GIRLS: THAT'S SMARTS RICHARDSON MODEL STUDENT OFF COURT.

Byline: VINCENT BONSIGNORE AND RAMONA SHELBURNE  Staff Writers

PALMDALE - McKena Richardson loves to play basketball and will play in college next year. She will take over games with her quickness and ball-handling skills, and she probably will make the honor roll at the same time.

Palmdale girls' basketball coach George Corisis raves about her skills, wishing she could have played more than just two seasons for him and wondering how good she might have been had he been given more time to coach her.

But whether Richardson is a starting point guard in college or just the first girl picked for her intramural basketball team remains in the air.

``My No. 1 goal is to go to college, no matter what,'' said Richardson, who is averaging about 15 points a game for second-ranked Palmdale. ``And if it works out where I can play basketball, that would be great.''

Much like her sister - former Quartz Hill star Linette Richardson, who is a sophomore majoring in international business and linguistics at Loyola Marymount - McKena is a top student, with a 3.9 grade-point average. She has applied to LMU, Georgetown, Washington, California, UC San Diego and UC Irvine and has aspirations of becoming a civil engineer.

But what about basketball? Because Richardson has the talent to earn a scholarship. That was obvious in the 27 points she scored against top-ranked Hart of Newhall this season, most of which came in the fourth quarter after her Pepperdine-bound teammate, Teiosha George, left the game with a sprained ankle.

But that place might not be a school she's heard of, and it might not have the academic reputation as the six she has already targeted, but it's a basketball scholarship and that's what all high school players want.

Richardson, though, has prioritized basketball once in her career, transferring from the international baccalaureate program at Quartz Hill after her freshman season to Palmdale, a top basketball program. She had to sit out her sophomore year because of transfer rules.

``She probably would have been a big-time recruit if she had been here all four years,'' Corisis said. ``She's just now learning when to pick her spots and when to take over a game, because she's a very explosive offensive player who is capable of making things happen every time she touches the ball.''

Despite those compliments, Richardson said she tries not to regret anything about her basketball career and sees her time at Quartz Hill as a positive experience, valuing the education she got there.

She attributes her values and perspectives about education to her parents, Elvita and Michael, neither of whom went to college but who were actively involved in her education and stressing its importance.

``It has a lot to do with my parents,'' Richardson said. ``My mother was always really involved with my sister and I, making us finish our homework before we watched any television or doing anything else. After a while, my sister and I just started doing that without being told to and wanting to do well in school.''

- Ramona Shelburne

BOYS: Antelope Valley's Clay able to ride through dark days

Antelopes on high heading into Highland rematch 

LANCASTER - Carlton Clay knew there would be days like the ones the Antelope Valley boys' basketball team experienced this year.

The ones in which the Antelopes struggled against quality teams, losing more often than they won. Clay was prepared for the losing, knowing the lumps he and his teammates were taking at that point would benefit them in the long run.

Clay knew all this, yet the losing took a toll.

``I mean, you never like to lose, so of course we took it hard,'' Clay said. ``And to be honest, there were some games we lost that we felt we should have win. That made it even tougher.''

What pulled him through?

``Just knowing that we'd be better off playing against good teams during (nonleague),'' Clay said. ``Just knowing that when we got to our league schedule we'd be prepared for anything. We kept reminding ourselves of that.''

Antelope Valley (9-10, 3-1) began Golden League play immediately after playing in the prestigious Bakersfield tournament, where the Antelopes saw some outstanding teams. The payoff was immediate - they opened league play with a victory against Highland and go into tonight's rematch with the Bulldogs tied for first place.

``That showed we were ready for league,'' Clay said. ``We did pretty well in that tournament, and there were some great teams there. When we opened league, we were ready to go.''

Clay has been ready all year. The 6-foot-5 senior is a terrific defender and rebounder, and has the ability to score in the post, a rare commodity these days in the Golden League.

Clay is one of the top big men in the league, and the Antelopes are obviously benefiting from his presence.

But there is room for improvement. Clay wants to become an even better defender, and his goal the rest of the season is to improve his free-throw shooting, something that's troubled him in the past.

For Clay, it's all about concentration - the ability to block out all the distractions and focus on making the shot.

``I'm learning to put everything out of my mind when I'm at the line,'' Clay said. ``I try not to worry about anything but the basket.''

Besides, Clay has visions of getting to the line in a crucial situation. The plan is to convert, not miss.

``I make them, we win,'' Clay said.

He doesn't want to think about anything else.

- Vincent Bonsignore

LOOK BACK

Palmdale (17-5, 5-0) cemented its spot at the top of the league with a 19-point victory over Antelope Valley (16-6, 4-1) on Jan. 23. But the next night, the Falcons lost by 15 to Troy of Fullerton at the Ayala Extravaganza. Troy was the team that defeated Saugus, ranked third by the Daily News, in the playoffs last season.

Last-place Highland lost its third close game in five attempts with a nine-point loss to Quartz Hill on Jan. 23 and Littlerock beat Lancaster to move into sole possession of third place.

The Lobos are the surprise of the league this season after finishing 5-20 last year and 1-9 in league. Their three wins in league this year already eclipse their totals the past two seasons. A big part of the turnaround is because of new head coach John Konrad, who has made the team think it can contend in league.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, 4 boxes

Photo:

(1 -- color) Palmdale's McKena Richardson probably could get a college basketball scholarship, but she says going to a top university is more important than playing beyond high school.

(2 -- color) Antelope Valley's Carlton Clay has been one of the main reasons why the Antelopes were able to weather a rough start this season. The 6-foot-5 senior is an intimidating post presence.

Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer

Box:

(1) TIME OUT

(2) COMING UP

(3) GAME OF THE WEEK: Antelope Valley at Highland, 7 tonight

(4) LOOK BACK (see text)