BATTLE OF THE VALLEY ALL-STAR GAME: CHATSWORTH STAR HURTS HER KNEE FORWARD SUN MIGHT HAVE TORN ACL.

Byline: Scott Wolf  Staff Writer

All-star games usually are a harmless way for seniors to successfully end their high school careers.

But Saturday night's Battle of the Valley girls' all-star basketball game turned into a possible nightmare for Chatsworth High forward Liz Sun, who appeared to suffer a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee during the Southern Section's 76-69 victory in front of 1,600 at the Matadome.

Sun, who has signed a letter of intent to play at Long Beach State, landed hard on the floor with 8:53 left in the game, and Cal State Northridge trainers said she tore her ACL, although Sun was hopeful a MRI would reveal otherwise. She left immediately after the game for the hospital.

``I'm not exactly sure what happened but I came down on it hard,'' said Sun, who ended her career as Chatsworth's leading scorer and rebounder. ``I hope (it's not torn). I'm kind of worried because I want to play next year.''

Asked if she could ever imagine suffering such a serious injury in an all-star game, Sun said, ``Stuff happens.''

The injury marred what had been an entertaining, if not always pretty contest.

``You really hate to see that,'' said Sylmar coach Michelle Chevalier, who coached the City team. ``She got kind of lost on her footing.''

Sun's injury overshadowed a marvelous performance by North Hollywood forward Kaipresha Price, who had game highs of 21 points, 14 rebounds and seven steals. Price also made 9 of 13 field goals and was an easy choice for City MVP.

Prior to Sun's injury, the game's biggest moment was lighthearted, when Burroughs of Burbank forward Gracie Coronado rebounded a missed City Section free throw and unexpectedly put the ball into its basket, scoring two points for the City.

Coronado didn't realize her mistake until she already had gone back down the court.

``I don't know ... the ball fell in my hands and I shot it and the girls from the other team were cheering and saying, `Good job,' '' Coronado said. ``And the crowd was laughing. It was so embarrassing. To top everything off, I had to do that and not know I did it.''

The Southern Section led by only two points at halftime (39-37) but used its superior height to outrebound the City 37-24 in the second half. The Southern Section also shot 50 percent in the final 20 minutes, while the City made just 28 percent of its shots.

``They got a lot of second and third chances,'' Chevalier said. ``We wanted to do a better job on rebounds. Our defense had some lapses.''

In an indication of the game's closeness, neither team led by more than nine points the entire game.

Southern Section forward Teresa Cooper had 20 points and six rebounds and was named her team's MVP.

``The first five minutes I was little fatigued but then I got my second wind,'' said Cooper, who will play at Cal State Dominguez Hills.

She also had help, as guard Sharonne Herbert of Quartz Hill added 18 points and four rebounds.

``I think we had a little more depth; we probably wore them down,'' said Burroughs coach Doug Nicol, who coached the Southern Section. ``Cooper is incredible. She's one of the most versatile players I've ever seen.''

Price is the third North Hollywood player in four years to win the award, joining Tashean Thomas (1999) and Richelle Sherman (2001). Cooper is the second Simi Valley player to win the Southern Section award, joining Christina Mosesso (1997).

In the boys' game, the City Section breezed to a 135-111 victory, with Sylmar's Louis Darby scoring a game-record 27 points en route to being the City MVP. The City Section's point total also was a game record.

Sergei Lepiashinski of Reseda had 20 points and Sylmar's Frank Robinson added 19.

Trent Cleveland of Burbank led the Southern Section with 17 points and was named Southern Section MVP. David Gale of Buckley of Sherman Oaks had 16 points and six rebounds.

Darby also won the slam-dunk contest with three near-perfectly scored attempts, and even scored two points for the Southern Section when he intentionally slammed the ball into their basket in the waning moments.

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2 photos

Photo:

(1) Southern Section's Cassandra Harris is triple-teamed by City Section players during the Battle of the Valley all-star game.

(2) Louis Darby of the City Section reaches over to block a layup attempt by the Southern Section's Michael Webb (22) in the boys' all-star game.

Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News