CALIFORNIA STATE POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY, POMONA
Bronco Sports News
For Immediate Release
Tuesday, March 9, 2004
Contact: Paul Helms
(909) 869-2812
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
MEDIA NOTES
2003-04 CPP Record: 21-6. 2003-04 CCAA Record:
17-5
2003-04 Regional
Ranking: 3
Broncos Are Back Where They Belong: Cal Poly Pomona’s women’s basketball program,
which has won two NCAA Division II championships in the past three years, will return
to the NCAA Division II playoffs after a one-year hiatus when the Broncos face
Chico State in a first-round West Region game 12:30 p.m. Friday at Seattle
Pacific. The game will be webcast on the Cal Poly
Pomona athletic website at www.csupomona.edu/~athletic.
The winner of the Cal Poly Pomona-Chico State game will face the winner of the
Cal State Bakersfield-Grand Canyon game on Saturday at 5 p.m. The championship
game will be held on Monday at 7 p.m. All games involving Cal Poly Pomona can
be heard on the CPP athletic web site. Cal Poly Pomona qualified for the
playoffs as the No. 3 seed and will face the No. 6 Wildcats for the third time
this season. The two teams split the previous two meetings. Cal Poly Pomona
enters the playoffs riding an eight-game win streak and finished the regular
season with 11 wins in its last 12 games. Cal Poly Pomona will be making its 19th
trip to the NCAA playoffs, which is second all-time only to Bentley College. The Broncos will be making their seventh
playoff appearance in the past eight years and will be looking to extend a
nation’s best 10-game postseason win streak. Cal Poly Pomona is tied
with North Dakota State
for most national championships won in Division II (5) and for most postseason
wins (46) in Division II. The Broncos have three starters returning from last
year’s team, including second-team All-CCAA forward Brandi Fletcher (So.,
Pomona, Diamond Ranch HS), four-year standout Marisa Lattin
(Sr., Oceanside, El Camino HS) and second-year guard Tami Swanson-Cades (Sr.,
Nevada City, Sierra College). Seven players in all return from last year’s
squad.
About Last Week:
Cal Poly Pomona rolled to victories
over Grand Canyon on Friday and UC San Diego on Saturday
to conclude the regular season. The Broncos started the weekend by avenging an
earlier defeat to Grand Canyon with an 85-57 victory
over the Antelopes. Candice Allen (Sr., Ontario,
University
of Arizona) led four Broncos in
double figures with 22 points and six assists. Brandi Fletcher (So., Pomona,
Diamond Ranch HS) added 21 points and nine rebounds. Keila Beachem (Sr., Chicago,
Ill., University of Kansas)
had 13 points and three steals, while Jaida Williams
(Sr., Opalocka, Fla.,
Barry University)
had 11 points and 10 rebounds. The Broncos shot 72 percent in the second half
and 55.7 percent for the game. The Broncos also owned a 41-24 rebounding edge
and forced 28 turnovers. Cal Poly Pomona didn’t play nearly as well on
Saturday, but still had enough to beat UC San Diego, 69-59, to conclude the
regular season. Beachem led five Cal Poly Pomona players
in double figures with 13 points and nine rebounds. Williams had 12 points,
Tami Swanson-Cades (Sr., Nevada City,
Sierra College)
and Fletcher had 11 points each and Allen had 10 points, four rebounds and five
steals. The Broncos shot just 34 percent for the game, but did enjoy a 48-39
rebounding edge.
Head To Head: Cal Poly Pomona
is 8-4 against the West Region tournament field and played against all seven
other tourney participants during the regular-season. The Broncos are 12-6
all-time against first-round opponent Chico
State. The two programs have only
met once before in the playoffs – a 56-44 Cal Poly Pomona win on March 10, 1987. The two teams split games
during the regular season. Chico State,
the CCAA preseason favorite, outscored the Broncos, 107-98, on Jan. 2 in
Kellogg Gym, beating Cal Poly Pomona for the second year in a row in Pomona.
