Girls basketball: Maybe not this year, but ...

Richard Dunn

NEWPORT COAST - It will be tempting for Sage Hill High’s first

varsity girls basketball coach, Shanna Renken, to keep the ball in the

hands of the Clark sisters in the Lightning’s inaugural varsity campaign.

But Renken, a rookie coach at age 24 who looks young enough to be one

of the players, understands how important it is for novice players at

Sage Hill to learn the game’s fundamentals.

The Lightning enjoy a beautiful gym in which to play, with a school

endowment at the nondenominational private school that takes care of the

little things, like brand new high-tops and spiffy sweats.

“We can’t have boosters, and we can’t have sponsors. But they say

they’ll get anything you need,” said Renken, a graduate assistant at Cal

State Dominguez Hills last year, who added that the Sage Hill position

“is kind of like a dream.”

Renken, a former El Dorado High, Saddleback College and CS Dominguez

Hills standout, will guide Sage Hill in its second year and first with a

varsity schedule.

The Lightning, which will compete in the Academy League, could one day

fill their gym with adoring fans, while battling for a championship of

some sort, but 2001-02 will not be that season.

“This year’s going to be tough, because the team’s so young,” said

Renken, whose squad has three juniors, six sophomores and six freshmen.

“The majority of these players haven’t played (basketball) before.”

Under such circumstances, one would be entitled to wonder how they’re

going to be competitive, but, with 5-foot-7 junior point guard Carrie

Clark and 5-8 freshman shooting guard Carley Clark, the Lightning might

strike this year.

Carrie Clark played at Mater Dei as a freshman and last season at

Ayala of Chino Hills, where she played varsity, before settling at Sage

Hill.

“I know we’re not going to win a championship this year, but we’re

going to build and we’ll be something to see,” Renken said. “I guarantee

you we’re going to be a good team (in the future).”

During the summer, in which Sage Hill played junior varsity teams,

Renken said her team only lost three games and was usually “blowing

everybody out by 20” when Carrie Clark started.

At the beginning of the summer, Renken rolled out the basketballs and

started from scratch, teaching the basics while trying to also get the

message across to newcomers that basketball requires a certain work ethic

and discipline.

“I don’t want players who are here just because they don’t want to

have P.E.,” she said. “I’m really strict.”

By summer’s end, Sage Hill was running plays on offense and players

were actually posting up and scoring.

“I think we’re a JV team, but we can compete at the varsity,” Renken

said. “We have certain players who will help us be all right, and, sure,

we could keep the ball in two peoples’ hands all the time, but I want the

team to be well-rounded. I don’t want to base it around one player.”

The Lightning, which “just played teams randomly” last year, Renken

said, will also feature 5-10 sophomore forward Nadia Rabbani, 5-6 junior

guard Yvonne Kawamura, 5-5 sophomore guard Jessica Tsoong and 6-1

freshman center Katie Pushier as possible starters.

“She’s going to be a player,” Renken said of Pushier, an equestrian

competitor learning basketball for the first time.

Lena Lytell, a 5-9 sophomore forward, and Pushier have improved

tremendously since the beginning of the summer.

“(Lytell) just looks like a basketball player,” Renken said. “None of

the these girls were athletes, and they’re there now.”

In addition to Carley Clark, guards Victoria Gutierrez, who will come

off the bench and contribute, Christy Roberts, Kristin Feeny and Teresa

Van Ausdeln are freshmen. Junior Cassidy Weiss and sophomores Natasha

Kaliski, Keila Aguilar and Madyson Page round out the Lightning roster.

Page, a concert performing musician on the international level, was

once uncertain whether she could play basketball this season, but

confirmed to Renken she was ready.

Sage Hill opens its season today at Whitney in Cerritos at 5:30 p.m.

SAGE HILL

10 Christy Roberts 5-5 Fr.

11 Lena Lytell 5-9 So.

12 Kristin Feeny 5-4 Fr.

23 Jessica Tsoong 5-5 So.

24 Carrie Clark 5-7 Jr.

25 Victoria Gutierrez 5-5 Fr.

30 Yvonne Kawamura 5-6 Jr.

31 Carley Clark 5-8 Fr.

32 Nadia Rabbani 5-10 So.

50 Katie Pushier 6-1 Fr.

52 Natasha Kaliski 5-8 So.

NA Cassidy Weiss 5-5 Jr.

NA Madyson Page 5-6 So.

NA Keila Aguilar 5-8 So.

NA Teresa Van Ausdeln 5-6 Fr.

Coach: Shanna Renken