Estancia shoots for three

Patrick Laverty

Estancia High Coach Tamette Rappa has just nine girls on her

basketball team for a reason.

Two reasons, actually.

She knows that if she was to pull any more girls off the junior

varsity team, they wouldn’t see the playing floor. And with five

seniors among her nine players, she knows she’s going to have to let

those younger players get some playing time to develop for the

future.

Those seniors are only concerned with the present and considering

this group is coming off consecutive league championships, the

Pacific Coast in 2001-02 and an undefeated run through the Golden

West last season, the present looks good.

In fact, another league championship, once again in the Golden

West, is a legitimate possibility.

“I guess it would be back-to-back champions, even though it would

be three in a row,” Rappa said.

The reason for the optimism begins with returning point guard

Trisha Wase, the league MVP last season when she averaged 12.6 points

per game.

“She’s a commander on the floor,” Rappa said. “She controls both

sides. She’s unstoppable if she wants to be. She’s the type of player

that has eyes behind her head.”

Wase has the ability to play at the next level, Rappa said,

probably at a Division II school, but her work ethic will decide her

future and will play a key role for the Eagles this season.

Work ethic, for all players, will be one of the keys to success

this season for the Eagles.

“They get lazy,” Rappa said. “They know that they’re good. They

need to know it’s not about scoring, it’s about playing defense and

grabbing rebounds. It’s not an NBA game out there. But sometimes

these girls think they’re Kobe Bryant.”

Joining Wase as returning starters are 5-5 senior Krystal Mino, a

defensive standout that averaged four points last season, and 5-10

senior center Nancy Castro, who averaged 6.2 points and more than 10

rebounds last season.

Rappa expects Castro’s numbers to nearly double this year,

particularly after the graduation of Xochitl Byfield and Tisha Gray.

Those two players combined to average more than 24 points last

season.

Picking up some of that slack will be 5-10 sophomore Breanna Neal,

who played junior varsity last season, but is expected to grow under

the guidance of Castro.

The other five players on the roster are all returners from last

season and they should all see expanded minutes this year.

The experience that the Eagles possess gives Rappa a number of

options and her lineup is often expected to be composed of four

guards and one post player as Estancia tries to push the tempo.

Senior Olivia Maldonado (5-7) will provide outside shooting as

will 5-8 junior Nicolle Wilson. Junior Imelda Pena (5-6) was the

Eagles’ first player off the bench last season and will once again

back up both the point guard and shooting guard positions.

Jazmin Flores, a 5-8 junior, provides depth at power forward,

while Anabel Becerra is a 5-9 senior who can play both forward

positions and will likely find herself in the starting lineup along

with Wase, Mino, Castro and Neal.

With all nine players expected to see playing time, the Eagles

will get their feet wet in the University, Artesia and Marina-Edison

tournaments this month. The defending Golden West League champions

should be tested in those tournaments as they get ready for league

play.

“I always go with a tough preseason,” Rappa said. “If we can

compete at that level, when we get into our league, we’ll be ready.”

With an experienced, senior-laden team, the Eagles should be ready

for anything.