CALIFORNIA STATE POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY, POMONA
Bronco Sports News
For Immediate Release
Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2005
Contact: Paul Helms
(909) 869-2812
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
MEDIA NOTES
2004-05 CPP Record: 17-6. CCAA Record: 12-4
2004-05 National
Ranking: 21
2004-05 Regional
Ranking: 7
Broncos Prepare For Two Crucial CCAA Games On The Road: After splitting a pair of California
Collegiate Athletic Association home games for the second straight week, Cal
Poly Pomona’s women’s basketball team will play two crucial contests on the
road this weekend. Cal Poly Pomona, ranked 21st in the nation, will face UC San
Diego on Friday night in La Jolla and
Cal State San Bernardino on Saturday night in San Bernardino. The Broncos enter this weekend in a
second-place tie with Chico State in the CCAA, two games behind
conference-leading Cal State Dominguez Hills. Cal State San Bernardino is tied
for fourth with Cal State Bakersfield, three games out of the conference lead.
Cal Poly Pomona will most likely be without the NCAA Division II’s leading scorer, Candice Allen (Sr., Ontario,
University of Arizona), who was sidelined by a shoulder injury suffered during
the first half of the Broncos’ win over Cal State Stanislaus on Friday. She did
not return to that game and missed Saturday’s game with Chico State as well. The Broncos have won nine of their
last 11 games. Cal Poly Pomona is coming off another outstanding season. The
Broncos reached the NCAA Division II West Region championship game at Seattle
Pacific and became the only Division II program to reach the Sweet Sixteen for
the fourth time in the past five years. Cal Poly Pomona also posted playoff
wins over Chico State and Cal State Bakersfield, giving the Broncos 48
postseason wins, which is the most among all Division II programs. Cal Poly
Pomona remains tied with North Dakota State for most national championships won
(5). The Broncos won back-to-back titles in 2001 and 2002. The Broncos have
three starters returning, including Candice Allen (Sr., Ontario, University of
Arizona), the 2004 CCAA Player of the Year and the leading scorer in the NCAA
Division II. Other starters back are Brandi Fletcher (Jr., Pomona, Diamond Ranch HS),
a second-team All-CCAA forward in 2003, and Shanika
Perkins (Jr., Oakland, Oakland HS).
About Last Week: The Broncos fell two games behind California Collegiate Athletic
Association leader Cal State Dominguez Hills after splitting a pair of games
last week in Kellogg Gym. Of course, the big news coming out of the weekend was
the shoulder injury to Candice Allen (Sr., Ontario, University of Arizona) in the first half of Friday’s win over Cal
State Stanislaus. Allen had scored 15 points in the first eight minutes of the
game, but was injured when she was involved in a three-player collision for a
loose ball near midcourt. Cal Poly Pomona led by 15
points at the time, had its lead cut to four points and then pulled away for a
94-77 victory. Ashley Moody (Fr., Carson, King Drew HS) led five Broncos in
double figures with 16 points, while Allen finished with 15 points and three
rebounds. Natasha Reed (Fr., San Francisco, Deer Valley HS) had 14 points and a
career-high 13 rebounds, Brandi Fletcher (Jr., Pomona, Diamond Ranch HS) had 12
points, four rebounds and four steals and Shanika
Perkins (Jr., Oakland, Oakland HS) had her first career double-double with 12
points and 10 rebounds. The Broncos weren’t as successful on Saturday when they
fell to No. 18 Chico State, 88-67. Fletcher had 17 points and five rebounds to
lead the Broncos, while Perkins had 13 points and Reed had 10 points. The
Broncos trailed by six points at halftime, 45-39, and scored the first basket
of the second half to slice the deficit to four points, 45-41, but the Wildcats
went on an 11-3 run to regain control of the game.
