SIDELINES : Former Softball Stars Pop Up on Northridge Basketball Team

The Cal State Northridge women’s basketball team has added a couple of heavy hitters to its lineup.

Shannon Jones and Beth Calcante, former softball All-Americans for the Matadors, have made the basketball team as fifth-year senior walk-ons.

Neither has participated in organized basketball since their high school days, but Coach Kim Chandler expects both to contribute.

“Shannon is further along than Beth, but Beth is such a competitor she comes right at you,” Chandler said. “She’s hard to stop.”

If nothing else, Chandler hopes some of the success Jones and Calcante experienced as softball players rubs off. The Northridge softball team, which last season had a record of 52-10 and advanced to the NCAA title game, is reigning two-time Western Athletic Conference champion.

The basketball team last season had a record of 3-22.

“I hope we bring a positive spirit to these guys,” Jones said. “This is a whole new year. It doesn’t matter what happened last year.”

Fashion news: Where have you gone, Johnny Unitas?

Seems not long ago that the crew-cut was the cutting edge of football fashion.

Not at Harvard-Westlake High. No less than six Wolverine football players have long hair.

Quarterback Derek Lemkin, defensive back Merlin DeMartinis and receiver Charu Turner are among those with long locks. Lemkin and DeMartinis play with ponytails protruding from their helmets.

Well-groomed or not, Harvard-Westlake is dressed for success. The Wolverines take a record of 5-1-1, 2-0 in Camino Real League play, into tonight’s game against St. Anthony.

“We recommend to all the guys that they get the best haircut they can for fitting their heads inside a helmet,” Coach Dave Bennett said. “But some of these guys do their own thing. Charu . . . I can’t tell which way his hair is going.”

DeMartinis said the players “do it to get on the coaches’ nerves.”

Bennett said he doesn’t mind--just as long as they don’t wear earrings.

Wake-up call: Waking has been catching people snoozing.

Waking Bailey, free safety on the Kennedy High football team, made seven interceptions in his first five varsity games. The 5-foot-8, 165-pound sophomore transferred last spring from Faith Baptist, a private school in Canoga Park that perennially fields strong eight-man teams.

Bailey, whose first name is pronounced Wah-KEEN, wanted to play 11-man football, so he decided to join his cousin, Kennedy running back Antwane Smith.

“I figured I could come in and contribute a little bit,” Bailey said.

He’s done more than that. Bailey leads the region in interceptions.

Waiting game: Still waiting for the college football debut of Zack Hernandez?

It might be a while.

Hernandez, who last season passed for 3,634 yards in leading L.A. Baptist High to an undefeated season and Southern Section Division X football title, has not played for Cal Lutheran.

Kingsmen Coach Joe Harper says he is trying to avoid playing Hernandez so he can redshirt him.

Stats

Two weeks ago, the Harvard-Westlake High water polo team participated in a tournament in which the Wolverines faced four teams that were ranked first in their respective divisions.

That was nothing compared to what Harvard-Westlake faces beginning today. Seven of the 16 teams in the California State Invitational at Stanford are reigning champions in sections throughout the state.

In a rush: Tailback Terrence Thomas needs 259 yards in Cal Lutheran’s final three games to break the school single-season rushing record of 1,024 yards set by Hank Bauer in 1975. Thomas has 766 yards in 145 carries.

Struggling: Tight end Travis Hall is suffering a decline in productivity that mirrors that of the Cal State Northridge football team’s entire offense. Hall, the team leader in receptions through four games, has caught only five passes for 25 yards in the past three games.

Hot leg: Village Christian High’s Ignacio Brache has converted 11 of 18 field-goal attempts, including seven from 40 yards and beyond. Six of his seven misses have been from 56 yards or longer, including a 62-yard attempt.

Goal-oriented: With 117 goals, Pedro de Lima, two-meter man on the Ventura College water polo team, leads the state in scoring. Teammate Alexandre Martins is third with 100. The Brazilians also rank first and third in assists with 53 and 47. Teammate Andy Bruininga is second with 49. De Lima led the state in scoring last season with 161 goals.

Things to Do

Today, 3 p.m., cross-country course at Lake Casitas in Ojai: The Ventura County high school cross-country championships features some of the best runners in the state. Amy Skieresz of Agoura will be shooting for her third consecutive girls’ title.

Saturday, 10 a.m., Moorpark College cross-country course: The top junior college runners in Southern California compete in the Johnie O Invitational, the qualifying meet for next month’s state championships in Fresno.

Compiled by Mike Hiserman. Contributing: Kennedy Cosgrove, Steve Elling, Jeff Fletcher, Vince Kowalick, Paige A. Leech and John Ortega.