by Dean Kahl and Alex Valdes
If LaWanda Moorer were a machine instead of a first-rate basketball player, she'd have to be classified as a stereo with the volume cranked to the point that the doors and windows are rattling.
Actually, Moorer is quiet by nature, but her stats lately are the graphic equalizer that has the Menlo-Atherton High girls basketball team rockin' and rollin'.
Moorer and her M-A teammates began the postseason portion of a quest for a fourth consecutive Central Coast Section Division II title by beating visiting Piedmont Hills, 65-45, Wednesday.
Sparked by 29 points from Moorer, M-A improved its record to 22-6 heading into a Division II quarterfinal against Mount Pleasant (16-8) on Saturday at San Jose's Piedmont Hills High at 4:30 p.m.
M-A's reign of Division II dominance began against Piedmont Hills in 1991 when M-A won the title after losing the championship game to the Pirates the previous season.
This Pirate team (7-18) is not to be confused with previous versions. Coach Kathy Harris is still in charge and daughter Kristin took charge with 23 points and a bushel of blocked shots in her final high school game.
But, one player was not going to stop M-A's four-guard offense and swarming, hustle-to-the-ball defense. M-A had 21 steals and 51 rebounds. The 5-foot-6 Moorer had 11 rebounds and teammate Shanice Johnson had two steals within a four-second span in the third quarter.
No one, though, appears ready to turn down the volume on Moorer, who averaged roughly 17 points per game though the first 20 games.
However, in the past six contests, Moorer is averaging 25.5 points. Moreover, Moorer is averaging nearly 10 free-throw attempts in the past eight games.
Translation: As a 73 percent free-throw shooter, Moorer is getting to the foul line and making the opposition pay.
"The rotation of the offense is getting me open for shots," said Moorer, not mentioning that she's played point guard, off-guard, small forward and power forward this season--often all in the same game.
"Some shots are coming easier than others; I've missed some layups," Moorer said. "We've been in the playoffs, but I was nervous the whole day and didn't know how I'd do."
Moorer, who scored a career-high 35 against San Mateo two weeks ago, failed to crack the 30-point barrier again Wednesday when she missed a 15-foot jumper with:03 to play.
No problem. Teammate Lois Harris (14 points) rebounded the miss and scored at the buzzer for a tidy 20-point winning margin.
Even though M-A could not shake the Pirates until midway through the third quarter, Moorer established herself early, scoring 12 of M-A's 19 first-quarter points.
"She gets so open when she's running down the left side of the court," M-A coach Pam Wimberly said after the victory, which puts her 10 wins shy of 400 in her career. "It seems like folks (opponents) don't really look to that side of the court, but when they do, LaWanda is there."
With Moorer, Harris, Johnson, Lateefah Perkins, Alicia Brown and Jamie McCarthy (the first four are 5-6 or shorter), M-A appears at least tall enough in stature to get a fourth consecutive title.
"We played all through the summer with no height, but we knew we could win," Moorer said.
Shannon Wimberly has seen her share of CCS playoff action, and by now should be able to diagnose what she sees in front of her.
"We noticed we're peaking at the end of the season," said Wimberly following Gunn's 47-40 win over Cupertino in the first round of the Division III playoffs Tuesday. "It's strange because we never peaked at this time before. Now we're ready to go."
Wimberly, a senior forward and three-year varsity starter, has been in the CCS playoffs every year since she made the varsity. Against Cupertino (11-14), she did what she could to extend her final season, grabbing 14 rebounds and supplying solid defense in the paint.
Wimberly's hard-nosed, tough presence will be missed by Gunn fans after she graduates this June, but the Titans (11-12) will gratefully welcome back sophomores Susan Rea and Caya Consunji, both of whom were pivotal against Cupertino and should only improve in the coming seasons.
Rea scored 10 points and sparked an early Titan 9-0 run that gave Gunn an 11-6 lead late in the first quarter.
Following a Pioneer turnover, Rea made a short basket, then sank a layup after Wimberly made a steal and pass. Rea then stole the ball, made a layup on the breakaway despite being fouled and canned the ensuing free throw.
In the second quarter, Rea contributed to Gunn's 12-2 burst that erased Cupertino's 18-11 lead. She supplied excellent defense on the perimeter and dished off two assists. In the fourth quarter, she capped her performance with three important free throws and an assist.
Consunji, a transfer from Menlo School, came off the bench to supply her usual blend of fierce hard work and polished skills. For playing only about two quarters, she posted solid numbers: eight points, four rebounds and three steals.
"She really sparked us," Gunn coach Cheryl Clarkson said. "She came off the bench and did a great job for us."
In the third quarter, Consunji's basket was the only buffer between Gunn and Cupertino's 8-2 run that cut the Titan lead to 32-28. Later, in the fourth period, Consunji helped ice the victory.
After getting fouled while making a tough drive to the hoop, she made one of two free throws to give Gunn a 37-31 lead with 4:22 remaining. A couple of minutes later, she made two baskets to make it 45-33 and pretty much decide matters.
Another noteworthy story to emerge Wednesday was the return of junior Marie Mitchell, who had been sidelined for two weeks because of a battle with mononucleosis. In her second game since returning, she saw sparse action but scored four points in the second quarter. She also provided good defense and a rebounding threat.
Besides Wimberly, guard Amy Lu and center Erica Lefton--both seniors-- both played well in their final appearances before a home crowd. Lefton scored 10 points, including four in Gunn's early scoring spurt and four others in the crucial fourth quarter. She also hauled down several rebounds.
Lu scored six points, had three assists and also contributed solid defense.
Interestingly, it was the first time all season that Gunn had played man-to-man instead of zone. With the kind of pressure the Titans applied, it apparently worked. When Cupertino did score, it was never easy.
"We were shaky but we pulled together," Wimberly said of the defensive switch. "I like it (man-to-man) better, because it lets us show off our individual defensive strengths. We got a lot more steals."
Gunn played at Terra Nova on Thursday night. A win by the Titans assured them of a quarterfinal game Saturday against either Monterey or Burlingame at College of Notre Dame at 3:45 p.m.
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