CALIFORNIA STATE POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY, POMONA

Bronco Sports News

For Immediate Release

Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2004

Contact: Paul Helms

(909) 869-2812

 

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

MEDIA NOTES

 

2003-04 CPP Record: 7-2. 2003-04 CCAA Record: 3-1

 

Broncos Set To Do Some Traveling: Cal Poly Pomona’s women’s basketball program, which has won two NCAA Division II championships in the past three years, will be hitting the road over the next couple of weeks as the Broncos face four key California Collegiate Athletic Association contests. The Broncos, who are in a five-way tie for first place in the conference, will face three of the four teams they currently share the lead with in the next two weeks. Cal Poly Pomona, which has the sixth-highest scoring offense in the NCAA Division II (84.3 points per game) will be at UC San Diego on Friday at 5:30 p.m. to kick off the trip. The Broncos will then face Grand Canyon on Saturday. Cal Poly Pomona will also face Sonoma State on Friday, Jan. 16 and San Francisco State on Saturday, Jan. 17 before returning to Kellogg Gym for a Jan. 23 contest against Cal State L.A. 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 was able to salvage a split of its home games last weekend when the Broncos ran past UC Davis, 109-92, on Saturday. It was the most points ever scored against a UC Davis squad and it was the most points the Broncos have scored since a 113-90 victory over Cal State Bakersfield on Dec. 15, 2000. Candice Allen (Sr., Ontario, University of Arizona) led the way with a season-high 40 points, including 26 in the first half. Brandi Fletcher (So., Pomona, Diamond Ranch HS) also had a big game and recorded the second double-double of her career with 24 points and 10 rebounds. The 24 points were one shy of her career high and the 10 rebounds equaled her career best. Keila Beachem (Sr., Chicago, Ill., University of Kansas) came off the bench and provided 14 points and seven rebounds, Shanika Perkins (So., Oakland, Oakland HS) had 13 points and Marisa Lattin (Sr., Oceanside, El Camino HS) had 10 points and four rebounds. The Broncos had a 44-22 rebounding edge in the contest. Cal Poly Pomona led at halftime, 57-53, even though the Aggies made 21 of 26 field-goal attempts (80.8 percent). Cal Poly Pomona broke the game open in the second half, building leads as large as 25 points. The weekend didn’t start off nearly as well for the Broncos, who lost to Chico State at home for the second straight year, 107-98. The game was tied at 86-86 with 7:12 to go, but the Wildcats took command of the game with an 11-2 run. The Broncos lost even though Lattin had a remarkable game. She poured in a season-high 36 points and hit five of eight 3-pointers. Cal Poly Pomona also got a big offensive game from Allen, who had 27 points and six rebounds.

 

Head To Head: Cal Poly Pomona is 4-2 all-time against UC San Diego, but dropped both games to the Tritons last season. UC San Diego posted a 71-63 victory in La Jolla on Jan. 18. Marisa Lattin (Sr., Oceanside, El Camino HS) had 17 points and Tami Swanson-Cades (Sr., Nevada City, Sierra College) had nine rebounds. In the rematch in Kellogg Gym on Feb. 21, the Broncos fell again, 77-70. Cal Poly Pomona is 16-4 all-time against Grand Canyon and won both meetings last season. The Broncos prevailed in Arizona, 72-68, behind 23 points from Alicia Hernandez and eight rebounds from Brandi Fletcher (So., Pomona, Diamond Ranch HS). Cal Poly Pomona won the rematch in Kellogg Gym, 100-70, in the Broncos’ highest-scoring output of the season. Anna James had 25 to lead the way.

 

Let Us Introduce Ourselves: Cal Poly Pomona has several new players on its roster, including a pair of student-athletes from Division I programs. The Broncos welcome local high-school star Candice Allen (G, Sr., Ontario, University of Arizona), who played at Ayala High School and Keila Beachem (F, Sr., Chicago, Ill., University of Kansas), who started nine games for the Jayhawks last season. Khiara Ferguson (Fr., Gardena, Bishop Montgomery HS) is a top freshman newcomer.

 

The Amazing Candice Allen: First-year player Candice Allen (Sr., Ontario, University of Arizona) has quickly established herself as an All-America candidate. Allen is the leading scorer in the NCAA Division II with a 27.9 points per game average. She has scored more than 30 points three times and has scored 20 or more points in all nine Bronco games. She is coming off a 40-point performance against UC Davis on Saturday that helped earn her CCAA Player of the Week honors for the third time this season. She opened the season with a 35-point outburst in an 86-74 win over Abilene Christian and she also had 32 points in a 79-78 loss to Seattle Pacific on Dec. 20. She was named the MVP of the third annual CCAA-GNAC Classic.

 

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, has been picked to finish second in the conference this season in voting by the conference coaches. Chico State, which finished second last season and has three starters returning, has been tabbed as the conference favorite. Defending conference champion Cal State Bakersfield was picked third and Cal State Stanislaus is fourth.

