Rancho's Alexandra Melonson has helped turn the Rams' girls basketball team into a successful program in her four years at the school. Melonson recently broke 1,000 points for her career. Photo by Ralph Fountain.

When Alexandra Melonson entered Rancho High School as a freshman, the Rams' girls basketball team was in dire need of help, coming off a three-season stretch in which it won only 13 games.

The 5-foot-7-inch point guard made an instant impact, guiding Rancho to 10 wins in her first year.

Last season, as a junior, Melonson led the Rams to their first winning campaign (16-13) in nearly a decade.

Now a senior, Melonson recently became the first Rancho girls basketball player in 15 years to top 1,000 points.

"She's steadily improved," fourth-year Rancho coach Todd Herrick said. "She has great court vision, she sees the whole floor, and she's very quick.''

Last year, Melonson had more than 100 steals and is well on her way to duplicating that feat again this year.

"She always seems to be around the ball,'' Herrick said. ''She plays under control and she's pretty much a coach on the court. She knows where everyone's supposed to be."

Melonson has improved her scoring average each year at Rancho, increasing from 8 points per game as a freshman to 12.6 as a sophomore, to 13.6 last season and to 15 points per game this year.

She also averages close to four assists and four steals per contest.

"She's got to be one of the top five in the city at point guard," Herrick said. "And she's the nicest person you could meet. She just has a fun personality and is very reserved and humble.

Herrick believes Melonson has a future in basketball at the next level.

"She's a little small and a little thin, but I think she can definitely play Division II and I think she's good enough to play Division I."

Melonson, whose older brother Yul played at Bishop Gorman, said this year's team is the best one in her four years at Rancho.

"Hopefully, we'll come out as (Sunrise) Region champs," Melonson said. "It's going to be a battle, but I feel as long as we do what we're supposed to do, we can get there as a team.

"We have more speed this year, guards that can shoot the ball and post players who can almost dominate."

The Rams are 6-4, but could easily be 8-2, with two of their losses coming by two points, including one to Bonanza on Monday in which they missed eight free throws.

Earlier this year, the Rams lost to Mojave in a game in which they missed 13 free throws.

"We lost two two-point games because we can't shoot free throws," Herrick said. "But I think we can definitely compete with just about everyone in the city. I think we have a legitimate shot to win 19 or 20 games this year in the regular season.

"We expect to compete for the Northeast Division title this year. The Sunrise itself is pretty wide open. Green Valley and Silverado have pretty good teams and we'll probably be battling Desert Pines and Eldorado (in the Northeast)."

Melonson, who has attracted interest from Seattle University, a Division II school in her native Washington state, scores most of her points on drives to the hoop and short shots in the lane.

But she takes the most pride in her defense.

"I like playing defense a lot," she said. "I get excited to lock up a girl and play good defense, and they get nervous."

Melonson also excels in the classroom, where she's a medical magnet student with a 3.66 grade-point average.

She credits her father for keeping her mentally focused on and off the basketball court.

"He's there to help make sure I'm not goofing off. He knows I have to prepare mentally for games," she said. "And I know I need to get good grades. Both my parents make sure I focus on school first before anything."

Melonson played for two AAU teams last summer and also is a member of Rancho's hip hop dance club.

She hasn't decided on a career path, but has considered a future in physical therapy or sports medicine and plans to major in business in college.

"Hopefully I'll play college ball -- either Division I or Division II -- and go to school and focus on business," Melonson said.

She just has some business to take care of at Rancho first.