JUNIOR COLLEGE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL PREVIEW : Taylor Expected to Drum Up Another Contender at Valley

They have changed the head drummer, but the Valley College women’s basketball team probably won’t miss a beat this season.

For the past five seasons, John Taylor sat by Doug Michelson and watched the veteran coach guide the Monarchs to five Western State Conference South Division championships. But Michelson, who was 185-29 in six seasons with the team, is now the men’s coach at the school and Taylor has taken over the women’s program.

“It’s a lot different,” said Taylor, an All-East Valley League player at Poly High in 1980 who later played at Pierce College. “It’s a heck of a lot more responsibility. I feel I’ve learned from the best.”

Taylor said he has tried to follow the same principles and style fashioned by Michelson, a formula that produced an average of 30 victories per season since 1987-88.

“My philosophy is pretty much the same,” Taylor said. “The strategy is to go as fast for as long as you can. You want a fast-paced, up-tempo game, with high scoring and a really tough, tenacious defense.”

To accomplish that, Taylor is counting on five returners--including three who redshirted last season--and a host of sharp freshmen. Here is the rundown:

VALLEY

* Coach: John Taylor, 1st season

* 1992-93: 30-5

Leading the returning players is 5-foot-9 sophomore guard Nicole Baynes, an All-City player at Grant who averaged 11.3 points for Valley in conference play last season.

“Nicole is probably the best returning player in the conference,” Taylor said. “She’s a complete player.”

Guard Rosa Mendez, who led the team in scoring during the regular season with a 15.6 average and in assists with 159, was the division’s most valuable player. But Mendez is redshirting at Cal State Los Angeles.

Taylor needs Baynes and others to fill the scoring void. One who could help is 5-8 freshman Nikki Hamilton, an All-City selection at North Hollywood two seasons ago who was sidelined most of last season because of a knee injury that required surgery.

Hamilton also lost the ring finger of her shooting right hand while scaling a chain-link fence in high school, but Taylor said neither injury seems to have a lingering effect.

Two other former All-City players, 6-2 center Cicely Brewster from Van Nuys and 5-8 forward Shelise Tillman from Granada Hills, are expected to contribute. Brewster is a transfer from Cal State Long Beach, where she redshirted last season, and Tillman is a returner moving from a backup role to the forefront.

Three players who redshirted at Valley last season, 5-6 guard Vonya Dangerfield from Van Nuys, 5-10 forward Tomeka Evans from Westchester and 6-1 center Yvonne Zandi from Granada Hills, are among those Taylor thinks will contribute noticeably. Evans is returning from knee surgery and Dangerfield is the fastest player on the roster.

“I definitely feel we are the team to beat (in the division),” Taylor said.

“People might think they’ll come in and beat us now that the veteran coach is gone, but they’ll be sadly mistaken.”

CANYONS

* Coach: Greg Herrick, 2nd season

* 1992-93: 12-19

Three excellent returners and three talented recruits form the nucleus of a Cougar team that Herrick believes has a good chance of improving on last season’s record.

The backcourt is the most experienced and strongest part of the team. Point guard Terra Bruessel was second in the state in assists last season with 274, and Lisa Hilton, who led the WSC in three-point baskets with 64, is one of the team’s top shooters. Hilton averaged 10.9 points last season.

Former Alemany High standout Rachel Corelli, who did not attend college last year, adds depth at point guard.

At forward, the Cougars have two freshmen who Herrick says have all-conference potential. One is 5-9 Rebekah Cunnan from Webb High and the other is 5-8 Carlisa Hamagaki from St. Genevieve.

“Carlisa and Rebekah run the floor as well as anyone I have coached,” Herrick said.

Herrick is so pleased with their play that Karen Sklar, a starting forward who averaged 12.7 points, has been relegated to a backup role. Lori Leon, a 5-9 transfer from Valley, and Janice Van Mourik, a 6-1 sophomore from Hart who redshirted last season, will platoon at center.

GLENDALE

* Coach: Kathy Pudelko, 4th season

* 1992-93: 11-17

The Vaqueros, 5-11 in WSC play last season, have a young team and might struggle to better that mark.

Only two players with ample floor time return. Both contributed more with their work under the boards than with their shooting.

Forward Makela Theriault, a 5-10 sophomore from Verdugo Hills High, was second on the team in rebounding with 109, and 5-11 post Kara Fitzgerald was right behind with 103.

Pudelko has some size to work with this season and perhaps the Vaqueros can exploit that advantage.

“We’ll have a strong inside game that we hope will be complemented by our outside shooting,” she said.

Sisters Judith (6-1 center) and Monika Nagy (6-foot center-forward) from Glendale High and 5-9 sophomore forward Leanne Poe from Franklin High allow the Vaqueros to match up with most teams.

MOORPARK

* Coach: Lisa Ziegler, 2nd season

* 1992-93: 9-18

Only one player returns for the Raiders and Ziegler is hoping the 11 freshmen on the squad can adjust to college ball quickly.

“They have the ability and the skills, but the experience is not there,” she said. “If they learn fast, we could be OK. All the teams in the (North) division look young.”