 

Where We Left Off: The Broncos lost its final two road games at Cal State Stanislaus and Cal State Bakersfield and finished the 2002-03 season with a 13-14 overall record. It was only the second time in the program’s history that Cal Poly Pomona had a non-winning record. The Broncos were unsuccessful in their bid for a first-ever third consecutive NCAA Division II championship. When Cal Poly Pomona won national titles in 2000-01 and 2001-02, it marked the second time in the program’s history that the Broncos had won back-to-back championships. Previously, Cal Poly Pomona had won consecutive titles in 1985 and 1986. The Broncos also saw their three-year reign atop the California Collegiate Athletic Association come to an end with a sixth-place finish. The Broncos, who have won 18 CCAA titles, had won five titles in the previous six years.

 

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 188-79 at Cal Poly Pomona and has guided the Broncos into the postseason in six out of the past seven seasons. The Broncos have also won five CCAA titles during the Thomas years, including three in the past four 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. 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 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. And the newest assistant coach, Lauri McIntosh, has a pair of championship rings she won while playing for the Broncos. McIntosh finished her career after the 2002 title run and is completing her degree at Cal Poly Pomona. She was the NCAA Division II Player of the Year in 2002 and finished her career as the No. 2 scorer in Cal Poly Pomona history with 2,176 points.

 

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 18 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 a season-high 40 points, four rebounds, three assists and four steals against UC Davis on Saturday; had 27 points and six rebounds against Chico State on Friday.

2003-04: Averaging 27.9 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. Leads the team in scoring, rebounding and steals and is third in assists. Leads the NCAA Division II in scoring and is 23rd in steals (3.4 per game)

Season Highs: Points – 40 vs. UC Davis (1-3-04); Rebounds – 11 vs. Azusa Pacific (11-22-03); Assists – 5 vs. Western Washington (12-19-03), Abilene Christian (11-21-03).

Career Highs: First year with Broncos.

 

5          BRITT SUMIDA (G, Jr., Chino Hills, Ayala HS)

Last Week: Had three points, one rebound, one assist and one steal against Chico State on Friday before leaving the game with an injured foot. DNP-CD on Saturday and is sidelined indefinitely.

2003-04: Averaging 3.1 points, 0.9 rebounds and 1.0 assist 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 – 2 vs. Pt. Loma Nazarene (11-29-03).

Career Highs: Points – 11 vs. Pt. Loma Nazarene (11-29-03); Rebounds – 3 vs. UC San Diego (2-21-03), Assists – 3 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. Is expected to miss the remainder of the season with a knee injury.

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 two points and one rebound against UC Davis on Saturday; went scoreless with five rebounds against Chico State on Friday.

2003-04: Averaging 4.4 points, 3.0 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. Has started six of the first nine games for the Broncos.

Season Highs: Points – 8 vs. Seattle Pacific (12-20-03); Rebounds – 6 vs. Pt. Loma Nazarene (11-29-03); Assists – 3 vs. Abilene Christian (11-21-03).

Career Highs: Points – 10 vs. Cal State San Bernardino (12-7-02); Rebounds – 9 at Azusa Pacific (11-23-02); Assists – 3 vs. Abilene Christian (11-21-03).

 

22        KHIARA FERGUSON (C, Fr., Gardena, Bishop Montgomery HS)

Last Week: Had a season-high six points and five rebounds against Chico State on Friday; went scoreless in five minutes against UC Davis on Saturday.

2003-04: Averaging 2.2 points, 2.2 rebounds and 0.0 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 – 0.

Career Highs: First year with Broncos.

 

23        KEILA BEACHEM (F, Sr., Chicago, Ill., University of Kansas)

Last Week: Had 14 points, seven rebounds and three steals against UC Davis on Saturday; had seven points, two rebounds, three assists and one steal against Chico State on Friday.

2003-04: Averaging 9.9 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. Is third on the team in scoring and second in rebounding. Leads the team in blocked shots.

Season Highs: Points – 21 vs. Abilene Christian (11-21-03); Rebounds – 11 vs. Azusa Pacific (11-22-03); Assists – 2 vs. Cal State San Bernardino (12-13-03), at Cal State San Bernardino (12-2-03), vs. Pt. Loma Nazarene (11-29-03), vs. Abilene Christian (11-21-03)

Career Highs: First year with Broncos.

           

24        BRANDI FLETCHER (F, So., Pomona, Diamond Ranch HS)

Last Week: Had a season-high 24 points and 10 rebounds against UC Davis on Saturday; had five points and four rebounds against Chico State on Friday.

2003-04: Averaging 10.6 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game. Is second on the team in scoring and third in rebounding. Leads the team in free-throw percentage with 37 makes in 45 tries (.822).

Season Highs: Points – 24 vs. UC Davis (1-3-04); Rebounds – 10 vs. UC Davis (1-3-04); Assists – 3 vs. Cal State San Bernardino (12-13-03), vs. Azusa Pacific (11-22-03).

