, Notre Dame--Culver, a 5-6 guard, led the Regals in scoring, averaging 13.5 points. She spearheaded Notre Dame’s full-court press and averaged nearly three steals. Culver missed three games after suffering a knee sprain in a Sunshine League game against Marlborough and was at full strength during the playoffs. Culver also plays softball and wants to play both sports in college.

Jennifer Nakanishi, Culver City--Nakanishi, a 5-6 junior guard, has been selected to The Times All-Westside team for two consecutive seasons. Nakanishi might not have a classic jump shot, but she is a dangerous outside shooter. She led the entire Southern Section in three-point shots, making 74 of 216 attempts, and was the fourth-leading scorer in the Southern Section, averaging 25.1 points. The Centaurs finished third in the Ocean League and finished 16-10 overall after losing to Brea-Olinda in the quarterfinals of the Southern Section III-AA Division playoffs.

Nakanishi was selected co-most valuable player of the Ocean League.

Olympia Scott, St. Bernard--Scott, a 6-2 sophomore center, averaged 12.3 points, 11.9 rebounds and three blocked shots in her second season on the varsity. She was selected first team All-Mission League and was the most valuable player in the Norco and Hoover tournaments. She made two clutch free throws to give the Vikings a victory over league rival Bishop Montgomery. The Vikings finished 23-5 and lost to South Hills in the semifinals of the Southern Section III-A Division playoffs.

Kathleen Stewart, Marlborough--Stewart, a 5-9 junior point guard, provided the size and speed to make Marlborough (9-6, 4-3 in league play) a force in the Sunshine League. She averaged 16 points and 16 rebounds.

Joi Turner, St. Bernard--Turner, a 5-5 junior guard, had a outstanding season after being selected as The Times Westside Most Valuable Player last season. Turner, who can outrun most defenders, averaged 13.4 points, three steals and two assists. She was the most valuable player in the Mission League and is being recruited by UCLA, USC, Arizona, UC Irvine, Washington and Cal.

Julie Uhrman, Brentwood--Uhrman and her twin sister, Amy, led Brentwood to an 18-6 record, a Delphic League championship and a trip to the quarterfinals of the Southern Section V-AA playoffs, where the Eagles lost to Capistrano Valley Christian in overtime. Uhrman, a 5-6 senior forward, led the team in scoring with a 14-point average and was a first-team all-league selection. An outstanding outside shooter, Uhrman made two three-point baskets that led to overtime victories over Whitney and Crossroads. Julie and Amy Uhrman earned scholarships to play next season at Washington University in St. Louis.

Honorable-mention selections: Beverly Hills--Sasha Spalding, Genie Chen; Brentwood--Ebony Loeb, Amy Uhrman; Culver City--Shannon Nakamura, Sandi Woo; Harvard-Westlake--Angie Wong; Notre Dame--Veronica Guzman, Cyndi Pucik; Palisades--Denise Kuwabara, Ayana Wade; St. Bernard--Kelly Shimabukuro. Santa Monica--Maryam Gohari, Paula Nieman, Gail Teseroero. University--Michelle Matsumoto, Lindsey Robin; Westchester--Tomeka Evans, Wendi Gardenhire, Shantt Gibson.