SportsScope : Bronco Women Cagers Are Rolling but Wary About Chapman, Riverside

The Cal Poly Pomona women’s basketball team has not faced many problems in the first four weeks of the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. season, but things could get tougher soon.

The Broncos face two of their top competitors for the CCAA title, Chapman on Saturday and UC Riverside on Tuesday. Pomona opens the stretch with a conference game against Cal State Dominguez Hills at 5:45 p.m. Friday at Carson.

The Broncos, ranked No. 1 nationally in NCAA Division II at 17-1 overall and 4-0 in the CCAA, figure to receive their most difficult games of the conference season against Chapman at 8 p.m. Saturday at Poly Pavilion and at 5:45 Tuesday at Riverside.

The Chapman Panthers were the last team to defeat Pomona in conference play. Pomona, the two-time defending Division II champion, has won 28 straight conference games since losing to Chapman on Jan. 17, 1985, and Coach Darlene May is concerned about facing the second-place Panthers (10-8, 3-1).

“I think that Chapman is the second best team in the conference, and I’ve felt that all along,” May said. “I still feel that Chapman is our conference and area rival more than any other team. They have been one of the top teams every year.”

Chapman is led by forward Valerie Hartsfield, who averages 16.9 points, and guard Karan Polk, who averages 15.1 points and 4.2 assists. Pomona has been headed by 5-10 All-American forward Debra Larsen, who averages 17.4 points and 11.4 rebounds, and 5-6 All-American point guard Michelle McCoy, who averages 14.4 points and 7.3 assists. Two other top players are freshman forward Niki Bracken (6-2) and junior guard Paula Tezak (5-8).

With the focus on the Chapman and Riverside games, May is cautioning her team against looking past Dominguez Hills. The Lady Toros (7-11, 1-3) are headed by guard Deborah Shepherd and center Lecia Codrington.

With hope of staying in contention for a berth in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. postseason tournament, the Cal State Los Angeles women’s basketball team has an important home conference game against Cal Poly San Luis Obispo at 7:30 tonight.

Cal State, which split two conference games last week, is 2-3 in the CCAA and 12-6 overall. San Luis Obispo is 2-2 in the CCAA and 9-10 for the season. San Luis Obispo is in third place in the conference and Cal State is tied for fourth with Cal State Northridge. The top four teams advance to the tournament Feb. 27.

Cal State was ranked No. 15 in NCAA Division II--its highest ranking ever--before defeating Cal State Dominguez Hills (74-45) and losing to Chapman (71-66) last week.

The Golden Eagles have been led by 6-0 sophomore center Lupe Quintana and 5-8 junior guard Shelly Bowcutt. Quintana, who grabbed 30 rebounds last week, has moved up to fourth on the school’s all-time rebounding list.

After the San Luis Obispo game, the Golden Eagles take a break from CCAA play with a game against UC San Diego (12-8) at 5:45 p.m. Saturday at Cal State.

The Cal Poly Pomona baseball team, ranked No. 10 in NCAA Division II in a preseason poll by Collegiate Baseball magazine, opens its season with a non-conference game against USC at noon Saturday at Scolinos Field in Pomona.

Pomona struggled to a 24-28 record last year but finished second in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. and returns several outstanding players.

Leading the way are senior third baseman Tom Lorenz, an all-conference player who batted .376, and senior catcher David Schuster, a second-team all-conference performer with a .320 batting average.

The Broncos have a veteran pitcher in senior left-hander Charlie Webb, who posted a 5-6 record and had five saves in 103 innings.

“The strength of our team appears to be that we have some bona fide hitters,” said Coach John Scolinos, who has compiled a 1,066-805 record in 39 years as a college coach. Scolinos, the most winning active college coach, is starting his 26th year at Cal Poly.

“But, bona fide pitching can beat bona fide hitting. Pitching is the question mark. The team that wins the conference will have the best pitching and will be hot at the right time. Who can say there’s a weak pigeon in this league?”

The game against USC is the first of a strong non-conference schedule for the Broncos, who also will face Division I powers Arizona State, UCLA, UC Santa Barbara, Pepperdine and Cal State Fullerton.

Sophomore midfielder Mike Gregorian of the Cal State Los Angeles soccer team has been invited to try out for the U.S. National Youth Team, which will play for the world championship next fall.

Gregorian, a former standout at Pilibos Armenian High School in Los Angeles, led the Golden Eagles with 11 points, including 5 goals and 1 assist, last season.