The 107 points tied the Cal Poly Pomona record for most points allowed in a
game set originally by BYU in 1981. The Broncos beat the Wildcats, 85-65, in Chico
on Feb. 28. Candice Allen (Sr., Ontario,
University
of Arizona) tied a CCAA record by
making all 16 of her free-throw attempts and scored a game-high 30 points. Keila Beachem (Sr., Chicago,
Ill., University of Kansas)
had 16 points and eight rebounds and Brandi Fletcher (So., Pomona,
Diamond Ranch HS) had 11 points and 10 rebounds. Against other regional
tournament teams, Cal Poly Pomona is 2-4 against Seattle Pacific, 5-4 against
Cal State Bakersfield, 8-3 against Western Washington,
13-5 against Sonoma State,
17-5 against Grand Canyon and 6-2 against UC San Diego.
In playoff games, Cal Poly Pomona is 1-0 against Seattle Pacific, 1-0 against
Cal State Bakersfield, 2-1 against Western Washington,
0-0 against Sonoma State,
0-0 against Grand Canyon and 0-0 against UC San Diego.
How We Got Here: Cal
Poly Pomona qualified for the NCAA
Division II playoffs by compiling a 21-6 overall record and earning the No. 3
seed. The Broncos finished second in the California Collegiate Athletic
Association with a 17-5 record. Cal Poly Pomona won its first six games of the
season, including an 81-63 victory over playoff participant Western
Washington in the CCAA/GNAC Classic at Cal State L.A. The Broncos
lost the second game in that tourney, to No. 1 Seattle Pacific, 79-78. A
last-second block by Brittany Kroon of a Candice
Allen (Sr., Ontario, University of Arizona)
shot in the lane preserved the win for the Falcons. That loss started a
nine-game stretch when the Broncos went 4-5. After a 71-59 loss to Cal State
Dominguez Hills on Jan. 24, the final game in that nine-game stretch, the
Broncos won 11 out of their final 12 games.
Pomona Is Title Town: Cal Poly Pomona basketball
teams have won regional basketball championships three straight seasons. The
Bronco women won regional titles in 2001 and 2002 on their way to NCAA Division
II championships. The Bronco men captured the regional title in 2003 on their
way to the Elite Eight. No other basketball program in the West Region can
match that success.
Allen Is Unanimous
Pick To All-Region Team: Candice Allen (Sr., Ontario,
University of Arizona)
and four other players were named to the 2003-04 Daktronics
NCAA Division II West Region women’s basketball all-star team. The team was
selected by the sports information directors at the region’s 24 schools that
sponsor women’s basketball. The region includes the California Collegiate
Athletic Association, the Great Northwest Athletic Conference and independents
Montana State-Billings and Western New Mexico. Allen,
the leading scorer in the NCAA Division II with a 24.5
points per game average, was the lone unanimous choice. Joining Allen on the
first team were Seattle Pacific’s Valerie Gustafson, Grand Canyon’s
Kelly McRee, Cal State L.A.’s Monica Tokoro and Chico State’s
Kim Abts. Those five players will now be listed on
the Daktronics All-American national ballot. The
All-American team will be announced on March 23.
In The Conference:
Several Broncos finished among the California Collegiate Athletic Association regular-season
statistical leaders. Candice Allen (Sr., Ontario, University of Arizona) leads
the conference and the nation in scoring, is second in steals, third in field-goal
percentage, 13th in rebounding and ninth in free-throw shooting
percentage. Keila Beachem
(Sr., Chicago, Ill.,
University of
Kansas) is 14th in scoring,
eighth in rebounding, fifth in steals, 14th in field-goal percentage
and 13th in blocks. Brandi Fletcher (So., Pomona,
Diamond Ranch HS) is tied for 27th in
scoring, 17th in rebounding and eighth in free-throw percentage. Shanika Perkins (So., Oakland,
Oakland HS) is sixth in steals, Tami Swanson-Cades (Sr., Nevada City, Sierra
College) is tied for 12th in assists and tied for 15th in
steals and Marisa Lattin (Sr., Oceanside, El Camino HS)
is 13th in free-throw shooting percentage. As a team, Cal Poly
Pomona is first in scoring offense, first in rebounding and eighth in scoring
defense.
Broncos Picked To
Finish Second In CCAA: Cal Poly Pomona’s women’s basketball program, which
has won a record 18 California Collegiate Athletic Association championships,
was picked to finish second in the conference this season in voting by the
conference coaches and the coaches were correct. Chico
State was tabbed as the conference
favorite and finished in a tie for fourth. Defending conference champion Cal
State Bakersfield was picked third and the Roadrunners won the title for the
second straight year.
The Thomas Guide: Paul Thomas is in his 10th 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 202-83 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 12-4 record in
the NCAA Division II playoffs under Thomas and has won its last 10 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 than the one at Cal Poly Pomona. 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. Assistant coach Heather Jacobsen has a pair
of national championship rings she earned while part of the coaching staff in
2001 and 2002. Jacobsen also played for the Broncos and was a three-sport
standout in high school, competing in basketball, volleyball and track and
field. 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’ back-to-back national
championships in 2001 and 2002 have just added to the program’s rich women’s
basketball history. The Broncos are tied with North
Dakota State for
the most postseason victories (46) in NCAA Division II and most national
championships (5). Their 19 NCAA
postseason appearances are second overall to Bentley and the .780 postseason
winning percentage is second to North
Dakota State’s
.804. 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), 35 All-America
awards earned by 20 different players, 18 CCAA titles and 9 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 22 points, six assists and five steals
against Grand Canyon on Friday; had 10 points, four rebounds and
five steals against UC San Diego on Saturday.
2003-04: Averaging 24.5 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.7
assists per game. Leads the team in scoring and steals and is second in
rebounding and assists. Leads the NCAA Division II in
scoring. Tied CCAA record and set new Cal Poly Pomona standard by
hitting all 16 free-throw attempts against Chico State. Was named to the Daktronics All-West Region first team on Tuesday.
Season Highs: Points – 40 vs. UC Davis (1-3-04); Rebounds – 11 vs. Azusa Pacific (11-22-03); Assists – 7 at Cal State Bakersfield (1-30-04), vs. Cal State Stanislaus (2-6-04).
Career Highs: First year with Broncos.
5 BRITT SUMIDA (G, Jr., Chino Hills, Ayala HS)
Last Week: Had three points and two assists against UC
San Diego on Saturday; went scoreless in eight minutes against Grand Canyon on Friday.
2003-04: Averaging 2.1
points, 0.6 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. Hit go-ahead 3-pointer in second
half in win over Azusa Pacific and hit a career-high three 3-pointers in win
over Pt. Loma Nazarene.
Season Highs: Points
– 11 vs. Pt. Loma Nazarene (11-29-03); Rebounds – 2 vs. Western
Washington (12-19-03), vs. Pt. Loma Nazarene (11-29-03); Assists – 3 vs.
San Francisco State (2-20-04).
Career Highs: Points
– 11 vs. Pt. Loma Nazarene (11-29-03); Rebounds – 3 vs. UC San Diego (2-21-03), vs. Cal State
Stanislaus (2-6-04); Assists – 3 vs. San Francisco State
(2-20-04), vs. UC San Diego (2-21-03), at UC San Diego (1-18-03).
14 LEANNE JENKINS (G, Fr., Selma,
Selma HS)
Last Week: DNP-CD. Will miss the playoffs with a
knee injury that sidelined her for all but two games.
2003-04: Averaging 5.5 points, 1.0 rebound and 1.0 assist per game.
Season Highs: Points – 6
vs. Abilene Christian (11-21-03); Rebounds – 2 vs. Abilene
Christian (11-21-03); Assists – 1 vs. Azusa
Pacific (11-22-03), vs. Abilene
Christian (11-21-03).
Career Highs: First year with Broncos.
21 JAIDA WILLIAMS (F, Sr. Opalocka, Fla.,
Barry University)
Last Week: Had 12 points and four rebounds against UC San Diego on
Saturday; had 11 points and a career-high 10 rebounds against Grand
Canyon on Friday.
2003-04: Averaging 6.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 0.6 assists per
game. Had first career double-double at CPP against Grand Canyon on Friday.
Season Highs: Points – 16
at Cal State
Stanislaus (1-31-04); Rebounds – 10 vs. Grand
Canyon (3-5-04);
Assists – 3 vs. Abilene
Christian (11-21-03).
Career Highs: Points – 16
at Cal State
Stanislaus (1-31-04); Rebounds – 10 vs. Grand
Canyon (3-5-04);
Assists – 3 vs. Abilene
Christian (11-21-03).
22 KHIARA FERGUSON (C, Fr., Gardena,
Bishop Montgomery HS)
Last Week: Had four points and two rebounds against Grand
Canyon on Friday; went scoreless against UC San Diego on Saturday.
2003-04: Averaging 1.2 points, 1.4 rebounds and 0.1 assists per
game. Made her Cal Poly Pomona debut against Abilene
Christian on Nov. 22.
Season Highs: Points – 6
vs. Chico State
(1-2-04); Rebounds – 5 vs. Seattle
Pacific (12-20-03); Assists – 1 at UC San
Diego (1-9-04).
Career Highs: First year with Broncos.
23 KEILA BEACHEM (F, Sr., Chicago,
Ill., University
of Kansas)
Last Week: Had 13 points and nine rebounds against UC San Diego on
Saturday; had 13 points and three steals against Grand Canyon
on Friday.
2003-04: Averaging 13.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.4 assists per
game. Is second on the team in scoring and steals and leads the team in rebounding
and blocked shots.
Season Highs: Points –
26 at UC San Diego (1-9-04); Rebounds – 15 at Cal State
Bakersfield (1-30-04); Assists
– 4 vs. Cal State Dominguez Hills (2-13-04)
Career Highs: First year with Broncos.
24 BRANDI FLETCHER (F, So., Pomona,
Diamond Ranch HS)
Last Week: Had 21 points and nine rebounds against Grand
Canyon on Friday; had 11 points and five rebounds against UC San
Diego on Saturday.
2003-04: Averaging 10.4 points, 5.9 rebounds and 0.8 assists per
game. Is third on the team in scoring and rebounding, and is tied for the team
lead in free-throw percentage with 108 makes in 134 tries (.806).
Season Highs: Points – 24
vs. UC Davis (1-3-04); Rebounds – 10 vs. Cal State Dominguez
Hills (1-24-04), vs.UC Davis (1-3-04), at Chico
State (2-28-04); Assists
– 4 vs. Cal State Stanislaus (2-6-04).
Career Highs: Points –
25 at Sonoma State (3-1-03); Rebounds
– 10 vs. Cal State Dominguez Hills (1-24-04), vs. UC Davis (1-3-04), at Cal
State L.A. (2-7-03), at Chico State (2-28-04); Assists – 4 vs. Cal State Stanislaus (2-6-04).
25 RACHEL GATDULA (G, Fr., Covina,
St. Lucy’s Priory HS)
Last Week: Went scoreless with two assists and one rebound against Grand
Canyon on Friday; DNP-CD against UC San Diego on Saturday.
2003-04: Averaging 1.0 points, 0.6 rebounds and 0.4 assists per
game. Made her Cal Poly Pomona debut against Pt. Loma
Nazarene (11-29-03).
Season Highs: Points – 5
vs. Pt. 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. Pt. Loma Nazarene (11-29-03). Assists – 2 at Grand Canyon (1-10-04).
Career Highs: First year with Broncos
32 TAMI SWANSON-CADES (G, Sr., Nevada
City, Sierra
College)
Last Week: Had 11 points, a career-high 10 rebounds and three
assists against UC San Diego on Saturday; had eight points, seven rebounds and
six assists against Grand Canyon on Friday.
2003-04: Averaging 5.6 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists per
game. Leads the team in assists and is fourth in steals.
Season Highs: Points –
13 vs. Cal State L.A. (1-23-04); Rebounds
– 10 vs. UC San Diego (3-6-04); Assists
– 6 vs. Grand Canyon (3-5-04), at San Francisco State (1-17-04), at Sonoma
State (1-16-04), vs. UC Davis (1-3-04),
vs. Seattle Pacific (12-20-03).