Allen, Nation’s Leading Scorer Again, Is Sidelined: Kodak All-American Candice Allen (Sr., Ontario, University of Arizona), the reigning California Collegiate
Athletic Association Player of the Year, is playing sensationally again in
2004-05, although her availability for the remainder of the season is now in
question. Allen suffered an injured shoulder against Cal State Stanislaus on
Friday and was out of Saturday’s game against Chico State. After leading the nation in scoring last
season by averaging 24.5 points per game, Allen is leading the NCAA Division II
in scoring again this year at 29.2 points per game. Allen is shooting 46.9
percent from the field (209-446) and has knocked down 47 percent of her 3-point
attempts (38-81). She has also made 171 of 202 free-throw tries. She leads the
CCAA in 3-point field-goal percentage (46.9 percent) and free-throw percentage
(84.7 percent) and shares the conference lead in steals (3.33). Allen set a new
Cal Poly Pomona and CCAA single-game scoring record when she poured in 50 points
against Glenville
State on Dec. 11. She also has a 45-point game at
Cal State Stanislaus, a 39-point effort at San Francisco State and 38 points at Cal State L.A. and Cal
State Dominguez Hills. She has been named the CCAA Player of the Week three times
this season. She was honored for the week of Jan. 24-30 after lifting the
Broncos to wins at Cal State Dominguez Hills and Cal State Monterey Bay. She had 38 points and 12 rebounds to lead
the Broncos past the Toros and she had 32 points, 12
rebounds and seven assists against the Otters. She was also honored for the
week of Dec. 6-12 when she shared the award with Chico State’s Kim Abts. Allen
had a CCAA-record 50 points against Glenville State and 32 points against Northwest Nazarene.
She also won the award for the week of Nov. 29 – Dec. 5. She had 30 points in a
104-85 win over Sonoma State and then added 31 points and grabbed six rebounds
to lead the Broncos past San Francisco State, 93-61.
Head To Head: Cal Poly Pomona
is 7-2 all-time against UC San Diego and beat the Tritons in Kellogg Gym,
83-78, on Jan. 22. Candice Allen (Sr., Ontario,
University
of Arizona) had 18 points and 15
rebounds in that meeting. Cal Poly Pomona won both games against UC San Diego
last season, 84-81, in La Jolla and 69-59, in Kellogg
Gym. Cal Poly Pomona is 21-7 all-time against Cal State San Bernardino and beat
the Coyotes, 70-57, in Kellogg Gym on Jan. 21. Allen had 28 points to lead
three Broncos in double figures. Cal Poly Pomona also won both meetings last
season, 79-64, in San Bernardino
and 75-66 in Kellogg Gym.
Let Us Introduce Ourselves: Cal Poly Pomona has several
new players on its roster, including six freshmen. Sahfiya
Brown (Fr., Fontana, Etiwanda HS), Ashley Moody (Fr., Carson, King Drew HS),
Unique Anderson (Fr., Lake Elsinore, Temescal Canyon HS), Sasha Goldkorn (Fr., Moreno Valley, Canyon Springs HS), Porsche’ Kirksey (Fr., Gardena, Junipero Serra HS) and Natasha Reed (Fr., San Francisco, Deer Valley
HS) give the Broncos one of their best and deepest freshman classes in several
years. Shyrah Thomas (Sr., Inglewood,
San Francisco
State) joins the active roster
after being a redshirt last season.
Look Who’s Back: Leading the list of talented players
returning for the Broncos is the California Collegiate Athletic Association
Player of the Year, Candice Allen (Sr., Ontario,
University of Arizona).
Allen led the NCAA Division II in scoring with a 24.5
points per game average. She was also second on the team in rebounding with 6.1
per game and second in assists with 2.9 per game. Allen also led the team in
steals with 77 or 2.6 per game. Brandi Fletcher (Jr., Pomona, Diamond Ranch
HS), who was third on the team in scoring last year with 10.2 points per game,
is back and so is starting guard Shanika Perkins
(Jr., Oakland, Oakland HS), who averaged 6.7 points per game. Britt Sumida
(Sr., Chino Hills, Ayala HS), one of the leaders of the team, is another key returner, Alexis Wilson (Jr., Wayzata, MN, Wayzata HS) is
back for her third year and Khiara Ferguson (So., Gardena,
Bishop Montgomery HS) and Ge’Yanni Polk (So., San Leandro, San Lorenzo HS) return for their second seasons
with the Broncos.
