Louisville’s Girls on Run Again in Southern Section Basketball : In Laker Mold, Speed Is Boss in San Fernando

Brian O’Hara, girls basketball coach at Louisville High, patterns himself after Lakers Coach Pat Riley.

Not surprisingly, O’Hara also patterns his team after the Lakers.

“We try to use the Lakers as role models,� O’Hara said. “Like a successful team in the pros, the girls have to understand that each player has different responsibilities. I’ve given painstaking lectures, so I hope they can accept it.�

Opposing coaches will tell you that the Louisville girls have accepted it all too well.

Louisville teams have won or shared the San Fernando Valley League title with Alemany the last three seasons. Alemany, Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks all figure to be strong this season, but Louisville is the premiere Southern Section team in the Valley area.

The Royals return four of the five starters from last season’s team that won the San Fernando Valley League with a 13-1 record, 21-5 overall.

Andrea Knapp, Marianella Cruz, Lynn Flanagan and Tina Kohler earned all-league honors last season. Cruz is the only senior.

Knapp, a 6-2 center, averaged 19 points and 10 rebounds last season and was named All-Southern Section. She has been touted as one of the best high school girls basketball players in the country. Four different publications list Knapp as a possible All-American.

“Andrea is great because she does what other big people can’t,� said O’Hara. He said he receives about three recruiting letters a day for Knapp. “She’s probably the best outside shooter on our team. She can score from the inside and perimeter. “

Cruz is the person who makes the Louisville team tick. It’s no wonder O’Hara refers to the 5-10 point guard as Louisville’s own Magic Johnson. Last season, Cruz almost averaged a triple-double--13.5 points, 11 rebounds and 8.5 assists.

“Marianella is so skilled, she allows us to break the rules by playing a tall girl like her at point, “ O’Hara said. “She’s an emotional player and the main cog in our offense. When this season is over, she’ll be a favorite of the college recruiters.�

Flanking Cruz at the off-guard positions are Flanagan and Kohler.

Louisville will be tested early when it takes part in the Artesia and Santa Barbara tournaments, two of the most prestigious girls basketball tournaments in the state. The Santa Barbara Tournament features Christ the King High School from New York City, which was selected by one national publication as the top-ranked team in the country. Chino, Buena, Lompoc and Point Loma of San Diego are other perennial powers that will participate.

“Those are some tough tournaments, so I’m sure we’re going to suffer some losses in December,� O’Hara said. “Hopefully, we’ll be ready when league rolls around.�

Louisville better be ready, because Alemany is waiting for them.

Alemany’s 14-year stranglehold on either sole possession or a portion of the league championship came to an end last season when the Indians finished second.

Alemany doesn’t have as many experienced players as Louisville this season, but the ones they do have are talented and hungry to regain the league championship.

Jenny Beubis, a junior guard, was a first-team all-league selection last season, averaging 13 points and five rebounds a game. Jennifer Kroll, a junior forward, was second-team all-league, averaging 12 points and 10 rebounds a game.

Melissa Melton is the new coach at Alemany replacing Nancy Graziano, who is now an assistant coach at Idaho State.

Melton’s biggest chore will be trying to replace Illene Hauser, who averaged 17 points a game and was the San Fernando Valley League’s most valuable player last season.

“We’re young, but we do have some very good experienced players,� Melton said. “Louisville, obviously, is going to be very strong. If we can blend our experience with our new players, we can be competitive.�

Chaminade and Bellarmine-Jefferson will probably battle for the third playoff position.

Chaminade will be without Daiva Tomkus, who has chosen to bypass the basketball season so she can concentrate on club volleyball. But the Eagles still have all-league forward Melissa Ingalls, who averaged 14 points a game last season.

Bell-Jeff lost All-Southern Section center Cathy Cotti, and has a team that includes three seniors. The rest of the players are sophomores.

Guard Valerie Keeling is the most talented returning senior. She’ll be the role model for sophomores Jennifer Gomez, Hanh Tran and Leane Hofford.

The Marmonte League also figures to be strong with Simi Valley, Newbury Park or Thousand Oaks expected to unseat Westlake as league champion.

Simi Valley Coach Dave Murphy has nine players back from last season’s team that finished second in league before losing to Muir in the playoffs.

Julie Arlotto, a junior forward, averaged 10.7 points and 7.3 rebounds last season in earning all-league honors. Wendy Morgan, a 6-2 center, averaged 9.7 points and 7.7 rebounds as a junior. Kristie Stevens, a junior guard, is the team’s playmaker.

“We’ve got great experience and we’re very strong in the post,� Murphy said. “If there’s one area we need to improve, it’s our outside shooting.�

Newbury Park’s hopes for a league title suffered a severe blow last Friday when all-Southern Section pick Vanessa Hornbuckle moved to Florida.

“I didn’t find out about it until Thursday night,� Panthers Coach Nori Parvin said. “She said goodby Friday and she’s in Florida now. We’ll have to regroup a little bit.�

Hornbuckle averaged 12 points and eight rebounds a game last season as Newbury Park finished 17-7 overall. The Panthers lost to Gahr in the first round of the Southern Section 4-A playoffs.

In Hornbuckle’s absence, senior co-captain Chris Hegmann will carry a heavy load. Hegmann matched Hornbuckle’s scoring and rebounding averages last season to earn first-team, all-league honors.

Newbury Park will start one junior and two sophomores along with seniors Hegmann and Tracy Schultz.

“This is a young club and it may take us a little longer to get going than we expected,� Parvin said. “But by the time league starts, we will be competitive.�

The maturing process might not take as long at Thousand Oaks. Five of the top seven Lancers return from a 16-7 team that missed making the playoffs by one game.

Second-team all-league picks Lisa Magallanes and Mickey Hamilton anchor the Lancers’ starting lineup. Susie Conde is the other returning starter.

“We hope to be one of the better teams in the league,� said Thousand Oaks Coach Chuck Brown. “But I think it will be another big fight this year between us, Newbury and Simi.�

Westlake, which must replace four starters, may also join the battle if it finds a shooter to replace the graduated Michele Stevens.

“We’re still looking for a shooter,� said Warriors co-Coach Tammy Thomason. “I don’t know if we can defend the championship, but we’re going to give it a bloody go.�

In the Alpha League, L.A. Baptist has three key returning players.

Dawn Broline, a junior guard, averaged 13 points a game last season. Forward Kendra Frazier, also a junior, led the team in rebounding by averaging 10 a game. Debra Lowe is back after gaining valuable experience last season as a freshman.

With Marshall having lost 6-3 center Cherri Nelson to graduation, L.A. Baptist figures to contend for the league title.