Loyola Leaves Cellar Behind

When Julie Wilhoit became the women’s basketball coach at Loyola Marymount University in 1995, she inherited a team of mostly freshmen and sophomores and a program that had experienced only three winning seasons since its inception in 1981.

She and her staff endured five more lean seasons (41-96) while seeking players to match their vision. Last season, Wilhoit’s Lions finally roared.

Loyola Marymount won a school-record 21 games, against 10 defeats, and went 10-4 in West Coast Conference play. The Lions reached the WCC tournament championship game for the first time, losing 58-53 to St. Mary’s. They figured they should have received an NCAA bid--St. Mary’s was the only WCC team to get one--but still played in their first postseason game, losing to Oregon State in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament.

With four starters returning, among them first team All-WCC senior guard Bryn Britton, the Lions think they’re ready to be a Southland basketball power.

“I think it’s something we’ve been working on for a long time,” said Wilhoit, a two-time WCC coach of the year. “Now the snowball is getting bigger and bigger. And it is a lot more fun to be on this side of things than two years ago when we were scratching and crawling our way out of the cellar.”

Wilhoit started the turnaround by attracting talent like the 5-foot-11 Britton (15 points, 5.7 rebounds) and 6-2 sophomore Adrianne Slaughter (10 points, 6.8 rebounds), players who in the past might not have noticed Loyola Marymount.

“The only thing I knew about the school was the movie made on Hank Gathers,” Britton said. “But I didn’t know it was this Loyola, until I came, saw the Hank stuff, and put two and two together.”

Slaughter, from Englewood, Colo., said: “On my official visit, whenever I went somewhere the whole team was with me, which was different from visits to other schools. Here, I got to know everyone on the team and felt that I would fit in well with them.”

Even with a foundation of Britton, Slaughter, senior guard Rosa Bernasconi (9.8 points) and junior guard-forward Kate Murray (13.2), Wilhoit has a big hole to fill with the departure of point guard Taryn Reynolds, the team’s emotional leader.

Replacement candidates include returning sophomores Jasmin Matthews and Raelen Self, each of whom started several games last season, Riverside Community College transfer Claudine Auld, the Orange Empire Conference MVP last season, and incoming freshman Mary Turner.

There’s also the difficulty of following a big season. Opponents will be ready for the Lions this time.

Wilhoit is convinced, however, that her team’s success will not be short-lived.

“I don’t think [last season] was a fluke,” she said. “Our players definitely believe in themselves. They believe in our ability to win. Now we just have to do it consistently.”

Despite four consecutive 20-win seasons, including last year’s 20-11 team, some observers rate Pepperdine as a middle-of-the-pack WCC team. The Waves, led by guards Damaris Hinojosa (14.5 points), an all-conference selection, and Shandrika Lee (10.4 points), see themselves as the leading challenger to defending champion St. Mary’s.

It won’t be easy for Long Beach State to replace graduated Jackie Moore, the Big West Conference player of the year. But the 49ers have four seniors returning from last season’s 17-13 team, among them Ekuah Ramsey, a 5-10 forward (13.3 points, 75 steals) who was the conference defensive player of the year.

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Five-time Big West champion Santa Barbara has three starters returning from last season’s 22-9 squad. First and foremost is senior forward Kate Christensen (13.7 points, 7.6 rebounds), an All-Big West selection. More intriguing is 6-8 sophomore center Lindsay Taylor (10.6 points, six rebounds), who becomes a starter after a steady freshman season.

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Others to watch:

* UC Irvine tries to build on last season’s 16-14 record with five returning players. All-Big West pick Cindy Oparah, a 5-11 senior forward, led the conference in rebounding (8.4) while pacing the Anteaters in scoring (10.5).

* Cal State Fullerton hopes to rebound from a 1-27 season. Coach Barbara Ehardt, in her second year, has all five starters back, including leading scorer Tamara Quinn (11.3), a 5-7 sophomore guard.

* Is San Diego State ready to make a big move? The 13-15 Aztecs have their four top scorers back, led by junior guard Jamey Cox (10.7 points), and eight nonconference home games to get ready for Mountain West Conference action.

* Cal State Northridge posted a 9-18-1 record and placed sixth in its final Big Sky Conference season. Among the highlights was an upset of UNLV and a near upset of Virginia.The Matadors, led by 5-9 senior guard Sha’Tasha Allen (9.5 points), move to the Big West.

* UC Riverside moves up to Division I this season and also joins the Big West. Coach Jennifer Young has six returning seniors, among them guard Amy Houchens, last season’s leading scorer (14.3).

* Defending NCAA Division II champion Cal Poly Pomona, with four returning starters, is a strong favorite to win a third consecutive California Collegiate Athletic Assn. title. The Broncos, 27-3 last season, are led by 6-3 sophomore center Aprile Powell (16.8 points), who was the tournament’s outstanding player.