Where We Left Off: The Broncos completed another
successful season in 2003-04 with a 23-7 overall record and a spot in the NCAA
Division II West Region championship game. Cal Poly Pomona reached the Sweet
Sixteen for the fourth time in the past five seasons, a total unmatched by any
other Division II program. Included in that run, of course, are national
championships in 2001 and 2002. Cal Poly Pomona was 17-5 in the California
Collegiate Athletic Association and finished second. The Broncos, the No. 3
seed in the West Region, won its first-round game against No. 6 Chico State,
74-70. Cal Poly Pomona got 30 points and six assists from Candice Allen (Sr., Ontario,
University
of Arizona) and 10 points and 17
rebounds from Keila Beachem
(Sr., Chicago, Ill.,
University of Kansas).
The Broncos then rallied from a 13-point second-half deficit to beat Cal State
Bakersfield, 87-84, in the second round. Beachem had
a huge game with 28 points and 20 rebounds, while Allen contributed 26 points.
After the Roadrunners took an 84-83 lead on a pair of free throws with five
seconds left, Allen was inexplicably fouled while trying to catch an inbounds
pass. She hit both free throws to give the Broncos an 85-84 lead and then,
after a Cal State Bakersfield turnover, was fouled hard from behind, but picked
herself up to hit two more free throws with one second left to account for the
final margin. Cal Poly Pomona then fell to undefeated tourney host Seattle
Pacific, 80-63, in the championship game. The Broncos shot just 33 percent.
Marisa Lattin capped her Cal Poly Pomona career with
a team-high 20 points.
The Thomas Guide: Paul Thomas is in his 11th season
as Cal Poly Pomona’s head coach. Thomas was named the 2001-02 NCAA Division II
Coach of the Year by the WBCA and by the Division II Bulletin. He was also the
WBCA District 8 Coach of the Year and the CCAA Co-Coach of the Year. He has won
four conference Coach of the Year awards. Thomas has a
record of 221-90 at Cal Poly Pomona and has guided the Broncos into the postseason
in seven out of the past eight seasons. Cal Poly Pomona has a 14-5 record in
the NCAA Division II playoffs under Thomas and has won 12 of its last 13
postseason games. The Broncos have also won five CCAA titles during the Thomas
years, including three in the past five seasons.
How About Those Rings:
You’d be hard-pressed to find a more star-studded coaching staff in the NCAA
Division II. Head Coach Paul Thomas has a pair of championship rings he earned
while guiding the Broncos to back-to-back national titles in 2001 and 2002. He
was named the 2001-02 NCAA Division II Coach of the Year by the Women’s
Basketball Coaches’ Association and the Division II Bulletin. Assistant coach Tasha Burnett has a championship ring she earned as a
Bronco player in 2001. She tied an NCAA record by hitting all 11 of her
field-goal attempts in a national quarterfinal victory over Pace
University. She made the All-Elite
Eight Tournament team.
Program History: The Broncos’ two postseason wins in
2004 and the back-to-back national championships in 2001 and 2002 have just
added to the program’s rich history. The Broncos have the most postseason
victories (48) in NCAA Division II and are tied with North
Dakota State for
the most national championships (5). The
Broncos have also reached the regional championship game in four of the past
five years, which is more than any other Division II team. Their 19 NCAA postseason
appearances are second overall to Bentley and the .774 postseason winning percentage leads all Division II programs. Cal Poly Pomona
has also reached the national title game eight times, has five national Player
of the Year winners (Jackie White, 1983; Vickie Mitchell, 1986; Debra Larsen,
1987; Cathy Gooden, 1989 and Lauri McIntosh, 2002;
five Most Outstanding Players in the NCAA Tournament (Jackie White, 1982;
Vickie Mitchell, 1985; Debra Larsen, 1986; Aprile
Powell, 2001; Lauri McIntosh, 2002), 36 All-American
awards earned by 20 different players, 18 CCAA titles and 10 CCAA Player of the
Year awards. Counting the five SCCA titles the Broncos won before joining the
CCAA, Cal Poly Pomona has captured 23 conference titles.
