GIRLS HOOPS PREVIEW: Players to watch

Danielle Love

Cascade | Senior | 6-2 | Forward/Post

Key ‘08-09 stats: 13.4 ppg, 9.1 rpg, 2.9 apg, 2.5 bpg, 1.6 spg.

College plans: Signed with Oregon.

Why watch: An All-Wesco North second team selection last season, the Bruins’ third-year captain will play in the Pac-10 after high school. Blessed with the size to rebound and score inside and the shooting touch to pour in long-range jump shots, Love is one of the most difficult matchups around. She is Cascade’s only senior and hopes to lead the team back to the Class 4A district tournament. Love, Cascade’s first Division-I women’s hoops recruit since 2001, picked Oregon in part because of its coaches and fairly close location but also because it’s a good football school. A huge gridiron fan, Love watches football on TV way more than basketball.

Erin Feeney

Jackson | Senior | 5-9 | Shooting Guard

Key ‘08-09 stats: 18.0 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 3.5 apg, 2.1 spg.

College plans: Signed with Western Washington.

Why watch: An accurate shooter who piles up points in a hurry, Feeney looks to build on her outstanding junior season, when she emerged as one of the state’s best guards. The four-year varsity team contributor (an All-Wesco South first team pick last season) is part of a loaded Jackson squad that returns everyone from the group that went to state this past March. Not just a scorer, Feeney has drastically improved her defense, rebounding and ability to set up teammates. Following in the steps of Kristi Kingma, Feeney is the latest college-bound guard coached by Jeannie Thompson.

Marjorie Heard

Glacier Peak | Senior | 6-1 | Forward

Key ‘08-09 stats: 17.0 ppg, 12.0 rpg.

College plans: Signed with Washington.

Why watch: When you observe Heard’s all-out, physical style of play it reminds you of another basketball star who also grew up in Snohomish: Jon Brockman. It’s no accident. One of the most powerful girls you will ever see on the court, Heard adores Brockman, the Snohomish High alum who starred at Washington and now plays for the Sacramento Kings. Heard, who played two seasons at Snohomish High before switching to Glacier Peak, got an unforgettable surprise during an unofficial recruiting visit to Washington. Brockman found out she was there and said hi. “He came out of practice and talked to me and I almost fainted,” said Heard, an All-Wesco South first team selection last season. “I was so excited.”

Angela Woods

Edmonds-Woodway | Junior | 5-10 | Forward

Key ‘08-09 stats: 14.8 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 2.6 apg, 2.4 spg.

Why watch: If you leave Woods open on the perimeter you will regret it. Last season she made 44.8 percent of her 3-point shots, plenty of them from well beyond the line. The only sophomore on last season’s All-Wesco South first team, Woods keeps polishing her shooting skills, as well as other areas of her game. “In addition to extending her already extraordinary range from 3-point range, Angela has improved her physical strength and scoring consistency in the off-season,” first-year E-W coach Duane Hodges said. “She is a difficult defensive matchup for opponents because of her ability to post up smaller players or take bigger defenders outside.”

Sam Pettinger and Shelby Lyman

Archbishop Murphy | Senior guards

Key ‘08-09 stats: Pettinger 11.0 ppg, 3.0 apg, 3.0 rpg, 2.7 spg; Lyman 10.0 ppg, 3.0 apg, 2.0 rpg.

College plans: Pettinger committed to Pacific; Lyman to Cornell.

Why watch: This dynamic duo helped lead Archbishop Murphy to a 26-0 start last season and a runnerup finish behind Lynden at the Class 2A state tournament. Expect Pettinger (5-foot-9) and Lyman (5-8) to have another stellar season in the 1A/2A Cascade Conference and shoot for more coveted postseason hardware. Pettinger, also a soccer standout, and Lyman each shot 45 percent from the field and earned all-conference first team honors last season. Dangerous from long range, they combined to make 75 3-point shots (Lyman 54, Pettinger 21). At the other end of the court, they racked up steals. Pettinger snared 74, Lyman 47.