BEAUTY ... AND BEAST THERE IS NO PRETTIER SHOT THAN TAYLOR LILLEY'S, BUT HART STAR'S GAME IS ALL ABOUT GRITTINESS.

Byline: Gideon Rubin Special to the Daily News

SANTA CLARITA - To hear Taylor Lilley describe her playing style, one might think she were a 220-pound linebacker trying to strip a football from a bruising fullback in front of the end zone in the mud, not a 5-foot-6 shooting guard.

``I was taught in seventh grade that basketball means everything,'' she says sternly. ``It's worth a college scholarship. You better get on that ball; that ball better be yours, don't let anybody get that ball but you.''

Lilley's grittiness sets her apart from most at a position known mostly for finesse.

Her remarkably proficient perimeter shot sets her apart from most at her position. Period.

Her strengths in both areas helped Hart High of Newhall, the Daily News' top-ranked team, to a fifth consecutive Foothill League title.

The Indians (23-4) are seeded fourth in the Southern Section Div. I-A playoffs. They play at Walnut (20-7) in a second-round game tonight at 7:30.

The University of Oregon-bound Lilley averages more than 18 points and has long since obliterated her Hart single-season record for 3-pointers (she hit 70 as a sophomore). She is shooting a stunning 51 percent from beyond the arc (94 for 183) in a breakthrough senior year.

Hart coach Dave Munroe said Lilley is the best pure shooter he has coached in 32 years - including 15 as a boys' coach - and perhaps the best shooter in the state.

That view is shared by Stan Delus, coach of league rival Canyon of Canyon Country.

``She has one of the most precise shots that I've ever seen in a high school player,'' Delus said. ``Her form is perfect.''

Lilley, who spent most of her career at Hart playing in phenom Ashlee Trebilcock's shadow, now is putting the finishing touches on her own legacy.

That legacy is defined as much by her intense playing style as her eye-popping numbers.

Munroe said she is among the team's better rebounders and is the team's unofficial leader in taking charges.

``She's just really tough,'' Munroe said. ``She plays sick, and she plays hurt.''

And she is unafraid to mix it up, even with players much bigger than her. Such was the case in the fourth quarter of Hart's 43-29 league victory Jan. 20 over Canyon, when she landed on her hip after colliding with Canyon center Cheryl Stevens at midcourt as both chased a loose ball. Stevens is 6-4.

Minutes later, Lilley hit a 3-pointer from at least five feet beyond the arc just before the shot clock expired, breaking open a five-point game with a little less than two minutes remaining.

``That's Taylor,'' Hart senior guard Amanda Sreden said. ``She may look small, but she's one of the toughest kids on our team. That's just her personality.''

Her approach has rubbed off on her teammates, who pride themselves for the in-your-face, full-court pressure they have applied with merciless efficiency. Hart has allowed an average of just 34.3 points during its current 11-game winning streak.

And although Lilley won't hesitate to take the potential winning shot, she is equally inclined to distribute the ball to an open teammate.

``For someone that has her amount of talent, she's so unselfish,'' Sreden said. ``She's one of the only players I've seen like that, that's so unselfish.''

Lilley believes that is how basketball is supposed to be played.

``If (a teammate) steals the ball and passes it off to me, I'll give them the pass because they earned the two points with that steal, and I don't want to take it away from them,'' she said.

``That's just the right thing to do. There's no room for selfish players on the team, and that's the last thing I want to be.''

Gideon Rubin, [phone]

gideon.rubin(at)dailynews.com

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Hart High senior Taylor Lilley is the best pure shooter in the area.

John Lazar/Staff Photographer