PLAYER NOTES
4 CANDICE ALLEN (G, Sr., Ontario,
University of Arizona)
Last Week: Had 15 points, three rebounds and one steal in eight
minutes before being injured against Cal State Stanislaus on Friday; DNP-(Shoulder)
against Chico State on Saturday.
2004-05: Averaging 29.2 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.9 assists per
game. Leads the NCAA Division II in scoring. Shooting 47.6 percent from the floor. Set new Cal Poly
Pomona and CCAA single-game record with 50 points against Glenville
State on Dec. 11. Tied CCAA
single-game record for most free throws made (20) and attempted (23) against
Cal State Stanislaus on Jan. 15. Also leads the team in assists and steals and
is second in rebounding. Leads the conference in scoring,
3-point field goal percentage, free-throw shooting percentage and steals.
Season Highs: Points –
50 vs. Glenville State
(12-11-04); Rebounds – 15 vs. UC San
Diego (1-22-05);
Assists – 7 at Cal
State Monterey Bay
(1-29-05).
Career Highs: Points –
50 vs. Glenville State
(12-11-04); Rebounds – 15 vs. UC San Diego (1-22-05);
Assists – 7 at Cal State Monterey
Bay (1-29-05), at Cal State Bakersfield (1-30-04), vs. Cal
State Stanislaus (2-6-04).
5 BRITT SUMIDA (G, Sr., Chino Hills, Ayala HS)
Last Week: Had three points, two rebounds, one assist
and one steal against Cal State Stanislaus on Friday; went scoreless against Chico State on Saturday.
2004-05: Averaging 2.1
points, 1.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. Is third on the team in assists
and is third on the team in 3-point field goals made.
Season Highs: Points
– 8 at Azusa Pacific (11-19-04); Rebounds – 3 vs. Glenville
State (12-11-04); Assists – 5 at Azusa
Pacific (11-19-04).
Career Highs: Points
– 11 vs. Pt. Loma Nazarene (11-29-03);
Rebounds – 3 vs. Glenville State (12-11-04), vs. UC San Diego (2-21-03); Assists – 5 at Azusa
Pacific (11-19-04).
10 ASHLEY
MOODY (G, Fr., Carson, King Drew HS)
Last Week: Had a season-high 16 points, one assist, one rebound and
three steals against Cal State Stanislaus on Friday; had six points, two
rebounds and two assists against Chico
State on Saturday.
2004-05: Averaging 3.7 points, 1.2 rebounds and 0.8 assists per
game.
Season Highs: Points – 16
vs. Cal State
Stanislaus (2-18-05); Rebounds – 5 at Cal
State Stanislaus (1-15-05); Assists – 4 vs. Cal
State L.A. (2-12-05).
Career Highs: First year with Broncos.
14 NATASHA REED (F, Fr., San
Francisco, Deer
Valley HS)
Last Week: Had 14 points, season-high 13 rebounds and one steal
against Cal State Stanislaus on Friday; had 10 points, two rebounds and three
steals against Chico State
on Saturday.
2004-05: Averaging 7.4 points, 6.0 rebounds and 0.6 assists per
game. Leads the team in rebounding and is fourth in scoring.
Season Highs: Points – 16
at Cal State
Monterey Bay
(1-29-05); Rebounds – 13 vs. Cal
State Stanislaus (2-18-05), at Sonoma
State (2-05-05); Assists –
3 vs. Sonoma State
(12-3-04).
