GIRLS' BASKETBALL: FROM HUNTERS TO HUNTED GRANT HIGH GIRLS' BASKETBALL TEAM SHEDS ITS UNDERDOG STATUS.

Byline: KEVIN CONNELLY  Special to the Daily News

Andrea Chavez used to show up to an opposing gym and sense it.

Arpine Amirkhanyan admits she has felt it, too.

In fact, every player on the Grant of Van Nuys girls' basketball team knows what playing the part of the underdog is like, because the Lancers were just that before the season began.

``We're used to getting no respect,'' Chavez says.

``We've been the underdogs before, yeah,'' Amirkhanyan adds.

But such thoughts are now distant memories for the Lancers, who have notched victories over three of the top teams in the area to catapult to No. 3 in the Daily News' rankings.

Grant (6-0) has beaten No. 5 Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks, No. 14 LaCanada and No. 17 Crescenta Valley of La Crescenta while also taking first place in the Crescenta Valley Tournament on Dec. 1.

Previously known as a superior team in the relatively inferior Sunset Six League, Grant can no longer be overlooked as in years past. The Lancers boast a balanced offensive attack that includes fourplayers who are scoring threats, while their pressure defense can often take over a game.

Grant's lineup does not include a six-footer or an NCAA Division I prospect, but the Lancers have made up for those deficiencies with team speed -- a byproduct of the grueling workouts the team undergoes at practice.

``I know that nobody else expected us to start off 6-0, but the success came as no surprise to us,'' said Chavez, who leads Grant with 14points per game to go along with 4.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists.

``We might not be the tallest or the most athletic team out there, but I knew what we were capable of all along. We rely on our team speed and our smarts to win most games, and that has been very effective so far.''

In Grant's 47-42 victory over Notre Dame on Nov. 30, Chavez scored a season-high 23 points to lead all scorers.

Although she was the key player for the Lancers that game, first-year coach Michael Flot does not have to rely on one or two players to carry the scoring load.

Amirkhanyan, a 5-foot-11 center, averages 13.2 points and team-high 9.3 rebounds, while Mariam Asaryan (8.8 points per game) and Blue Sanders (8.0 points, 4.8 assists) can also take over when called upon.

In essence, Grant is a group of role players that shine brightest when assembled together as a team.

``The early success has been great, but it`s not something that is going to get to our heads,'' said Flot, who was an assistant on the Grant boys' team last season. ``We know what being the underdog is like, and we have to continue to play with that mentality. We have a long way to go to reach our goal, which is to go undefeated in the regular season and with the City Section Tournament.''

The goal of going undefeated in the regular season appears attainable for Grant, which already is through the toughest part of its schedule. The Lancers finished 9-1 in the Sunset Six last season, and 10 of their remaining 11 regular-season games will be in the league.

Winning the City won't be quite as easy, as Grant was eliminated in the second round of the City Invitational last season.

Although the Lancers figure to qualify for the City Championship this time around, perennial powers such as Narbonne of Harbor City, Crenshaw of Los Angeles and Dorsey of Los Angeles figure to be the favorites.

``I know it won't be easy to win the City title, but we are good enough to beat a team like Narbonne or Crenshaw,'' Chavez said. ``The coaches have really challenged us to take that next step this year, and that's what we expect to do.''

It will be easy for teams to overlook that assertion. Chavez even expects them to.

Why not? It's what everyone else has done.

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ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

BOYS

Rafael Garcia, Canoga Park, Sr.

Soccer

Garcia was the MVP of the West Coast High School Classic after helping fourth-seeded Canoga Park to the championship on Saturday at Cal State Fullerton. Canoga Park beat Loyola of Los Angeles 3-0 in the final. Garcia, a midfielder and a valuable distributor, scored two goals in the tournament.

GIRLS

Nicole Leon, Canyon, Sr.

Basketball

Leon had 25 points and 10 rebounds Saturday as Canyon of Canyon Country defeated Channel Islands 62-56 to win the Ayala Tournament open division in Chino Hills. The Cal State Bakersfield-bound guard went to the free-throw line 14 times in the game, making 12 of those shots.

UP & COMER

Rmanii Haynes, Taft, Fr.

Girls' basketball

Haynes is one of four Taft of Woodland Hills players averaging more than 10 points per game this season. The 5-foot-5 guard had a season-high 17 points Tuesday in an 83-50 victory over Northridge Academy of Los Angeles in the first round of the Bell-Jeff Tournament. The Toreadors won the tournament, with Haynes scoring 45 points combined in those four games.

TRIVIAL MATTERS

Harvard-Westlake of Studio City junior Ryan Thacher recorded a 6-4, 6-3 victory Monday over Reid Carleton of Naples, Fla., in the singles final of the boys' 18-under division at the USTA Winter Nationals in Scottsdale, Ariz., to increase his singles winning streak to 26 consecutive matches. What is Thacher's longest winning streak in USTA competition? The 6-foot-3 standout won 36 matches in a row from September 2005 to January 2006, a run that included five singles championship, including the 16-under title at last year's Winter Nationals.

CAPTION(S):

3 photos, 5 boxes

Photo:

(1) Rafael Garcia

(2) Nicole Leon

(3) The Grant High girls' basketball team, from left -- assistant coach Terrell Ferguson, Arpine Amirkhanyan, Andrea Chavez, Leseth Orrego, Amanda Corona, Blue Sanders (squatting), Mariam Asaryan and head coach Michael Flot.

Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer

Box:

(1) ATHLETE OF THE WEEK (see text)

(2) UP & COMER (see text)

(3) TRIVIAL MATTERS (see text)

(4) THEY SAID IT

(5) DAY PLANNER