SPARKING DREAMS; TRYOUT FOR L.A. ENTRY IN WNBA ATTRACTS 200 HOPEFULS FOR TWO SPOTS.

Byline: Adrienne Matt Special to the Daily News

When Los Angeles Sparks general manager Rhonda Windham was playing basketball in high school, she used her athleticism to earn a college scholarship. Now high school girls can look forward to more than an education by playing basketball - they can earn a living.

The Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA also represents a chance to fulfill a dream.

The Sparks, who open play in the fledgling women's' pro league June 21, held the first day of tryouts for the remaining two spots on their roster and four developmental players at Loyola Marymount Saturday. Tryouts continue today and the final cut will be made Monday.

International professionals yearning to play at home and weekend warriors endured the rigorous tryouts grinning from ear to ear.

``The sky's the limit for them,'' Windham said. ``We're doing our homework . . . trying to create the best chemistry we can for this team.''

The 200 players ranged in age from 20 to 38 and came from as far away as Zaire - each paying her own way. The Sparks set two requirements for these players to meet: some college playing experience and at least 22 years old.

But there were exceptions to that rule. Atlanta Hawks center Dikembe Mutombo and his brother, Tshitenge, sponsored Mwadi Mabika, a 20-year-old Zaire Olympian. Mabika is the youngest player to try out for the Sparks; she also has the most Olympic experience.

Tshitenge said he and his brother have watched and nurtured Mabika for five years. She has been ranked the No. 1 player in Africa, averaging 30 points per game for the Zaire national team.

``You see how young and quick she is,'' Tshitenge said, ``but you also see her mentality. She has the maturity of a pro.''

Mabika has been in the United States for the past three weeks, staying in Washington, D.C., and practicing at Georgetown to train for this weekend. She is the first to admit her English needs improvement but denies any culture shock.

``I am very happy to come and play here,'' Makiba said. ``I want to be a professional player in the United States.''

``Her future is brighter here,'' Tshitenge said. ``She is just so ready to play.''

Tshitenge said if Mabika doesn't make the Sparks, he and his brother will focus their attention on finding a college program to suit her.

The oldest player actively trying to make her dream come true is 38-year-old Donna Simms. She has the distinction of playing in the WBL (with the New Jersey Gems and New England Gulls) and the WABA (Atlanta Comets); she was the first draft pick in the WBL and later became the first American woman to play for Israel.

``It's been my hope and dream that another league would come along and make it,'' Simms said. ``The NBA and WNBA have a great thing going and I really want to contribute.''

Simms was a New York City All-Star three consecutive years at Forest Hills High School. She played at Queens College, leading the nation in free throw percentage (85.3 percent). Between the years of playing for the WBL and WABA, Simms played for Elizur Tel-Aviv, helping them win the Israeli Championships.

Nearly a quarter of the players trying out for the Sparks have overseas playing experience. Majenica Rupe, a Notre Dame graduate, played in Iceland, Luxembourg and Venzuela after college.

``I was in such culture shock when I got back from Venezuela, I took some serious time off, about two years,'' Rupe said.

But when the opportunity to play in Europe came along, Rupe said she just couldn't ignore the phone calls, ``The itch just didn't go away. But it took me longer to get back in shape, too.''

Rupe said she thinks television exposure will be the key to the success of the WBNA. The league will have 10 games broadcast on Lifetime, 12 on ESPN and 10 on NBC.

``In Venezuela, the women's season began when the men's ended . . . every game was on TV. . . . We were their `sweethearts,' '' she said.

The situation in Iceland was very different, she said. There was no television exposure for the women's team and as a result the name recognition with players wasn't as strong.

Although Rupe has since had other chances to play overseas, she said the timing is right for her to be in the WNBA. ``Come on, there's nothing like playing in your homeland. Nothing,'' she said.

Penny Toler, the newest addition to the Sparks, couldn't agree more. Toler made an appearance during tryouts, greeting and hugging tryout participants. She played in Israel this past season and said she's grateful for the chance to play in the U.S.

``Overseas teams welcome Americans. They've got open arms,'' Toler said. ``But you work hard - you usually carry the team - but they want to model their players after you because we dominate world play.''

Sparks teammate Lisa Leslie also made an appearance during tryouts.

``I wanted to show support for the team,'' Leslie said. ``I also wanted to see where the level of competition is (among the participants).''

Leslie said the success of the WBNA is all about timing. She said the exposure the U.S. Olympic team had primed the country for women's basketball.

Broadcaster Anne Meyer couldn't agree more. ``People that have kept an eye on the game, how it has developed, have seen the changes,'' she said. ``We've seen sold-out audiences at women's Final Four games, fathers bringing daughters, brothers coaching sisters, a new attitude about women's sports.''

``Fifteen years ago I was hoping the NBA would get behind a women's league,'' said Sparks head coach Linda Sharp. ``This couldn't happen at a better time.''

Karleen Thompson, USC contemporary of Lisa Leslie's, landed a job as the Sparks equipment manager and is also trying out. Her daughters, aged 9 and 10, are her inspiration. She keeps a photo of each in her shoes while playing.

``They've been so supportive of me,'' Thompson said. ``I think they're almost as nervous about this as I am.''

If she doesn't stay with the Sparks as a player, she will contribute off the court instead. ``Either way, I can't lose,'' she said.

Joni Davis has been leaning on roommates while she took time away from work to train for the tryouts. ``At 33, this is my last chance,'' she said. ``Basketball can just be a game or it can be magical. It's magical to me; it's in my heart and soul.''

Davis played for Missouri from 1981-85 and played in a semipro league in Japan while working there as a stunt woman for Universal. She received her masters in exercise science from Georgia, where she was an assistant to Andy Landers.

Kenya Robinson played under the barking Landers - it didn't work out. After one year she left Georgia to return to family in Daytona, Fla. One of the more persistent calls she received was from New Orleans, where she finished her degree and collegiate eligibility.

She also played in Germany briefly but was discouraged from returning while the team struggled with financial problems. She continued to play in recreational leagues, but when she heard about the open tryouts, she just had to come.

``I just can't get it out of my blood,'' she said.

The coaching staff organized the players into A, B and C teams, each with six to eight groups. Although a few players were `traded up' into the C team, most have remained in their original groupings.

``Many players have come up to me just to thank me (for the opportunity to tryout),'' Sharp said.

She said she's seeing players she coached for and against, and she maintains she's being objective.

``We've got such incredible chemistry on the team now. We want to build on that,'' she said.

But there are only so many players who will be advanced to the Sparks.

As Davis put it, ``There's 200 dreams out there and only two roster spots.''

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3 Photos

Photo: (1--color) On the afternoon before Mother's Day, 2-year-old Olivia Hawkins took her mom, Beatrice Hawkins, to the L.A. Sparks tryout at Gersten Pavilion on the LMU campusI.

(2) Karleen Thompson, right, will be remain part of the Sparks even if she doesn't make the final cut. She's the team's equipment manager.

(3) From right, Sparks coaches Linda Sharp, Wanda Szeremeta and Julie Russo, scrutinize tryouts.

Michael Owen Baker / Daily News