COLLEGE NOTEBOOK : For This Coach, Winning Is Bittersweet

Jim Stephens, the Valley College women’s basketball coach, is directing what may be a Mountain Valley Conference championship team.

Valley (13-11, 6-1) lost to defending conference and state champion Trade Tech (5-2) last Friday, but the Monarchs are still one game ahead in the conference standings.

Morale among the players is up, but the same cannot be said for Valley’s coach.

Earlier this week, Stephens was one of 142 teachers in the Los Angeles Community College District who received a layoff notice.

“We’re going through all kinds of legal processes,” Stephens said. “I have to admit, it’s kind of scary.”

Stephens was coach of the Valley men’s basketball team from 1974 to 1982 before moving to Pierce College.

At Pierce, Stephens’ teams won Metropolitan Conference titles in 1982-83 and 1983-84, and Stephens got a glimpse of the district’s financial troubles.

“I coached there for two years without a paid assistant coach,” he said. “The administration kept telling me they were going to get one, but it never worked out.”

Stephens returned to coach the Valley women’s team last season.

Said Stephens: “Coaching is coaching. I really don’t miss not having the men’s team.”

Last season, with a team consisting mostly of freshmen, the Monarchs were 13-15.

Even with a more talented roster this season, the Monarchs had a slow start when sophomore forward Jill Daniels missed the first 12 games due to an injury. Daniels, out of Chatsworth High, attended Brigham Young University before transferring to Valley.

Daniels has returned and is averaging 19 points a game. She has teamed with returning all-conference center Tina Johnson, who averages 16 points, to give the Monarchs a powerful inside game.

The Monarchs still must play Trade Tech on Feb. 19 at Valley. Mountain Valley Conference play ends Feb. 26, and two teams from conference qualify for the regional playoffs March 6 at Golden West College.

Even if Valley wins a state championship, Stephens could still lose his job.

“I don’t know what I’ll do,” said Stephens, who has taught P. E. and math in the district for 12 years. “Teaching is what I know. I guess I may have to look for another college job or go back to the high school level.”

Big Bopper: Cal Lutheran first baseman Ed Howard had the type of debut that ballplayers dream about.

Howard, a junior playing in his first game for Cal Lutheran, hit five home runs and had 13 runs batted in last Saturday in the Kingsmen’s season-opening doubleheader sweep of Pomona Pitzer.

“I’ve never had a day quite that good,” said Howard, who transferred from Cypress Junior College. “In high school, I had some good games, but nothing like Saturday. I hope I can have some more like that.”

Howard is the Kingsmen’s clean-up hitter.

“Hitting fourth, I need to provide some power,” Howard said. “That’s my role. I don’t know if I can hit three every day, but I think I can have a decent season.”

Burning down the house: Cal State Northridge center fielder Craig Burns had a start that was the direct opposite of Ed Howard’s.

Burns, a sophomore, started the season by striking out four times in the Matadors’ season-opening win over Cal State Long Beach.

In his last two games, however, Burns has showed the form that Northridge Coach Terry Craven expected all along.

In a 4-1 loss to USC on Tuesday, Burns homered for CSUN’s only run.

The next day against U. S. International University, Burns was three-for-three and the Matadors won, 4-2.

“I’m feeling a lot better at the plate now,” Burns said. “Everybody out here can play. I have to perform just like everybody else.”

Said Craven: “He’s on the pitches now like we expected he would be.”

Washed out: The Wednesday women’s softball doubleheader between Northridge, the defending NCAA Division II champion, and defending Division I champion UCLA was canceled because of rain.

The games might not be rescheduled.

Division I schools such as UCLA do not earn points toward national rankings by beating Division II schools--even if the opponent is another NCAA champion.

“CSUN is mainly an interest game,” said UCLA assistant coach Sue Enquist. “If you beat them, there is no asterisk on your won-loss record that they were a Division II champ. If it was a Division I school like Cal Poly Pomona, it would definitely be rescheduled.”

Add wash-outs: A baseball game between The Master’s College and Cal State Stanislaus was canceled Thursday. The Northridge baseball team had it’s doubleheader at the University of San Diego rained out last Saturday. Neither of the games will not be rescheduled.

And you thought it was easy in the NBA: The Cal Lutheran basketball team (5-19, 2-8) still has a shot at making the NAIA District III postseason tournament.

The Kingsmen are tied with West Coast Christian (14-9, 2-8) with three conference games left.

Cal Lutheran plays Point Loma at home, and has games at Southern California College and Azusa Pacific. Cal Lutheran has yet to beat any of the three this season.

West Coast Christian plays Fresno Pacific, Cal Baptist and Biola, and has yet to beat any of the three this season.

Cal Lutheran and West Coast Christian could conceiveably end up with identical 2-11 conference records. If that happens, West Coast Christian would go to the playoffs because of its, 84-80, win over the Kingsmen earlier this season.

The Master’s (6-20, 1-9) also has an outside chance of qualifying. The Mustangs must win at least two of their three remaining games. They play Southern California College, Fresno Pacific and Cal Baptist.

Record-breaking Regals: The Cal Lutheran men’s basketball team may be struggling, but this has been a record breaking year for the Cal Lutheran women’s team. The Regals beat The Master’s, 89-60, for their 12th win of the season, a school record.

It was also the Regals’ fourth conference win, which tied a school mark.

Cal Lutheran (12-12, 4-10 ) plays Southern California College and Point Loma Nazarene in its last two games of the season.