Career Highs: First year with Broncos.
20 SHANIKA
PERKINS (G, Jr., Oakland, Oakland
HS)
Last Week: Had 13 points, three rebounds, three assists and one
steal against Chico State
on Saturday; had 12 points, career-high 10 rebounds, one assist and one steal
against Cal State Stanislaus on Friday.
2004-05: Averaging 7.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists per
game. Is second on the team in 3-point field goals made (33), is second in assists
and fifth in scoring.
Season Highs: Points –
15 vs. Cal State
Bakersfield (2-11-05), at Cal
State Bakersfield
(1-8-05); Rebounds – 10 vs. Cal
State Stanislaus (2-18-05); Assists – 5 vs. Grand Canyon (12-14-04).
Career Highs: Points –
17 vs. Cal State San Bernardino (12-13-03); Rebounds – 10 vs. Cal State Stanislaus (2-18-05), at Cal State
Dominguez Hills (2-13-04); Assists –
5 vs. Grand Canyon (12-14-04), vs. Chico
State (1-2-04).
21 SASHA GOLDKORN (G, Fr., Moreno Valley, Canyon Springs HS)
Last Week: Went scoreless in limited action against Cal State Stanislaus
on Friday; went scoreless in limited action against Chico
State on Saturday.
2004-05: Averaging 0.9 points, 0.3 rebounds and 0.3 assists per
game.
Season Highs: Points – 3
vs. Cal State L.A. (2-12-05), Grand Canyon (12-14-04); Rebounds – 1 vs. Cal State L.A. (2-12-05), vs. Grand
Canyon (12-14-04),
vs. San Francisco State (12-4-04); Assists
– 1 vs. Cal State L.A. (2-12-05), at San Francisco State (2-04-05).
Career Highs: First year with Broncos.
22 KHIARA FERGUSON (C, So., Gardena,
Bishop Montgomery HS)
Last Week: Had seven points, seven rebounds, one blocked shot and
one steal against Chico State on Saturday; had two points, one rebound, one
assist and one steal against Cal State Stanislaus on Friday.
2004-05: Averaging 3.1 points, 2.9 rebounds and 0.2 assists per
game.
Season Highs: Points – 10
vs. Cal State San Bernardino (1-21-05); Rebounds
– 7 vs. Chico State (2-19-05), vs. Glenville State (12-11-04); Assists – 1 vs. Cal State Stanislaus
(2-18-05), vs. San Francisco State
(12-4-04).
Career Highs: Points – 10
vs. Cal State San Bernardino (1-21-05); Rebounds
– 7 vs. Chico State (2-19-05), vs. Glenville State (12-11-04); Assists – 1 vs. Cal State Stanislaus
(2-18-05), vs. San Francisco State
(12-4-04), at UC San
Diego (1-9-04).
23 SHYRAH THOMAS (F, Sr., Inglewood,
San Francisco State)
Last Week: Had two points, six rebounds, four assists and one steal
against Cal State Stanislaus on Friday; went scoreless with one assist against Chico
State on Saturday.
2004-05: Averaging 3.2 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.0 assists per
game.
Season Highs: Points – 10
at Cal State Dominguez Hills (1-26-05);
Rebounds – 6 vs. Cal State
Stanislaus (2-18-05), at Cal State Dominguez Hills (1-26-05); Assists – 4 vs. Cal State Stanislaus (2-18-05).
Career Highs: First year with Broncos
24 BRANDI FLETCHER (F, Jr., Pomona,
Diamond Ranch HS)
Last Week: Had 17 points, five rebounds, two assists and one steal against
Chico State
on Saturday; had 12 points, four rebounds, one assist and four steals against Cal
State Stanislaus on Friday.
2004-05: Averaging 11.0 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.1 assist per
game. Is second on the team in scoring and third in
rebounding.
Season Highs: Points – 25
vs. Cal State Bakersfield (2-11-05); Rebounds
– 14 vs. Cal State Bakersfield (2-11-05) Assists
– 3 at Cal State Dominguez Hills (1-26-05), Cal State Monterey Bay (1-29-05).
Career Highs: Points –
25 vs. Cal State
Bakersfield (2-11-05), at Sonoma
State (3-1-03); Rebounds
– 14 vs. Cal State
Bakersfield (2-11-05); Assists
– 4 vs. Cal State
Stanislaus (2-6-04).
25 RACHEL
GATDULA (G, So., Covina, St. Lucy’s Priory)
Last Week: Had three points, three rebounds, and one assist against
Cal State Stanislaus on Friday; went scoreless in limited action against Chico
State on Friday.
2004-05: Averaging 0.6 points, 0.4
rebounds and 0.2 assists per game.
Season Highs: Points – 3
vs. Cal State
Stanislaus (2-18-05); Rebounds – 3 vs. Cal
State Stanislaus (2-18-05); Assists – 1 vs. Cal State
Stanislaus (2-18-05), at Cal
State Bakersfield
(1-08-05).
Career Highs: Points – 5 vs. Point Loma
Nazarene (11-29-03); Rebounds – 2 at
Cal
State Stanislaus (1-31-04), at San
Francisco State (1-17-04), at Sonoma
State (1-16-04), at Grand Canyon
(1-10-04), vs. Point Loma
Nazarene (11-29-03); Assists – 2 vs.
Grand Canyon (3-5-04), at Grand Canyon (1-10-04).
40 UNIQUE ANDERSON (G, Fr., Lake Elsinore, Temescal Canyon HS)
Last Week: Had nine points, two rebounds, two assists and three
steals against Chico State
on Saturday; had seven points, one rebound, two assists and one steal against Cal
State Stanislaus on Friday.
2004-05: Averaging 3.4 points, 2.2 rebounds and 0.9 assists per
game.
Season Highs: Points – 9
vs. Chico State.
(2-19-05); Rebounds – 6 at Azusa
Pacific (11-19-04); Assists – 3 at San
Francisco State (2-04-05).
Career Highs: First year with Broncos.
42 GE’YANNI POLK (G, So., San
Leandro, San
Leandro HS)
Last Week: Had four points and three rebounds against Cal State Stanislaus
on Friday; went scoreless in limited action against Chico
State on Friday.
2004-05: Averaging 1.1 points, 0.7 rebounds and 0.2 assists per
game.
Season Highs: Points – 4
vs. Cal State Stanislaus (2-18-05), St. Thomas (11-20-04); Rebounds – 3 vs. Cal State Stanislaus (2-18-05); Assists – 1 vs. Cal
State L.A. (2-12-05), vs. St. Thomas
(11-20-04).
Career Highs: Points – 4
vs. Cal State Stanislaus (2-18-05), vs. St. Thomas (11-20-04); Rebounds – 3 vs. Cal State Stanislaus
(2-18-05); Assists – 1 vs. Cal
State L.A. (2-12-05), vs. St. Thomas
(11-20-04).
54 ALEXIS WILSON (F, Jr., Wayzata,
MN, Wayzata HS)
Last Week: Had five points and four rebounds against Chico
State on Saturday; had four points,
seven rebounds, one assist and one steal against Cal State Stanislaus on Friday.
2004-05: Averaging 3.0 points, 2.5 rebounds and 0.5 assists per
game.
Season Highs: Points – 10
vs. Cal State
San Bernardino (1-21-05); Rebounds
– 10 vs. Cal State
Bakersfield (2-11-05); Assists
– 4 at San Francisco State
(2-04-05).
Career Highs: Points – 10
vs. Cal State
San Bernardino (1-21-05); Rebounds
– 10 vs. Cal State
Bakersfield (2-11-05); Assists
–4 at San Francisco State
(2-04-05).