PEACE IN THE ANTELOPE VALLEY MOSLEY ESCAPES MEAN STREETS FOR HAPPIER TIMES ON COURTS.

Byline: Gideon Rubin Staff Writer

LANCASTER - Shaquina Mosley was much too young to understand the harshness of life growing up in South Central Los Angeles. Mosley was just a fifth-grader when the violent world of the streets hit close to home.

Her father, Michael, was shot in the chest.

The bullet came within two inches of his heart. Mosley, an innocent bystander, was released from the hospital on Christmas Day 1995 and has since made a complete recovery.

But the incident prompted Michael Mosley and his wife, Ann, to decide that South Central was no place to rear their children. So, the family moved to Lancaster in the summer of 1996.

Shaquina Mosley has flourished in her new environment. She leads the unbeaten Antelope Valley girls' basketball team in scoring, averaging 16.9 points per game. The Antelopes (8-0) are No. 2 in the most recent Daily News rankings.

Mosley cites growing up in South Central as a factor for her success. She grew up playing schoolyard ball against boys.

``The energy comes from a street-ball mentality because you have to be tough when you're playing with guys,'' she said. ``You have to be tough with them or else I wouldn't be able to play.''

Being reared in that place has helped make her a better student as well. She turned to reading as an activity because her parents worried about her playing outside. She reads four to five books a month and has started a book club with teammate Kristal Fox.

The Antelopes are hoping Mosley, a junior guard, can help lead them to their third consecutive Golden League title. They were unbeaten in league last season, and their only loss in 2001 came in the Southern Section Division II-AA quarterfinals, when they lost to Buena of Ventura, then ranked No. 1 in the nation by USA Today.

Mosley splits time at the two guard positions and rarely comes out of games.

``People think I'm the meanest person in the world because I don't always go out to check on her,'' Antelope Valley coach April Davenport said. ``She's just extremely tough. She takes a lot of shots and goes down, but she always gets back up and wants to go back in.''

Mosley is among her team's best outside shooters, although her coach discourages her from shooting too many 3-pointers. Why bother when her quickness can lead to easy inside baskets?

``I haven't seen a player who was able to guard her one-on-one,'' Davenport said.

Her floor presence has attracted the attention of collegiate scouts. Mosley has received recruiting letters from several Division I programs including Pepperdine - where former teammate Crystal McCutcheon plays - New Mexico, Washington, Oregon, and Sacramento State.

Mosley said her memories of growing up in South Central aren't all bad. She remembers the water fights with kids on her block on hot summer days.

But she also remembers that Christmas season of 1995.

``It was so scary because you never expect anything like that to happen to (someone in) your family,'' she said. ``I didn't know what was going on. I remember I was just sitting around the house and it didn't even seem like Christmas until my dad came home.''

She also knows how the shooting of her father led to a better life and better opportunities. Now, with her father well, she looks back on the incident differently.

``It was a blessing,'' she said.

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

Shaquina Mosley calls for the ball, and usually gets it. Her play has helped the Antelopes start the season undefeated.

Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer