HIGH SCHOOL RECRUITS : Trippet Bound for Barry; 49ers Hit Pay Dirt in O.C.

It took a conversation with her dad and three days of prayer, but Marina’s Jessica Trippet finally reached a decision Wednesday as to where she is going to college.

Barry University in Miami Shores, Fla.

Trippet was one of just a handful of local basketball players who signed letters of intent on the first day of the late signing period to attend college in the fall.

Cal State Long Beach had a banner day with Orange County athletes, signing Marina’s Aimee Periolat and Dana Hills’ Adara Newidouski. Perhaps the most notable signing was Newport Harbor’s Michaela Ross, who will play at Cal Poly Pomona.

Unlike the others, whose decisions were made before the signing day, Trippet grappled with her choice, unable to pick between two Division II schools, Barry and Cal State San Bernardino.

Other universities she considered were Portland State and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

“It’s totally different from here,” Trippet said. “The school is private and the academics are incredible. Their No. 1 program is sports medicine, and I’ll either go into that or child psychology. The athletic facilities are real nice--the gym was built a couple of years ago.”

Long Beach struck gold with Newidouski, a 5-10 forward who averaged 16.1 points and 9.1 rebounds and was a Times first-team selection. Newidouski knew since late February that she was going to join the 49ers, and her decision didn’t hurt Long Beach’s chances with Periolat, a 5-7 guard who averaged 11.5 points and 5.0 assists. She will sign after her parents speak with the coaching staff on Friday.

Ross, a Times first-team selection, also made her decision well-known before the signing date, declaring her preference for Cal Poly Pomona. The 5-10 forward averaged 22.0 points and 7.6 rebounds.

Several other players are still undecided about their collegiate plans. Deana Itow of Huntington Beach and Joan Paje of Edison most certainly will not decide until next week. Itow, a 5-8 guard averaging 16.1 points, 8.3 assists and 5.0 steals, has received some interest from Oregon State and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, but is hoping to attract further attention in the Orange County All-Star Game April 24.

Paje, a 5-4 guard, is considering Cal State Dominguez Hills, Cal State San Bernardino Central Florida.

Molly Flint of Corona del Mar, a 5-5 guard who averaged 27.8 points, 8.6 rebounds and 4.5 assists and was a first-team Times All-County pick, has been accepted to Notre Dame, Georgetown, Boston College, St. Mary’s and Claremont-McKenna, but none offered an athletic scholarship. She will likely walk on to one of those women’s programs.

Capistrano Valley’s Stacy Howes didn’t know Wednesday if she was going to receive a scholarship to Ricks College in Rexburg, Ida., according to her mother, Cathi, but has committed to go there. She went through a tryout on Friday, but the school has just three scholarships to give. Howes averaged 12.2 points and 10.9 rebounds.

Troy’s Brandee Richardson (6-3) plans to walk on at Cal Poly Pomona. She averaged 9.6 rebounds and 8.7 rebounds.

Among local boys’ high school players, Mater Dei forward Terrence Wilborn was the only player to sign a letter of intent with a Division I school. Wilborn signed with San Jose State, where he had committed this year.

Sonora guard Chris St. Clair, a first-team Times’ All-County selection who averaged 21.9 points, is choosing between Boise State, Cal Poly Pomona, UC Irvine and Cal State Fullerton.

Capistrano Valley guard David Sedgwick, a first-team Times’ All-County selection, will attend Brigham Young next season as a walk-on.

Kennedy forward Jeff Cummins, a first-team All-County selection, is considering two Division III schools, Chapman and UC San Diego. Kennedy Coach John Mayberry said San Diego State is still considering offering Cummins a scholarship.

Los Alamitos guard Steve Carbone, a second-team All-County selection, is deciding between Texas Christian and Southern Methodist.

Huntington Beach point guard Bryan Chang has made a verbal commitment to Oral Roberts.

Swimmer John Simmons of El Toro will sign a letter of intent with Southern Methodist, his mother, Jean, said.

Simmons won the 100 and 200 backstroke in the Junior Nationals competition in Pasadena last summer.

Tennis player Eddie Weiss of Fountain Valley High said he will sign a letter of intent today with UC Santa Barbara and Jason DeVera of Villa Park has committed to play tennis at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. . . . Laura Westphal, the No. 2 singles player for Los Alamitos, which advanced to the Division II team final, signed with Washington State. . . . Teammate Susan Huberman, who compiled a record of 64-8 during her senior season playing at No. 1 singles, said Wednesday she plans to attend Princeton and will play tennis there.

Santa Margarita’s Katie Beattie celebrated her signing with Stanford in stylish fashion, pitching a no-hitter against Saddleback in a 14-0 softball victory. She is 2-2 this year.

Mater Dei guard Miles Simon and Huntington Beach forward Tony Gonzalez were ranked among the top 15 players at last week’s Pump Discovery Basketball Classic by college scout Joel Francisco of Long Beach.

Simon, a 6-4 junior, and Gonzalez, a 6-5 junior, stood out among the top juniors, sophomores and freshmen at the Pump camp last Friday and Saturday at Cal State Dominguez Hills.

Tustin guard Doug Gottlieb, a sophomore, and Saddleback junior forward Rob Holloway were among the sleepers at camp, Francisco said.

Times Staff Writers Dave McKibben and Mike Reilley contributed to this story.