BASKETBALL BEAT.

Byline: Vincent Bonsignore and Ramona Shelburne Staff Writers

BOYS: WEST VALLEY RULES

The recent success of Taft of Woodland Hills and Cleveland of Reseda seems to have stirred a revival in the West Valley League.

Taft won the City Championship last season, becoming the first team from the San Fernando Valley to do so in 40 years. And Cleveland overhauled its program over the past few years and now stands among the best in the region.

Now comes the rest of the league, with Chatsworth (10-3), Granada Hills (7-4), and Birmingham of Lake Balboa (8-4) poised to elevate their programs to similar status.

``I think Taft and Cleveland definitely set a high standard by having so much success the last few years, and that's given the rest of us incentive to step our own programs up,'' Granada Hills forward Savoy Fraine said. ``They really opened a lot of eyes, basically making a statement that this is a great league. Now it's up to us to make it even stronger.''

Fraine and the Highlanders made a bold statement with a 66-60 victory over Bishop Montgomery in the first round of the Chaminade of West Hills Tournament on Monday. Unfortunately, Fraine suffered an ankle injury in the closing minutes of the victory, forcing him to the bench Tuesday in a 79-72 quarterfinal loss to Monroe of North Hills.

Fraine, who was expected back Wednesday, also missed two weeks this season with a knee injury. The Highlanders' only four losses came in games the 6-foot-8 forward did not play.

The whole league is taking notice of the recent upswing.

``It's a great league with really good coaches and players,'' Taft coach Derrick Taylor said. ``You look around at what everybody is doing and it's obvious this league is on the rise.''

Perhaps the biggest effect of Taft's and Cleveland's success is the way young players perceive the league. More and more, it's a destination league rather than a league players who flee as transfers to better programs. As a result, the overall talent base has been dramatically upgraded.

``That definitely has a big thing to do with how much better the league is now,'' Granada Hills coach Sean Collyer said. ``The good players definitely want to stick around.''

And in some cases, transfer in.

Granada Hills got a lift when Jeff Martin left Chaminade for the Highlanders during the offseason. A gritty, hard-nosed player, Martin made his season debut Monday at, of all places, the Chaminade tournament. He responded with 13 points, including a number of big baskets down the stretch.

Birmingham welcomed talented transfers Jarrel and Jimmy Smith from Oregon this summer - Jarrel had 45 points Tuesday in a victory over Oakland Tech in the Cordova Classic - and Taft and Cleveland always attract a key transfer or two each season.

``There are a lot of great players in this league, and that's just going to make things more and more competitive,'' Fraine said.

The question now is whether other teams have sufficiently closed to gap on Taft and Cleveland. Over the past two years Cleveland's and Taft's only league losses were against each other.

``Well, I know I can't wait to find out,'' Fraine said. ``We can't wait to play those guys.''

Granada Hills plays Cleveland on Jan. 14 and Taft on Jan 26.

DON'T WORRY ABOUT BROOKS

Taft sophomore Pierce Brooks isn't producing big offensive numbers yet this season, but the 6-6 forward makes up for it by doing so many other things.

``People pay too much attention to things like points, and that's sad,'' Taft coach Derrick Taylor said. ``I keep saying that Pierce does so many things that go undetected by the casual fan. He's always guarding the other team's best scorer, he's a great rebounder, he blocks out, sets picks. In a lot of ways, he keys our success.''

Another key is Taft's defense. Take Tuesday, for instance. The Toreadors scored three first-quarter points - and those came on a desperation 3-pointer with the shot clock winding down - and just 11 the entire first half.

Taft, however, allowed just 21 points through the first half to keep things relatively close.

``No matter what's going on offensively, we're going to get after you defensively, so we shouldn't be out of many games,'' Taylor said.

The Toreadors turned the game around with a 13-0 run to open the second half, eventually outscoring McClymonds 23-5 in the third quarter to take control in a 44-39 victory over the Bay Area school.

CANYON'S TOUGH LOSS

Canyon of Canyon Country suffered a severe hit Monday at the Mt. Carmel tournament when senior point guard Justin Dunn was lost for the season with a knee injury.

The Cowboys have been searching for a consistent flow all season, and Dunn was one of the players they truly could count on.

``He was basically at the point of calling the plays himself out there on the court,'' Canyon coach Chad Phillips said. ``As a coach, he's the kind of guy you know will get the job done.''

Phillips expects to slide Lucas Guidroz from shooting guard to point guard, and he'll use the rest of this week getting Guidroz up to speed on the new position.

The Cowboys open Foothill League play Jan. 7 at Hart of Newall.

``It's a tough transition,'' Phillips said.

Aside from the blow Canyon suffered in terms of on-court ramifications, there is also a psychological factor. Phillips said Dunn's injury was the worst he's ever seen, and it might be awhile before the rest of the Cowboys shake the scary scene from their memory.

``To see a tough guy like (Dunn) laying there slamming his fist to the court in pain is a difficult image to erase,'' Phillips said. ``But I know this, the kids are behind him 100 percent. They'll use this as an incentive.''

EAGLES GROUNDED

Chaminade fell to Chatsworth 65-58 Tuesday in the Chaminade tournament, a loss compounded by the ankle injury standout forward Zach Evans suffered Monday against Van Nuys.

Evans, the star on a young team, is averaging 22 points and 14 rebounds. The Eagles (5-5) hope to have him back in time for the opening of Mission League play Jan. 5 at Loyola of Los Angeles.

``Obviously he means a lot to us,'' Chaminade coach Bryan Cantwell said. ``We need him back as soon as possible.''

