Crean Lutheran’s Crean Lutheran Elise Randolph, Coach Kyle Rouse and Lexi Lee at the OC Girls Basketball Media Day Tuesday. (Photos courtesy Crean Lutheran Shutterbugs, John Luciano).
Crean Lutheran High School was the site of the inaugural Orange County girls basketball media day Tuesday. The event was organized by Austin Loeb, associate AD at Crean Lutheran who is also boys basketball coach.
To see the slide show, click on the first photo:
CREAN LUTHERAN
Kyle Rouse returns to lead the Saints, who were 23-6 overall and finished 7-1 atop the Crestview League standings.
“We graduated six last season, three who are playing college basketball, one who is running college track,” Rouse said. “But we’re excited for the new vibe that Crean Lutheran basketball is going to look like. We think you’re going to see a different style of play. We have a couple tournaments, we’re going to Hawaii this year to play three out of state teams as well.
“This year, we’re very versatile meaning we have a lot of different skill sets. The pace is going to be different this year and defensively has always been one of our strong suits and this year it’s going to be even higher.”
Crean Lutheran’s top players include junior guard/forward Elise Randolph and freshman guard Lexi Lee.
The Saints open the season Monday at 4 p.m. with a home game vs. Aliso Niguel.
Crean Lutheran has won the last two league titles.
CANYON
Coach Sarah Brown leads the Comanches, who were 14-14 overall and 2-6 in the Century League last season.
“We’re looking forward to this year,” Brown said. “We’ve got 12 on the roster, seven returners and five new players, one transfer and three seniors. I think our strength will be our returners. We’re looking forward to the opportunity to compete. We have a really tough league in the Crestview League …. we’re excited to compete against that caliber of talent.”
Canyon’s top players include senior guard Maya Conklin, a four-year varsity player and senior center Kyara Vargas.
Canyon opens against Rialto Monday in the Bonita Tip-off Classic.
EL DORADO
Coach Matthew Raya leads the Golden Hawks, who were 18-10 overall and 6-2 in league last year.
“This is actually my first senior class that I’ve had,” Raya said. “We have six returners, we lost three players from last year’s team …. We’re going to be young, we have six freshmen up that are going to have to contribute for us to have success. We’ve been working hard, showing up and getting used to our system and how we like to play defense. It’s a work in progress, but we’ve made tremendous improvements from summer all the way to the end of fall.”
The Hawks are led by 5-6 senior guards Riley Morikawa and Kennedy Wood and senior guard/forward Delana Shiring, a four-year varsity starter who averaged 12.3 points and 6.9 rebounds last year. Other starters are scheduled to be Aliana Zamora and Karis Wu.
The Golden Hawks open in a tournament game Monday vs. JSerra.
EL TORO
The Chargers are led by Patrick Nunez, who returns after leading the Chargers to the CIF Division 3A title last season, the first sectional title for the program. El Toro was 19-11 last year and finished in second place with a 6-2 record in the Sea View League.
The Chargers top players include junior Lenzy Turner, a three-year starter and senior Mia Cubacub, a four-year starter. Cubacub has been out with an injury but is expected back later this month, Nunez said.
“Going into this year, we will look different,” Nunez said. “We graduated eight seniors last year, three of who were starters and another who played a lot. This year, we will play with a lot more up tempo, pushing the ball and there will also be a lot more full-court pressure on the defensive side, just because that is where our skill set will be this year.”
El Toro meets Edison Monday in the North/South Challenge.
ESPERANZA
Coach Jimmy Valverde is back for his 12th season leading the Aztecs, who were 20-11 overall and 5-3 in league play last year.
The Aztecs top players include senior Charlotte Muller, a four-time varsity starter and senior Ellie Frazier, two of the team captains.
“We play the same style every year,” Valverde said. “It’s an up-tempo style, we try to bring the ball up the court quick and get the shots off as fast as possible. We’re not a big team … we know we’re going to get outrebounded, so our big thing is to get shots off. The more shot attempts we get, the better chance we have to win.”
