Spotlight finds Miller

Chris Yemma

Graduation is usually looked upon as a time of celebration. But for

the Newport Harbor High girls basketball team, last spring’s

graduation was a bummer.

The Sailors lost two of their best players to graduation this year

-- Jillianne Whitfield and Victoria Swigart -- and are entering a

season in which Coach Jen Thompson is looking to get back to the

basics with younger players.

“Our biggest weakness is the girls have a lot of bad habits they

picked up,” said Thompson, who is coming off of her best season as

Newport’s coach. “We’re trying to break those habits. But when they

get in the game, they forget. Hopefully they’ll get it mentally.”

Newport opened its season Friday with 43-39 win over Back Bay

rival Corona del Mar. They topped University, 47-38, Saturday in a

tournament game.

Last season, Newport Harbor went 14-13, 4-6 in league and lost to

El Dorado, 65-29, in the second round of the CIF Southern Section

Division II-A playoffs. The Sailors defeated University in the first

round, giving the team its first postseason victory since 1997.

Swigart averaged 11 points during the 2003-04 season for the

Sailors, while Whitfield averaged nine. But now the team will be

looking for someone else to step up and fill those shoes.

That someone could be senior Vanessa Miller, a four-year varsity

player. Miller averaged 10 points as a junior while playing in the

shadows of the two senior captains. This season, Miller figures to

move out of the shadows and in the spotlight. She scored a game-high

18 points against CdM. She was a Newport-Mesa Dream Team honoree last

season and was named second-team All-Sea View League.

“Vanessa really needs to step up,” Thompson said. “Hopefully she

will be a leader. She knows how I work and I know what her strengths

are -- she’s a very good shooter and will help out on defense.”

But, at this stage of the season, everyone is still trying to get

to know each other, Thompson said.

Thompson said she wants them to be a fast-paced running team, a

style she played herself in college.

The Sailors will also be looking for some younger players to step

up. Jessica Bodkin, a 6-foot sophomore, and Brittany Deyan, a 5-11

sophomore, are expected to make big contributions in the post.