By Steve Bradley
Democrat and Chronicle

(Feb. 18, 2000) -- The flier first arrived at the Nazareth Academy athletic office nearly two years ago and Chris Belmont pushed it aside, but Belmont just couldn't get the idea of Christmas in California out of his mind. Every once in a while Belmont, Nazareth's athletic director and girls basketball coach, would pick up the pamphlet and wonder if his team could really travel all the way to San Diego to play in the Surf 'N Slam Tournament.

Finally he decided to meet with his players and their parents to see if interest and support, both philosophical and financial, was there. The players wanted to go and pledged to raise $500 each over 18 months to do so. The parents backed the trip and agreed to cover any insufficient funds. The Lasers were beaming from ear to ear about going coast to coast. They washed cars, served spaghetti dinners and sold everything from candy bars to raffle tickets in order to make their California dream a reality and it was worth every tire they scrubbed.

The 11 girls on the team reached their goal and headed west in December but it wasn't all fun in the sun. The defending Class B champions played some top-notch competition and grew closer together during their travels.

"We really got to bond," senior forward Meredith Craig says. "I think before that we were kind of having trouble gelling together and playing as a team and after that I thought we began to gel better."

"We were there for four days and we were busy every minute of the day," Belmont says. "Besides our games we were out in the city and just experiencing everything the city had to offer."

Including winning. The Lasers (17-3) have won 10 straight games and have not lost since falling to Bellevue, the third-ranked team in Washington, in their first game in California. Their triumphs include wins over Chief Seath (Wash.) and Tabor Academy (Mass.) out west and Holy Angels of Buffalo, the state's No. 2 Class B team, earlier this month.

They are seeded third, behind No. 1 Livonia and No. 2 Palmyra-Macedon in the Section V Tournament. Nazareth is blessed with both star power and balance.

Senior center Rochelle Cherry is the star, leading the team in both scoring and rebounding. The 6-foot-2 Cherry, a two-time All-Greater Rochester selection, scores 14.5 points, grabs 9.4 rebounds and blocks almost 4 shots per game. She is the school's all-time leader in each category and has accepted an athletic scholarship to play basketball at Division I University of South Florida. Though she's talented and difficult to stop, Cherry does not act alone.

Craig stands 6-feet and nearly averages a double-double (10.8 points, 9 rebounds) and guards Bianca Watson (11.3) and Meghan Dahlman (11.1) also score in double figures. Senior point guard Jennifer Kamm is second on the team in steals and assists and forward Brie Urbonas adds an experienced scorer off the bench for a team that returns all five of its starters from last year's championship squad.

"They just like playing," Craig says. "When you like playing the game I think that makes you a better player and it makes you a better team."

Being friends doesn't hurt.

"We all get along," Craig says. "I think we've been playing with each other for so long that it makes it easier."

Things should grow tougher fairly soon. Livonia and Pal-Mac both beat Nazareth earlier this season.

"We're playing very well, we have been for the past month and a half," Belmont says. "The teams in our bracket are very good and we'll have to be at the top of our game to be able to win another championship."

Not that they won't try.

"I think we have a good chance to go all the way if we play hard and stick to what we're doing," Cherry says.