DAILY PILOT HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETE OF THE WEEK:

For nearly half her life, Kathy Trinh has been connected to Costa Mesa High basketball.

She remembers coming to the Mesa gym in 2000 and 2001, watching her older sister Quyen compete for the Mustangs as a junior and senior. At around the same time, older brother Dan was making his way to the boys’ varsity before he graduated in 2002.

These trips to the Costa Mesa home games were partly out of convenience.

“My parents would help out at the snack bar, so I would always go and watch my sister and brother,” Trinh said.

But there was no arm-tugging required to attend those games, because Kathy Trinh always hoped she’d follow in her siblings’ footsteps. Now a three-year varsity player herself, the Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week stepped up her defensive effort as the Mustangs began their quest for a second straight Orange Coast League title.

Costa Mesa Coach Jim Weeks credited Trinh’s lock-down defense on Laguna Beach point guard Tess Grogan, as well as Calvary Chapel point guard Ashley Rambo, as big reasons why the Mustangs won those two league games last week.

“The last couple of games, she’s really put that extra effort in,” Weeks said. “Her speed has really worked great to combat that other girl’s offense. I think it’s let her confidence grow just to play, to let her talent come out.”

Weeks said he issued a challenge to his team following the Mustangs’ 60-33 victory over cross-town rival Estancia on Jan. 11. Junior Amy Gentling has always been a standout defensive player, but Weeks was hoping to get similar defensive intensity from another guard.

“All three teams we have to play in league have two good guards,” Weeks said. “I needed somebody else to answer the call.”

It was Trinh’s role two years ago when she was a sophomore. Playing time was sparse then, as a guard behind senior standouts Tracy Bjelland and Bethany Vergara, but the experience was a good one for Trinh.

“It helped me to get used to how the varsity level plays, compared to the JV level,” she said.

Lately, Trinh has reassumed the position of a defensive stopper. She said she got frustrated in that first Estancia game this year, as Eagles freshman Kassie Stratton kept shooting over her.

Stratton, at 5-foot-10, is four inches taller than Trinh.

“Yeah, but still,” Trinh said. “I got frustrated and didn’t want anyone to shoot over me, so I stepped it up. When I play defense, I’d usually get faked out easily. They’d take advantage of that and just drive right through me.

“I’m the type of person who gets frustrated easily, and it comes through in my game. I don’t really get focused, and I get scared. But [Weeks] tells me, ‘Just play your game and relax. Don’t try to think about anything else.’ ”

Trinh has also stepped up her scoring. She averaged 5.3 points per game last season on her way to All-Orange Coast League honorable-mention recognition, and Trinh averaged 7.2 points per game in the Mustangs’ 15 nonleague games this season.

In the Mustangs’ first five league games, she has stepped up that total to 7.8 points per contest.

“I’m a lot more confident,” Trinh said. “Before, it seemed like I was scared to take it in, or sometimes I’d force my shots. But whenever I’m open, I should take it. There were games when I’d miss open shots, and I wouldn’t want to shoot anymore because it’s not my night. Mr. Weeks told me to keep shooting, because eventually it’ll go in.

The team likes to run a play that Trinh calls her favorite. It involves Werdel setting a screen for Trinh, then cutting to the basket for what is often an easy score.

But the play only works if the other team views Trinh as an offensive threat.

“She’s the second go-to guard on offense, after Michelle [Figueroa],” Weeks said. “Her jump shot allows her to create.”

The Mustangs, in turn, hope to create a return trip to the CIF Southern Section Division IV-AA championship game at Long Beach State’s Walter Pyramid. Last year, they lost in the title game to top-seeded St. Mary’s Academy of Inglewood.

St. Mary’s is again the top-ranked team in the latest Division IV-AA coaches’ poll. Mesa (14-7) is ranked No. 3, the same seed as it had last year.

“Looking at how far we went last year, it really does motivate you,” Trinh said. “We know we have the potential to go that far. We want to go back to the [Walter] Pyramid and win this time.”

Trinh’s motivation this year has even spread to other sports. She grew up mainly playing just basketball, but this past season she was on the girls’ tennis team that Weeks also coached. She said she’s also thinking about going out for track in the spring, where her speed would be valuable in the sprint events.

“I just wanted to try things out,” Trinh said. “It’s my senior year, so I wanted to do three sports.”

But, whatever she does, her toughness will likely always be there.

“She leads our team with her intensity,” Weeks said. “I think they all have it, but she demonstrates it more than other players do. She’s just tenacious. She works very hard and she wants to get better.”

MATT SZABO may be reached at (714) 966-4614 or by e-mail at [email protected].