Buffum Keeping San Clemente on Winning Track

By MARTIN HENDERSON

Dec. 30, 2000 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

Megan Blackshire is the returning starter. . . . Kristin Jenkins earned all-league mention. . . . Sara Brown is the sharpshooter who transferred into the starting lineup. . . . Lindsey Pluimer is the 6-foot-2 freshman phenom. . . .

But through the first month of the girls’ basketball season, junior point guard Kim Buffum has been the trigger person behind San Clemente’s success.

The Tritons are 12-1 and have risen to No. 2 in the Orange County rankings. Only a 78-77 overtime slip against Irvine prevented them from being No. 1. San Clemente has three victories over teams ranked among the county’s top five, and in each of those victories, Buffum played a critical role at crunch time.

“She doesn’t jump particularly well, doesn’t possess exceptional quickness--your eye doesn’t gravitate toward her--but she’s very efficient,” said Marc Hill, coach of fourth-ranked Esperanza, whose Aztecs have lost twice to the Tritons.

Among Buffum’s feats:

* Scored 10 of her 13 points in the fourth quarter, including consecutive three-point baskets after the score was tied at 36-36, in a 52-47 victory over Esperanza in the season opener.

* Scored the last six points (out of her 10 total) in the final 2 minutes 11 seconds of a 59-55 victory over Esperanza in the championship of the South Coast Holiday Classic.

* Scored seven of her 10 points in the fourth quarter, including the last four points, in a 55-52 victory against No. 1-ranked Troy. She also had a three-pointer that ended a 10-2 run by Troy that had given the Warriors a 41-40 lead.

“I feel really lucky that I’ve gotten to be in that situation,” Buffum said. “Some people will go through a whole career and not have that happen once, and I’ve had it three times.”

Buffum set a school record this week at the Orange County Championship with 13 assists in a victory over Mater Dei, but even before that, San Clemente Coach Mary Mulligan was committed to her point guard.

“She’s an extension of me on the floor,” said Mulligan, whose team has lined up an impressive collection of opponents over this season.

The Tritons play tonight in the title game at the Orange County Championship, once again against No. 4 Esperanza. San Clemente avenged its loss to No. 6 Irvine with a 43-40 victory in the semifinal.

San Clemente also defeated No. 9 Santa Margarita, which was unranked at the time, in the South Coast tournament, and scheduled nonleague games against Huntington Beach and Riverside North, which were expected to be regional powers.

“I was really excited about this year because this was finally my year,” Buffum said. “It’s a cool title to have--starting point guard. I worked so hard this summer with my club team and on my own in the gym. I got on a [fitness] program. I feel like it’s paying off.”

Buffum credits an assistant coach, Jim Madrid, with helping her maintain focus in the big games. “I wanted to know how to stay calm, and he taught me how to get into the right state of mind,” Buffum said. “And if you make a mistake, don’t dwell on the mistake.”

Buffum’s success has been a boon to the Tritons.

“Blackshire was the returning all-league player, so you gear up for her,” Hill said. “Last year, when we played El Toro, Sara Brown hit two shots at the end to beat us, so we’re thinking that we have to get on her. But then, the point guard [Buffum] hits the shots. You can’t have everyone covered.

“She’s somebody to consider in the game plan.”

That was hardly the case at the beginning of the season, when San Clemente opened at No. 5 in The Times’ Orange County preseason rankings.

“I think the success has surprised us, but it’s been more of a surprise to other people,” Buffum said. “It’s been a surprise that we’ve come together so quickly. It’s a very bonded team and we all work together to win. We have three or four people scoring 10 points a game.”

Buffum is averaging only about 7.5 points and 4.5 assists, but with her clutch play and the development of freshman Pluimer, the Tritons have moved steadily upward, hopeful of winning their first Southern Section title.

Buffum has already attracted the attention of UC Davis, an NCAA Division II program that has a fine medical school, an area of study that she wants to pursue. She has a 4.1 grade-point average.

“I know I have so much farther to go to become the best I can be,” she said. “But right now, I think I’m doing everything possible to perform my best.

“I’m not the best player out there, but I try to give 100% every single game, and that’s really all I can do.”