A Tall Order for Loyola : Despite Losing Strak, Lions Say They Can Become a Winner

Things are looking up for the Loyola Marymount women’s basketball program.

The Lions have their tallest team ever, with three players over 6-feet, including and the tallest player in the West Coast Conference in 6-foot-5 freshman center Amy Lundquist. Loyola also has four returning starters.

“We’re still two or three years away before we can compete with the upper echelon of the conference,” said Todd Corman, who is entering his eighth season as coach. “The school is making a big commitment to the program.”

Corman had eight and a half scholarships to offer entering this season, compared to eight in 1991 and seven in 1990.

“(School officials say) we’ll have 13, 14 scholarships by the 1994-95 season,” Corman said. “We’re going to make a big jump in the next few years.”

That may mean no more seasons like 1991-92, when Loyola failed to win a West Coast Conference game and finished 6-21. The Lions enter the season with 14 consecutive losses.

It was only the second time in Corman’s tenure that Loyola was winless in league. In 1985-86, Corman’s first season, the Lions were 0-12 in conference play and 3-25 overall.

But Corman says this season will be different.

“Last season made me really just want to get to this year,” Corman said. “It was real easy to see the bright side of everything because we signed Amy early and (forward-center) Sheri (Brown) was already here.

“This team is as good as any we’ve had here because we’re so balanced. Other teams have had good individual players, but this team is better from top to bottom.”

The return of senior guard Jamie Jesko should help. Jesko hurt her back five games into the 1991-92 season. In 1990-91, she averaged 11.9 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists a game.

“Jamie will help us a lot,” Corman said. “We were 5-1 when she went down and we only won one more game after that. She’ll be important to us.”

Jesko says this is perhaps the best team she has played on at Loyola.

“I really want to go to the NCAA tournament and I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t if we play up to our potential,” she said.

Loyola’s returning starters are 6-1 sophomore forward Tanya White (9.3 points, 5.8 rebounds), senior guard Nicki Rouillard (7.6 points, 3.5 assists), 6-foot sophomore forward Desiree Warren (5.2 points, 3.7 rebounds) and junior guard Christy Fortney (4.1 points, 2.2 assists).

Rouillard is expected to start at point guard, Jesko at off-guard, White at small forward and Warren at power forward. Sheri Brown, a transfer from Fresno State, is expected to start at center.

The 6-1 Brown was an All-Big West Conference honorable mention as a sophomore after leading the Bulldogs in scoring (13.8 points) and rebounding (6.9).

“Sheri is one of the best inside players in this conference,” Corman said. “She’s quick around the basket and very strong and she can shoot from 10, 12 feet consistently. Most of the teams in our conference have good, big girls, but not with the foot speed that Sheri has.”

Corman believes that Lundquist has been slowed because of a minor knee injury. The Lions’ prize recruit was a four-time, All-Upper St. Croix Valley League selection at Frederic High in Wisconsin.

As a senior, she averaged 27.8 points and 9.3 rebounds to help her team to a 22-1 record and the semifinals of the Wisconsin sectional tournament.

“She’s the kind of player that will develop very well,” Corman said. “She’s still very young and very raw, but she has an uncanny way of getting the ball in the basket.”

Loyola will play host to independent Cal State Northridge in its opener Dec. 1 at 5:30 p.m. The Lions’ nonconference schedule also includes games at San Diego State on Dec. 4 and UCLA on Jan. 2. Loyola will play host to Portland in its league opener on Jan. 15.

“I’m really looking forward to it,” Jesko said. “It’s good to have five strong players out there. You know you can always get it inside because you can pass to any of them. We’ve never really had that before.”