Career Highs: Points – 25 at Sonoma State (3-1-03); Rebounds – 10 vs. UC Davis (1-3-04), at Cal State L.A. (2-7-03); Assists – 3 vs. Cal State San Bernardino (12-13-03), vs. Azusa Pacific (11-22-03), vs. Cal State San Bernardino (12-7-02).

 

25        RACHEL GATDULA (G, Fr., Covina, St. Lucy’s Priory HS)

Last Week: Had two points against Chico State on Friday; had one point against UC Davis on Saturday.

2003-04: Averaging 1.4 points and 0.5 rebounds 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 vs. Pt. Loma Nazarene (11-29-03).

Career Highs: First year with Broncos

 

32        TAMI SWANSON-CADES (G, Sr., Nevada City, Sierra College)

Last Week: Had three points, a season-high seven rebounds and six assists against UC Davis on Saturday; had two points, six rebounds and four assists against Chico State on Friday.

2003-04: Averaging 5.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. Is sixth on the team in scoring and leads the team in assists.

Season Highs: Points – 10 at Cal State San Bernardino (12-2-03); Rebounds – 7 vs. UC Davis (1-3-04); Assists – 6 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 a season-high 36 points, five rebounds and two assists against Chico State on Friday; had 10 points, four rebounds and three assists against UC Davis on Saturday. Hit five 3-pointers against Chico State in eight attempts.

2003-04: Averaging 8.0 points, 4.8 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game. Is fifth on the team in scoring and fourth in rebounding

Season Highs: Points – 36 vs. Chico State (1-2-04); Rebounds – 10 vs. Western Washington (12-19-03); Assists – 3 vs. UC Davis (1-3-04).

Career Highs: Points – 38 vs. UC Davis (2-14-03);  Rebounds – 13 vs. UC Davis (2-14-03); Assists – 3 vs. UC Davis (1-3-04), vs. UC San Diego (2-21-03), at Cal State San Bernardino (2-14-02), at San Francisco State (3-02-02) vs. Cal State L.A. (1-28-00).

 

40        SHANIKA PERKINS (G, So., Oakland, Oakland HS)

Last Week: Had 13 points, three rebounds, four assists and four steals against UC Davis on Saturday; had four points, three rebounds and five assists against Chico State on Friday.

2003-04: Averaging 8.1 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. Is fourth on the team in scoring, second in assists and second in steals.

Season Highs: Points – 17 vs. Cal State San Bernardino (12-13-03); Rebounds – 6 vs. Azusa Pacific (11-22-03); Assists – 5 vs. Chico State (1-2-04).

Career Highs: Points – 17 vs. Cal State San Bernardino (12-13-03); Rebounds – 7 vs. Westminster College (12-21-02); 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 Chico State on Friday; went scoreless against UC Davis on Saturday.

2003-04: Averaging 0.4 points, 0.2 rebounds, 0.0 assists per game. Made her Cal Poly Pomona debut against Azusa Pacific on Nov. 22.

Season Highs: Points – 2 vs. Pt. Loma Nazarene (11-29-03); Rebounds – 1 vs. Chico State (1-2-04).

Career Highs: First year with Bronco.

 

54        ALEXIS WILSON (F, So., Wayzata, MN, Wayzata HS)

Last Week: Had six points and four rebounds against Chico State on Friday; had two points and three rebounds against UC Davis on Saturday.

2003-04: Averaging 2.8 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game.

Season Highs: Points – 6 vs. Chico State (1-2-04), vs. Pt. Loma Nazarene (11-29-03); Rebounds – 3 vs. Abilene Christian (11-21-03); Assists – 1 vs. UC Davis (1-3-04), vs. Chico State (1-2-04), vs. Pt. Loma Nazarene (11-29-03).

Career Highs: Points – 6 vs. Chico State (1-2-04), vs. Pt. Loma Nazarene (11-29-03); Rebounds – 4 at Western Washington (12-28-02); Assists – 1 vs. UC Davis (1-3-04), vs. Chico State (1-2-04), vs. Pt. Loma Nazarene (11-29-03), vs. Cal State L.A. (2-7-03).

 

2003-04 CCAA STANDINGS (1-6-04)

CCAA                                                    Overall

                                                W            L             Pct.                         W            L             Pct.

Cal Poly Pomona          3          1          .750                  7          2          .778

CS Bakersfield              3          1          .750                  7          2          .778

UC San Diego               3          1          .750                  7          2          .778

Sonoma State               3          1          .750                  6          3          .667

Grand Canyon               3          1          .750                  6          3          .667

CS Dominguez Hills      2          2          .500                  6          3          .667

Chico State                   2          2          .500                  6          3          .667

CS Stanislaus                2          2          .500                  5          4          .556

UC Davis                      2          2          .500                  7          3          .700

CS San Bernardino        1          3          .250                  4          5          .444

San Francisco State      0          4          .000                  4          5          .444

Cal State L.A.                0          4          .000                  1          8          .111