Tough Act to Follow : Woodbridge’s Duperron Enjoys Leadership Role

IRVINE — Hard to know what moment symbolizes Krissy Duperron best.

Was it her performance in last season’s state championship game, in which she played after missing 21 games because of torn knee cartilage?

Or was it last Monday’s game at the Bren Center, where she cut a nationally sought recruit down to size?

Both are representative of Duperron, the hard-working Woodbridge senior whose role as a leader can’t be underscored enough.

Her coach, Pat Quinn, leans toward her performance last Monday against Ventura Buena, the team ranked No. 2 in the state that Woodbridge defeated, 56-54. Duperron, who will attend UC Irvine next fall, was tough as nails against Nicole Greathouse, Buena’s 6-foot-2 center who could go to any college next fall but will attend UC Santa Barbara because it is close to home.

Duperron (6 feet) scored 17 points, matching Greathouse. She had eight rebounds and three steals, and was largely responsible for Greathouse getting only three shots in the second and third quarters, and scoring only two points in 21 minutes.

“Before the game, you could tell there was a little something extra,” Quinn said. “[Duperron] said she got a good night’s sleep and you could tell in her voice that she was ready to put it on the line. It was at the Bren Center, where she’s going to play, there was a good crowd, it was a big game--she was ready. It’s the first time I heard her talk that much before a game [about being] ready. There were no doubts, no confusion.”

Duperron then led the Warriors to an improbable victory, scoring their first basket and their last. She made two free throws with 1 minute 53 seconds left for a one-point lead, then buried two free throws with eight seconds left and a three-point margin.

Duperron, a three-year starter, said it was easily her best moment this season and one of the best of her career--which for once, isn’t pockmarked by injury.

As a sophomore at Woodbridge, she separated her shoulder and played the playoffs in pain as Woodbridge won its first state title. She was a Times all-county second-team selection.

Last year, she tore the meniscus in her knee and missed three months and 21 games. She returned for one bow, the state championship game against Sacramento El Camino. She entered in the first quarter to cheers.

“That was the greatest moment of my life,” Duperron said. “It was really important to me because I wouldn’t want to play if I was hindering the team. By playing, I was able to prove to people who didn’t think I would be back in time that I was ready, and I was able to prove to myself that all my hard work paid off despite the frustration and the disappointment.”

And the game was right down Duperron’s alley--a back alley. There were 58 fouls, and she gave the Warriors something they needed badly--someone who would push back.

Duperron missed all five of her shots, scored two points, had two rebounds and four fouls. Woodbridge won its second consecutive state championship.

But she made a difference, Quinn says. “Everyone who watched that game knew she was in the ball game,” Quinn said.

That big-game experience is invaluable to the Warriors (13-3), ranked third in Orange County, who lack front-line players with such experience.

Nicole Roberts and Debby Caine didn’t get much quality time last season in such contests.

“And Cathy Joens was a stand-in-the-shadows and take-what-she-can-get player last year,” Quinn said. “This is a whole new group.

“The bottom line is when we get in trouble and we’re indecisive, we need to find Krissy. And when she’s playing so well, the rest of the girls can relax; they don’t have to do everything. Each of them do certain things very well and it blends into the team.”

Duperron, shooting 49.1% from the field and 70.1% from the free-throw line, is averaging a team-high 15.5 points and 6.9 rebounds.

“Last year, when I wasn’t playing, I realized a lot of things about myself,” she said. “There’s more to life than just basketball. You have to work hard to get to where you want to be, and you have to work harder to stay there. I wanted to work so hard to get back to play.”

What symbolizes Duperron best?

“I bring the team hard work,” she said, “and I hope it would follow my example.”