Harbor College Reloads; El Camino Looks to Rebuild : Community colleges: Seahawk coach believes his team can improve on last season’s 28-4 record. Warriors hope to surprise opponents after 9-20 season.

Results were mixed for the area’s community college women’s basketball programs last season.

Harbor earned its second consecutive trip to the state semifinals and El Camino suffered through a season it would like to forget.

But as the 1993-94 season gets under way, the prospects appear promising for the Seahawks and Warriors.

Here’s a look at the teams:

HARBOR

Are the Seahawks even better than last season, when they had a school-best record of 28-4 and reached the state semifinals?

Coach Louie Nelson thinks the answer is a resounding yes.

“We’ve been so close and now we want to win the state,” Nelson said. “I don’t want people to say Harbor can’t win the big one. Once you go to the dance, you have to know how to party.”

Despite the departure of scoring leader Bridgete Williams, who transferred to Northwest Louisiana State after averaging nearly 40 points a game, the Seahawks are ranked second in the state in a preseason poll by Cal-Hi Sports News and fourth by the J.C. Athletic Bureau.

“The rankings are nice, but we still have to work hard to stay there,” Nelson said. “It’s nice to be ranked that high, but now we have to live up to the expectations.”

Sophomore guards LaTasha Burnett (5-foot-5), Kim Fraser (5-6) and JoAnne Williams (5-6), guard/forward Rachel Ooms (5-9) and center Lonneica Guillory (6-2) give Nelson plenty of depth. Burnett averaged 17 points, Fraser nine and Ooms eight last season.

Freshmen guards Lameshia Pittman (5-11) and Latrece Polk (5-3) from Banning High, freshman center Teresa Wiseman (6-2) from Lynwood and sophomore guard/forward Telana Courseault, a 5-8 transfer from Florida A & M who also played at Dorsey, are expected to contribute.

“I like to tell everyone this team may be as talented as any I’ve ever had, but they still have to learn to play together,” Nelson said.

The Seahawks may have given an indication of their talent during the season-opening Chaffey College tournament last week. Harbor won the tournament, defeating third-ranked Golden West and fifth-ranked Ventura.

“It was a good tournament to judge where we are,” Nelson said. “We just can’t get complacent about things. It’s only three games and we’ve still got a long way to go.”

EL CAMINO

After finishing 9-20 last season, Coach Kristy Loesener thinks the Warriors may be ready to surprise opponents.

“Some teams already know who we have coming out,” Loesener said. “But we pretty much have a whole new team out there, so I think we’re going to surprise some people who expect us to be like last year.”

With two starters returning, along with three redshirts who were standouts on the school’s 1991-92 squad that reached the state quarterfinals, the Warriors expect to be vastly improved.

The returning players are guard Stephanie Duke (5-5) and guard/forward Tiffany Matsumura (5-7). But the team’s best players may be 6-0 sophomores Crystal Fields, Shasta Paris and Dee Searle.

The players sat out last season because of academic problems. Paris averaged 16 points as a freshman and Fields 12. Both are regarded as Division I prospects.

Loesener also recruited 5-5 point guard Teisha Smith, who competed in track and did not play basketball at North Torrance High.

“She doesn’t have a lot of experience, but she’s probably the best athlete I’ve had so far,” Loesener said. “She sees the floor so well and can also jump and rebound well.”

Among other top freshmen for the Warriors are guard Leslie Mukogawa (5-7) from North, forward/center Karen Kasper (6-0) from West Torrance and guard Jocelyn Correll (5-4) from Woodland Hills Taft.

Loesener sees a lot of depth on her team.

“We have 15 players on our roster and I feel confident to go with at least 13 at any time,” she said. “It gives us a lot of options.”

The Warriors’ South Coast Conference schedule will be challenging. It includes home-and-home matchups against Harbor and sixth-ranked Cerritos.