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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Tuesday, May 28, 2002

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

Leilehua High School's versatile Heidi Garcia is not one of those "jack-of-all-trades/master-of-none" people.

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.