Garcia's athletic skills validated by West Player of Year honors

By Wes Nakama
Advertiser Staff Writer

Leilehua High School senior Heidi Garcia also excelled in volleyball and softball. Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser

Garcia played three varsity sports — volleyball, softball and basketball — and excelled in each. She capped off a spectacular senior year by being named the O'ahu Interscholastic Association Western Division's basketball Player of the Year after a vote of coaches.

"She's an all-around athlete, but she was determined to have a great basketball season," Leilehua coach Elroy Dumlao said. "That was her mindset."

Garcia, a 5-foot-7 wing player, achieved that great season by averaging 12.6 points, six rebounds and two steals per game and leading the Mules into the OIA playoffs. She scored a season-high 26 points in a 52-41 victory over area rival Mililani.

"She stepped up all the time," Dumlao said.

This was following a volleyball season in which she was named a first-team OIA West all-star and a softball season in which she helped lead Leilehua to the state semifinals, its highest finish in 13 years.

Garcia has accepted a full scholarship offer to play softball at Chaminade University.

The rest of the West all-star first team consists of four guards: Radford's Heather Massey, Nanakuli's Lehua Yap, Pearl City's Christie Ayers and 'Aiea's Jasmine Dias.

Massey, a senior, finished second among the division's scoring leaders with a 14.3 average. Her all-around play was impressive enough to earn her a scholarship to Nevada. Iolani guard Trisha Nishimoto, who signed with Hawai'i, is the only other local player to accept a Division I scholarship offer this year.

Yap, a junior, was the division's scoring champion with 15.9 points per game. She had three 20-point outings: against Mililani (29), Leilehua (21) and Waialua (20).

Ayers, a junior, was not among the West scoring leaders but her role as point guard was pivotal in the Chargers' surprising 9-1 run through the regular season.

Dias, a senior, likewise provided leadership for a rebuilding 'Aiea squad that had been depleted by graduation the year before.

Pearl City's Mike Morton was named Coach of the Year after leading the Chargers to a West co-championship despite having only two seniors on the roster.