Esperanza opens with a home game Tuesday vs. Murrieta Mesa.
FOOTHILL
The Knights are led by first-year coach Liliana Padilla. Foothill was 11-11 overall and 4-4 last season in league play.
“Right now, we’re working on becoming a team and getting to know each other and preparing for our first pre-season game which will be {Nov. 17 vs. Pioneer},” said Padilla, who was named coach in the August. “We really want to build a program of confidence and teaching these girls it’s not only about basketball.”
The Knights are led by senior guard/forward Elize McAveney and senior guard Lynn Morishita.
“These two young ladies are very consistent but we have a lot of players this year coming back a nd new players who are really good athletes and they’re really working hard to get better and work on the vision that we have for Foothill High School,” the coach said.
JSERRA
The Lions are led by first-year coach Rachael Ziemann, who coached with her sister Bianca Ziemann at Crean Lutheran the past five years and had considerable success. The Lions were 18-11 overall and 4-2 in the Trinity League last season.
Top players for the Lions include junior guard/forwards Vivian Grenald and Kayla Rice and junior point guard Rose Santos.
“These girls want to win CIF and they want to win the Trinity League, all of those things are important to them, but what we’re emphasizing is the process, how well we’re practiciing and how well we’re competing, our nutrition, our sleep and I think we’re dialed in,” Ziemann said. “It will make those things that they want to achieve possible, so we’re big on process.
“I’m happy that they want to compete at the highest level. It’s just a matter of putting the pieces together and I have the opportunity to be able to guide them.”
Bianca Ziemann will be the Lions assistant coach.
JSerra opens play Monday in tournament action vs. El Dorado.
SUNNY HILLS
The Lancers, coached by Jae Byun, were 14-14 overall last year and winless in league play.
Top players for Sunny Hills include junior guard Rianna Jones and sophomore guard Allie Sexton. Other starters are expected to be Sydney Kim, Noehlia Reuter and Kayla Ma.
“This year, we’re looking forward to a great year again,” Byun said. “Last year, we went through a transition as we moved into the Century Conference. We had the privilege of playing in the Crestview League which arguably was one of the toughest leagues last year. We have a lot of girls coming back, we have nine returners from last season, so we’re looking forward to the challenge.
“We know the Freeway League is going to be equally as difficult. We’re ready to go.”
Sunny Hills opens with a home game Thursday vs. La Mirada.
ORANGE LUTHERAN
The Lancers, coached by Lindsay Charity, were 13-12 overall and 1-5 in Trinity League play last season.
Orange Lutheran is led by guards Oliva Taleon, a sophomore was all-CIF last year and sophomore Kayla Watanabe, a first team all-league player last year.
Other key players include returners sophomore center Madalena Paventy and the only senior on the team, Rhianna Rodriguez. Both players have shown great improvement, Charity said. Junior Jocelyn Thompson is also expected to start. Thompson was a member of the OLu girls flag football team that reached the CIF Division 1 finals.
“This year is going to be a little bit different,” said Charity, entering her sixth season as OLu coach. “We return five girls, we have five newcomers joining the team. So we’re really young, but we’re really excited about the opportunity that brings.”
Orange Lutheran opens the season Tuesday hosting Central.
PACIFICA CHRISTIAN
Coach Pablo Martinez returns to lead the Tritons, who were 13-13 overall and 2-2 in league play last season.
The Tritons are led by senior forward Angie Martinez, a four-year varsity player; senior Vivian Villagrana, the team’s leading scorer last year; and junior guard Rachel Ham.
“We have three incoming freshmen who should play a big role in our season this year, I’m really excited to get started,” Martinez said. “We have a mix of both, some youth and some seniors, so we will see how long it takes us to get the chemistry and continue to build.”
Pacifica Christian will be competing in the San Joaquin League for the last time before moving next year to the Pacific Coast League.
The Tritons open the season Wednesday vs. Beckman.
(The remaining six previews run in part two).
—Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com
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