CANYON: THANKS TO TRANSFERS, CANYON HAS HELP ON WAY.

Byline: Ramona Shelburne  Staff Writer

CANYON COUNTRY - Troy Best knew he'd have a tough road in front of him when he took over a Canyon girls' basketball team that finished 9-16 overall and 1-9 in the Foothill League last year. But at least he'd have senior guard Erica Doyle to build the team around.

Not quite.

Doyle, the lone bright spot in Canyon's season last year, was declared academically ineligible until at least late December, and possibly early January, after her grade-point average dipped below 2.0. So, gone are her 16.5 points, 3.5 assists and 3.5 rebounds a game.

That was the bad news.

The good news showed up in the person of junior transfers Alexa Jahnke, a 6-foot-2 center from Blue Valley North High in Overland Park, Kan., and 5-9 shooting guard Jasmine Pandy, from Crenshaw High of L.A. Both are expected to start and contribute immediately.

``Jasmine is very athletic and a good shooter,'' Best said. ``Alexa is a good shooter for her size and can knock down a jump shot from 10-15 feet out.''

Jahnke's family moved to the Santa Clarita Valley without scouting the basketball teams of the local high schools.

``Luckily, they moved in the area closest to Canyon,'' Best said. ``She's actually right near the border with Saugus, but she's on the Canyon side.''

A few streets over and Jahnke could've joined the four 6-foot or taller post players at Saugus. But Best is hoping this break won't be his last this season as Canyon will need a bit of luck in reaching its goal of making the playoffs.

Junior Angelynn Dorotheo will run the point during Doyle's absence, and Angela Hamilton will alternate with Pandy at shooting guard and wing. Hamilton averaged five points and two assists a year ago.

Also in the frontcourt mix will be 6-2 freshman center Cheryl Stevens, whom Best predicts will be among the league leaders in blocked shots this year. Alisha Thompson, a 5-9 junior, returns to the team after running track last season and will be Canyon's top defender as a power forward. Best said she'll match up against opponents' top scoring threat. Rachel Bates, a 6-foot junior, will provide rebounding off the bench.

Liset Doyle, the younger sister of Erica Doyle, was brought up from the league-champion freshman team along with Kayla Bastedo. Both will add depth in the backcourt.

``We're still getting used to each other,'' Dorotheo said. ``There's a lot of new talent coming in, and it's just a matter of it coming together. We're trying to stay underdogs as long as we can so no one will expect much of anything, and then we'll sneak up on people.

``Last year, there were so many other things going on not related to basketball that we didn't need, like, senior ego problems. We weren't that bad in a basketball sense. We lost a lot of close games that if we would've just stepped it up a little bit, our record wouldn't have been so bad. I think we're going to get along a lot better this year.''