REVERSAL OF FORTUNES

Chaminade coach Bryan Cantwell and the Eagles were scratching their heads at the turn of events at their home tournament. Two of the teams that advanced to the semifinals - Monroe and Valencia - were teams Chaminade beat three weeks ago at the Simi Valley tournament.

``Pretty crazy when you think about it,'' Cantwell said.

GIRLS: WHO'S HOT

--Andrea Bobic, Lancaster

It's hard for Bobic to think about what might have been had she not torn the ACL in her knee last December. Many thought when Bobic was lost for the season, so was Lancaster's chance of overtaking Palmdale for the Golden League title.

``We can't think about that now,'' Bobic said. ``All we can do is look to the future.''

And with Bobic running the point for Lancaster, the future looks bright.

Bobic is averaging 14 points per game, though coach John Gallen said her average would be a lot higher if not for some blowout games when he elected to sit her in favor of bench players.

``She's playing very well,'' Gallen said. ``She's a pure shooter and she really understands the game and what's going on. I'll probably spend the spring sending out tapes on her and trying to get some people to see her because she can definitely play some place. She's pushing 40 percent from 3-point range and she hasn't had a fair chance to work on it because she didn't get released by the doctors until a few weeks before the season.''

As disappointing as missing her sophomore year was, Bobic is hoping to turn it into a positive. She spent most of last season charting games and watching from the bench.

``It was hard to sit out those 11 months, taking stats on the bench,'' she said. ``But you see the game through the coaches' point of view and you learn a lot.''

--Chatsworth: The Chancellors won eight in a row, including the Blue Division championship at the Nike Tournament of Champions in Chandler, Ariz., last week. During that span, Chatsworth did not allow an opponent to score over 50 points.

Senior Alisha Bryant, who has signed with Pepperdine, leads the defense. The 6-foot center averages 6.1 rebounds, 1.7 steals and 1.0 blocks per game. She had eight steals in four games at the Nike Tournament.

Chatsworth's winning streak was snapped Tuesday in a 49-36 loss to Brea-Olinda in the San Marcos Tournament.

--Paige Peterson, Moorpark: The 5-10 junior guard is averaging 16.1 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 2.9 steals and 1.1 blocks per game. She had 39 points in victories over Mission Prep (San Diego) and King last week.

--Lindsey Williams, Westlake: The 6-foot sophomore forward has scored in double figures in 10 of 11 games this season. Shes averaging 14.1 points, 9.5 rebounds, 3.1 steals and 2.4 blocks.

LEAGUE UPDATES

--Golden: League play begins next week with a bang. Lancaster and Palmdale are two favorites to win the league and they open with each other at 6 p.m. Jan. 6 at Palmdale.

One complicating factor for Lancaster is the lack of a practice facility. Lancaster's gym has been closed for two weeks and the team has had to drive to Mojave High to practice. Coach John Gallen wasn't happy about the situation but said his team will find a way to overcome it.

``It's the annual two-week gym closure in the middle of basketball season,'' Gallen joked. ``I'm not happy about it. But I'd be a lot more concerned if the game was on Tuesday instead of Thursday.''

--Foothill: Hart point guard Ashlee Trebilcock sat out two games this week with a pulled groin muscle. Trebilcock was injured in Hart's upset of St. Mary's of Stockton last week in Chandler, Ariz., but continued to play because the game was so close. She scored a career-high 35 points in that game.

Trebilcock started Hart's loss to Troy of Fullerton last Thursday, but left in the third quarter when the injury became too painful. She's missed two games of the Orange County Championships this week to rest it, but will play this weekend when Hart faces stiffer competition.

--Marmonte: Royal coach Mike Kohl had some high praise for senior guard Kelly Winther, who is bound for the University of San Diego.

``She's the best player I've ever coached,'' Kohl said.

That's saying a lot considering Kohl coached standout guard Kinsley Mittel (The Master's College) just two years ago.

Winther is averaging 21.6 points, 6.1 assists and 5.1 rebounds and is shooting 50 percent from the field. She's scored 20 or more points in nine of Royal's 13 games.

--West Valley: El Camino Real of Woodland Hills center Kristen Garmyn is coming into her own this season. The 6-foot-3 senior is averaging 14 points a game and has improved every aspect of her game.

``She's been very consistent for us and developed into a team leader,'' El Camino Real coach Lori Chandler said.

Garmyn teams with 6-foot-3 forward Sara Rudorfer to form one of the more imposing frontcourt duos in the area. Chandler said Garmyn, Rudorfer and senior wing Brenna Flynn have provided invaluable leadership to the team.

El Camino Real, which shared the league title with Chatsworth last season, starts three seniors and two juniors. The Conquistadores (5-6) open league play Jan. 12 against Birmingham of Lake Balboa (9-1).

KEEPING TABS

Former Montclair Prep of Panorama City star Eshaya Murphy had one of the best games of her young college career Tuesday in USC's 62-61 loss to No. 23 UCLA.

Murphy had 13 points, including two critical 3-pointers in the second half to tie the game at 58.

``Shay lives for these games,'' USC coach Mark Trakh said. ``She's still hurt. She's had a partially torn calf muscle all season. But she's trusting in herself and having a little success now.''

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, 2 boxes

Photo:

(1) Granada Hills High hopes players like Savoy Fraine can elevate their basketball program to the elite status shared by some other West Valley League teams.

Gene Blevins/Staff Photographer

(2) Basketball player Andrea Bobic is averaging 14 points per game while running the point for Lancaster High.

Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer

Box:

(1) Daily News TOP 10

(2) SEVEN-DAY FORECAST