Team captain Laura Brown, a 5-9 guard who averaged 4.7 points, is the only player back from last season’s team. She is joined by several promising newcomers, including guards Joy Garcia and Misty Goodnight from Camarillo, forwards Janette Oriza from Edison in Huntington Beach and Lisa Church from Simi Valley, and centers Natalie Gutierrez from Royal and Andrea Knox from Thousand Oaks.

Ziegler said the 5-6 Garcia could be an outside shooting threat and Church, who is 5-11, should help with inside scoring.

Church’s older sister, Lori, was second on the team in scoring last season with a 16.5 average, behind Tamara Pacheco’s 19.6-point average. Lori Church and Pacheco graduated.

OXNARD

* Coach: Alex Flores, 4th season

* 1992-93: 5-22

Although short on size and perhaps in talent, the Condors have some interesting personnel.

Among the newcomers this season are a forward who hadn’t played competitive basketball for about a decade--Carol Maldonado--and a guard--Silvia Negrete--who is 36 years old.

Maldonado, who redshirted at Oxnard about 10 years ago, is back on the court and so is the 5-5 Negrete, who played high school ball in Michoacan, Mexico.

They are teaming with twins Claudia (5-8 guard) and Carol Barrios (5-8 forward), freshmen from Oxnard, and returners Blanca Rodriguez, Edith Bradley and Karen Reveles in an effort to help the Condors rebound from a 2-12 conference record.

Flores expects the three returners to carry the offensive load.

Rodriguez, a 5-7 guard, led the team in scoring in conference play with a 13.0 average and Bradley, a 5-11 guard and the tallest player on the squad, followed at 12.2.

PIERCE

* Coach: Kevin Keller, 2nd season

* 1992-93: 7-20

It’s always a give-away sign of hard times ahead when a coach says things like, “We’ll give it our best shot every night,” but at least Keller is not blinded by false expectations.

The Brahmas are coming off a forgettable season in which they were 3-13 in WSC play, and that was despite the play of Yolanda Davidian. An all-conference center, Davidian was ninth in the state in scoring with a 22.6 average and fifth in rebounds at 14.1.

But Davidian graduated and Keller has the chore of trying to find a scorer from a young group that features only three returnees.

Among those expected to contribute offensively are Angela Rich, a 5-3 guard from El Camino Real who was fourth in the conference in assists last season with 138, and 5-6 sophomore Michelle Brewer from Reseda.

The Brahmas lack size--5-11 sophomore center Annette Covany, a transfer from Valley, is the tallest player and only one of two players 5-10 or taller--and will depend on speed and defense to compete.

“We are small and quick,” Keller said. “We’ll try to run and gun. We are definitely not a half-court type of offensive team. We’ll stress man-to-man defense.”

VENTURA

* Coach: Ned Mircetic, 4th season

* 1992-93: 27-5

Despite the loss of the team’s two top scorers to graduation, Mircetic sees another good season ahead. “This is probably the most competitive team I’ve had,” Mircetic said.

Under Mircetic, the Pirates are 73-21 the past three seasons. They were 16-0 in the WSC last season, 10-0 in the North Division and lost to eventual champion Lassen in the semifinals of the state championships.

Gone are center Nicole Ellis (18.3 points and 11.5 rebounds during regular season) and guard Cori Herman (18.4 points and 4.0 assists), the catalysts of the 1992-93 team.

Mircetic is looking to 5-8 sophomore guard Tara Sanders, newcomer Julie Hardy and several returners.

Sanders, from Santa Paula, averaged 11.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists at Ventura last season. Hardy, a 5-11 forward from Buena, might develop into the team’s top gun.

“(Hardy) is a very good offensive player,” Mircetic said.

Others who figure to play key roles are returners 5-8 guard Vickie Franklin, 5-7 forward Kam Rigsby, 5-6 guard Andrea Williams and 5-6 guard Camisca Hawkins. Williams and Hawkins redshirted last season.

Perhaps the major weakness for the Pirates is their size--or lack of it. Only three players are 5-10 or taller.

“We might be the smallest and tiniest team in the state,” Mircetic said.

ANTELOPE VALLEY

* Coach: Jackie Lott, 4th season

* 1992-93: 16-13

Five players--three from last year’s team and two from the 1991-92 squad--return to give the team a good foundation.

That quintet includes Charley Johnson, a 5-6 point guard from Quartz Hill who sat out last season but who averaged 15.5 points, 5.2 assists and 3.3 steals for the Marauders two seasons ago when they won the Foothill Conference title.

Forward Margo Stanley (8.7 points and 7.8 rebounds) also returns to the team after a one-season absence.

Back from a team that finished third in the conference with an 8-4 record are 5-10 forward Vatrice Fletcher, 5-9 forward Vernessa Nelson and 5-5 guard Niani Dunn.

Fletcher was fifth in scoring on the team at 6.7 points per game and averaged 5.0 rebounds. Nelson averaged 1.9 points and Dunn 1.2. Both are from Las Vegas--Nelson played at Rancho High and Dunn at Valley High.

Another Nevada recruit, 5-5 freshman point guard Tonya Green from Las Vegas High, and 5-7 freshman swingman Shannon Nash from Quartz Hill look like solid scoring threats.

Nash scored 23 points and Green added 20 in the Marauders’ 77-56 nonconference victory over Santa Barbara City in the team’s season opener last Friday.