FABULOUS 44 BASKETBALL ALL-STAR GAMES : Future Women of Troy Shine in South’s Victory

IRVINE —  If the box score of the Fabulous 44 California Prep girls’ game is a good predictor, the USC women’s basketball team can expect a fabulous future.

Four future Trojans--two from the North and two from the South--played well in Sunday’s all-star game at the Bren Center.

“I think we are going to take the NCAAs one of these years before I leave,” said Oakland Fremont’s Tracy Adams, the North’s most valuable player who will attend USC in the fall.

But it was the South that benefited most from the future Trojan firepower. Lisa Leslie of Inglewood Morningside High and Linda Watson of Lynwood led their team to an easy 81-48 victory.

Leslie, a 6-foot-5 center who was named the South’s most valuable player, had 20 points and seven rebounds. Watson, a 5-10 guard, made her first five shots in the game before missing her last six and finished with 11 points.

For the North, Christa Gannon of Newcastle Placer High scored 10 points, Adams added nine and Jualeah Woods of Berkeley High had seven, but it wasn’t nearly enough.

“USC is going to have a great ballclub with (all of) them,” said North Coach Tom Campbell, who coaches Chico Pleasant Valley High. “If I was a college coach, I would love to have that South team.”

After trailing 5-0 and 15-4 early in the game, the North cut its deficit to two points at 19-17 midway through the first half, when Woods beat the 30-second clock with a jump shot. But the South intensified its pressure defense, unleashed its running game and went on a 16-4 run.

Leslie finished the South’s spree with a steal and a layup to give her team a 35-21 lead with 3:30 left in the first half.

The South continued to pull away and Aimee McDaniel of Brea-Olinda and Mildred Conston of Oceanside High scored the final two baskets of the half to give the South a 41-23 lead.

McDaniel scored seven points--all of them in the first half--to lead Orange County scorers. Melisa Sortino of Marina scored six and Amy Jalewalia of La Quinta added four.

In the second half, the North scored the first seven points, while the South failed to score for the first 3:40. The South didn’t have a field goal until 6:19 had expired in the half. But after pulling to within 11 points, the North went almost five more minutes without a point and the South’s lead grew to 56-30 with 12:10 remaining.

Although it wasn’t especially competitive, the first statewide all-star game for girls in California was a good showcase for Leslie, who was considered the top high school girl player in the nation this year.

She received notoriety this season for scoring 101 points by halftime against South Torrance. South Torrance’s coach, Gil Ramirez, did not allow his players to return for the second half of a 102-20 defeat.

Leslie was the tallest player on the court again Sunday, and clearly intimidated her opponents.

Adams, whose Oakland Fremont team met Leslie’s Morningside team twice in the state championship game, winning in 1988 and losing in 1989, is happy Leslie will no longer be on the opposite team.

“Now I don’t have to play against her anymore,” Adams said. “I won’t have to worry about going up for a shot and (having her) throw my shot all the way back to the bleachers. Now, I’ll be passing the ball to her.”

Fabulous 44 Notes

Aimee McDaniel made three of her four shots from the field and her four assists tied Detra Lockhart of Washington High for a game-high total. . . . The South’s victory ended a two-game losing streak for McDaniel, who led Brea-Olinda to a 55-game winning streak before losing to Auburn Placer in the state Division III championship game. McDaniel was also on the losing North team in the Orange County all-star game.