DAILY PILOT HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETE OF THE WEEK:

She is a guard for the Costa Mesa High girls’ basketball team, she’s a junior and today’s her 17th birthday. These are all verifiable facts about Amy Gentling.

But how tall she is might depend on the day of the week you ask her.

“I try to say I’m [5-foot-5], but I’m really 5-4,” Gentling said.

Of course, every time she walks onto a basketball court, Gentling shows how much her size — or the lack thereof — won’t get in her way. The Mustangs’ most tenacious defender just goes for it.

“She’s always guarding the best player on the other team, if she’s not a center,” Coach Jim Weeks said.

Gentling did it again Saturday, in the consolation final of the Costa Mesa Winter Classic. In that game against Fountain Valley, it was her assignment to guard 5-8 Sami Little, the same player who had erupted for six three-pointers and 21 points the last time the teams played.

This time, Gentling actually outscored Little, 13-8, as the Mustangs eased to a 61-44 victory.

“I didn’t really expect to do ...” Gentling said, before stopping herself. After all, the Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week knows how far hard work can get her.

“Well, I can’t not give 110%,” she continued. “That’s not what I do. I always try to give my hardest. I love defense. If I could just play defense and not play offense, I’d be extremely happy. That game, I was just on, and really focused.”

Weeks, who called Gentling one of the six or seven best defenders he’s coached in his 16 years at Mesa, had another stat. He said that when Gentling is on the floor, the Mustangs (9-6) are scoring more than 10 points more per game than their opponents. It’s the highest margin on the team.

“She’s smart,” Weeks said of the two-year varsity starter, who is a co-captain for the Mustangs. “She really believes that defense is really important, so she’ll do what it takes. She just has a burning desire not to let the other person be successful offensively.”

Gentling, in turn, is proud of the strides that she has made offensively. A second-team All-Orange Coast League selection last season for averaging 5.7 points per game, Gentling has upped that number to 8.5 points per game this season. Gentling and seniors Jasmine Werdel and Kathy Trinh are all averaging between eight and nine points per game, and all have stepped up at times this season to complement leading scorer Michelle Figueroa.

“I’ve improved immensely [on offense], oh my gosh,” Gentling said. “I just worked really hard on shooting. I have a hoop, and in the summertime I would just go out and shoot, just focus on making my shot better. It’s always nice to improve. If they need me on offense, I want to be there.”

Gentling started playing basketball in the second grade, and has played extensively for National Junior Basketball. But soccer was her more serious sport for a time until she was forced to make a decision in eighth grade. She chose hoops, although her twin sister, Dana, still plays soccer for the Mustangs.

Amy Gentling’s main position on the pitch, not surprisingly, was as a sweeper. There, she was the last line of defense, but for Mesa girls’ basketball she’s the first one called on when the Mustangs need to shut down a player.

“She keeps improving all the time,” Weeks said. “You can watch her in a game, and she’s always working to try to figure out how to get better against the offensive player she’s playing against. She will keep trying to find ways, even if the girl is 5-8 or 5-9.”

That defense should also pay dividends down the road for Costa Mesa. And Gentling can even fill in at point guard, which she did in the first half of the Mustangs’ second game of the Winter Classic with Figueroa out.

“That game I was like, ‘OK, I’ll play point guard,’ even though I don’t like the position at all,” Gentling said. “I felt like I could keep the team going and hold it up. I can play that position when I’m needed.”

She realizes that she needs to do what she can to help lead the team. Last year, Gentling was the Mustangs’ only sophomore starter, but her extra experience this season continues to help Costa Mesa.

“Before every game, I just tell myself I need to play my defense and my offense will come to me,” Gentling said. “During the game, I usually just try to cut them off, make them dribble with the hand they’re not used to. I just try to stay low and keep my hands up, not foul. I’m in this mindset [where] I don’t really hear anybody.

“I just play.”

MATT SZABO may be reached at (714) 966-4614 or by e-mail at [email protected].