RESERVES WILL BE KEY FOR ANTELOPES ANTELOPE VALLEY GIRLS HOPE DEPTH WILL LEAD THEM TO ANOTHER TITLE.Byline: Rich Hammond Rich Hammond Los Angeles Daily News sports writer. Instrumental in bringing the Los Angeles Kings hockey organization closer to the fans. He is the atypical "what a guy" to Kings fans everywhere. Rich Hammond on himself. Staff Writer Antelope Valley This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley High girls' basketball coach April Davenport Davenport, city (1990 pop. 95,333), seat of Scott co., E central Iowa, on the Mississippi River; inc. 1836. Bridges connect it with the Illinois cities of Rock Island and Moline; the three communities and neighboring Bettendorf, Iowa, are known as the Quad Cities. always kept a couple of character players at the end of her bench, one or two girls who wouldn't would·n't Contraction of would not. wouldn't would not wouldn't would play much but who worked hard and gave the team a boost emotionally. This year, no chair on the bench stays warm for very long. For the first time in her five years with the Antelopes, Davenport has a team that goes 11 players deep, and she hopes that top-to-bottom strength will make the difference as Antelope Valley goes for its third consecutive Golden League title. ``It's such a luxury,'' Davenport said. ``We're playing a game, and the other team is tired, substituting five players at a time, and my girls are doing fine.'' Of course, there are two notable names missing among those 11, last year's leading scorer, Crystal McCutcheon, and leading post player, Jacquana Young. Both have graduated, but Davenport said she is encouraged by the way several players have stepped into that leadership void. ``The nice thing is that it's three or four girls, and not just one,'' Davenport said. ``I think that was kind of the problem in summer. We struggled a little bit on offense, and I think people were just kind of waiting for Crystal to do all the scoring.'' Junior point guard Shaquina Mosley, a third-year varsity player, senior Sheena Crenshaw cren·shaw also cran·shaw n. A variety of winter melon (Cucumis melo var. inodorus) having a greenish-yellow rind and sweet, usually salmon-pink flesh. [Origin unknown.] and junior Kristal Fox are key players for Antelope Valley. Two freshmen, forward Marilyn Elder and guard Keisha Adams, are also a part of the rotation. Against Sultana on Thursday, Elder had nine points and Adams had seven points in a 73-34 victory. Fox will play small forward for the Antelopes, although she has the playmaking ability of a guard, and Davenport is excited about the improvement of another in-between player, senior Naomi Casey. ``She is going to surprise a lot of people,'' Davenport said. ``She's a shy, quiet kid but she's changed her game quite a bit and she's going to be big for us.'' That's good, but the Antelopes need big players. Strong post players are rare in the Golden League, so the Antelopes' lack of size won't hurt them in league nearly as much as it will in the playoffs. Davenport changed her defense this season to accommodate her smaller players and try to put them in position to more easily get rebounds. ``When we walk into the gym, we look like a bunch of guards,'' Davenport said. ``The size is going to hurt us, but we seem to be pretty cohesive cohesive, n the capability to cohere or stick together to form a mass. on defense already. If we can get the defense down, we should be OK, but that's kind of a big if.'' Antelope Valley figures to battle Palmdale, and possibly Quartz quartz, one of the commonest of all rock-forming minerals and one of the most important constituents of the earth's crust. Chemically, it is silicon dioxide, SiO2. Hill, for the league title, but beyond that, the league is, as Davenport admits, ``pretty weak.'' Unless disaster strikes, the Antelopes are all but a lock to make the playoffs, and that's where the problems could begin for the undersized undersized see dwarfism, runt. team. ``The lack of size doesn't hurt us nearly as much in league, because we have some very talented athletes,'' Davenport said. ``But when you get to the playoffs, everybody has talented athletes, and they have size as well.'' Davenport is one of the area's few proactive coaches when it comes to scheduling, as she tries to prepare her team for the playoffs with a strong nonleague schedule. This season, in addition to hosting their own tournament this week, the Antelopes will play in the strong Valencia tournament next week and a tournament in Las Vegas Las Vegas (läs vā`gəs), city (1990 pop. 258,295), seat of Clark co., S Nev.; inc. 1911. It is the largest city in Nevada and the center of one of the fastest-growing urban areas in the United States. in late December that gave the team a boost last season. Also, Davenport secured a game in Sacramento on Jan. 26 against Northern California Northern California, sometimes referred to as NorCal, is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The region contains the San Francisco Bay Area, the state capital, Sacramento; as well as the substantial natural beauty of the redwood forests, the northern power Berkeley. ``The Berkeley game will be great for us,'' Davenport said. ``I know they are a great team, but there will be a lot of scouts there to watch Berkeley and maybe somebody on our team will catch their eye as well. ``Playing tough teams in (nonleague) gives us a better idea of where we are for league and playoffs. My first two years, the Years, The the seven decades of Eleanor Pargiter’s life. [Br. Lit.: Benét, 1109] See : Time only games we won were in nonleague because we were so weak, but that doesn't tell you anything. Scheduling tough nonleague games, it helps you figure things out, and it doesn't hurt our league record at all.'' AT A GLANCE Team: Antelope Valley girls' basketball. Coach: April Davenport, fifth season. Last season: 25-4, 10-0 (first in Golden League). Top returnees: Shaquina Mosley, 5-6 Jr. guard (15 points per game last season); Kristal Fox, 5-9 Sr. forward (8 ppg, 10 rpg); Naomi Casey, 5-9 Sr. forward (6 ppg, 7 rpg); Sheena Crenshaw, 5-8 Jr. guard (10 ppg, 8 rpg); Chrissy Floyd, 5-4 Sr. guard (5 ppg). Top newcomers: Ebony ebony, common name for members of the Ebenaceae, a family of trees and shrubs widely distributed in warmer climates and in the tropics. The principal genus, Diospyros, includes both ebony and persimmon trees. Howard, 5-6 So. guard; Marilyn Elder, 5-9 Fr. forward; April Jones, 5-10 Jr. center; Laurie Hodges, 5-8 Sr. forward; Kiesha Adams CAPTION(S): photo, box Photo: (color) Antelope antelope, name applied to a large number of hoofed, ruminant mammals of the cattle family (Bovidae), which also includes the sheep and goats. The North American pronghorn is sometimes called an antelope, but belongs to a separate, related family (Antilocapridae). Valley's Sheena Crenshaw returns having averaged 10 points per game last year. Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer Box: AT A GLANCE (see text) |
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