Career Highs: Points –
18 vs. Westminster College
(12-21-02); Rebounds – 10 vs. Cal
State Bakersfield
(1-31-03); Assists – 8 vs. Chico
State (2-15-03).
34 MARISA LATTIN (F, Sr., Oceanside,
El Camino HS)
Last Week: Had four points, two rebounds and six assists against Grand
Canyon on Friday; went scoreless with six rebounds against UC San
Diego on Saturday.
2003-04: Averaging 7.6 points,
4.3 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game. Is fourth on the team
in scoring and rebounding.
Season Highs: Points
– 36 vs. Chico State
(1-2-04); Rebounds – 10
vs. Western Washington (12-19-03); Assists – 6 vs. Grand
Canyon (3-5-04).
Career Highs: Points
– 38 vs. UC Davis (2-14-03); Rebounds –
13 vs. UC Davis (2-14-03); Assists
– 6 vs. Grand Canyon (3-5-04).
40 SHANIKA
PERKINS (G, So., Oakland, Oakland
HS)
Last Week: Had seven points and four rebounds against UC San Diego
on Saturday; had two points, two rebounds and one assist against Grand
Canyon on Friday.
2003-04: Averaging 7.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists per
game. Is fifth on the team in scoring, third in assists and second
in steals.
Season Highs: Points – 17
vs. Cal State
San Bernardino (12-13-03); Rebounds
– 10 at Cal State Dominguez Hills (2-13-04);
Assists – 5 vs. Chico
State (1-2-04).
Career Highs: Points –
17 vs. Cal State
San Bernardino (12-13-03); Rebounds
– 10 at Cal State Dominguez Hills (2-13-04);
Assists – 5 vs. Chico
State (1-2-04).
42 GE’YANNI POLK (G, Fr., San
Leandro, San
Lorenzo HS)
Last Week: Went scoreless with one rebound against Grand
Canyon on Friday; DNP-CD against UC San Diego on Saturday.
2003-04: Averaging 0.3 points, 0.4 rebounds, 0.0 assists per game. Made her Cal Poly Pomona debut against Azusa Pacific on Nov. 22.
Season Highs: Points – 3
vs. Cal State L.A.
(1-23-04); Rebounds – 2 vs. Cal State Dominguez
Hills (1-24-04), vs. Cal
State L.A. (1-23-04).
Career Highs: First year with Bronco.
54 ALEXIS WILSON (F, So., Wayzata, MN,
Wayzata HS)
Last Week: Had two points, one rebound and one assist against UC
San Diego on Saturday; went scoreless against Grand Canyon
on Friday.
2003-04: Averaging 2.1 points, 1.7 rebounds and 0.3 assists per
game.
Season Highs: Points – 6
vs. Chico State
(1-2-04), vs. Pt. Loma
Nazarene (11-29-03), vs. Cal State Stanislaus (2-6-04); Rebounds – 4 vs. San Francisco State (2-20-04), at Sonoma State
(1-16-04); Assists – 3 at UC San
Diego (1-9-04).
Career Highs: Points – 6
vs. Chico State
(1-2-04), vs. Pt. Loma
Nazarene (11-29-03); Rebounds – 4 vs.
San Francisco State (2-20-04), at Sonoma State (1-16-04), at Western Washington
(12-28-02); Assists – 3 at UC San
Diego (1-9-04).
FINAL 2003-04 CCAA STANDINGS
CCAA Overall
W L Pct. W L Pct.
CS Bakersfield 18 4 .818 22 5 .800
Cal Poly Pomona 17 5 .773 21 6 .778
Sonoma State 14 8 .636 17 10 .630
Chico State 13 9 .591 17 10 .630
Grand
Canyon 13 9 .591 16 11 .593
UC San Diego 11 11 .500 15 12 .556
UC Davis 11 11 .500 16 12 .571
San
Francisco
State 10 12 .455 14 13 .519
CS San Bernardino 8 14 .364 11 16 .407
CS Dominguez Hills 7 15 .318 11 16 .407
Cal State L.A. 6 16 .273 7 20 .259
Cal State Stanislaus 4 18 .200 7 20 .259