SportsScope : Lady Broncos Hope to Continue Winning Ways as They Head for San Luis Obispo

After winning its first three California Collegiate Athletic Assn. games at home, the Cal Poly Pomona women’s basketball team plays its first conference road game at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo at 5:45 p.m. Saturday.

Pomona, two-time defending NCAA Division II national champion and ranked No. 1 in the division, will take a 14-game win streak, a 27-game conference win streak and 16-1 overall record into the game. San Luis Obispo is 1-1 in the CCAA and 8-9 overall.

Pomona’s Broncos defeated Cal State Los Angeles (60-53) and Cal State Northridge (82-55) in CCAA games last week. But Coach Darlene May expects a more difficult game away from Pomona this week.

“Now we have to start playing on the road and SLO is always difficult to play at SLO,” May said. “We have to win on the road to win the conference.”

The Broncos, who have outscored their opponents by an average of more than 15 points a game, were led last week by the play of senior 5-6 point guard Michelle McCoy and freshman 6-2 center Niki Bracken.

McCoy, named the conference player of the week, is averaging 14.2 points and 7.5 assists after producing 37 points, 21 assists and 10 steals in two games last week. She leads the conference in assists. Bracken, a former standout at Compton High, is averaging 13.2 points and 6.7 rebounds.

Pomona’s scoring and rebounding leader for the season is 5-10 senior forward Debra Larsen, who averages 16.7 points and 10.9 rebounds. The Broncos also start 5-8 guard Paula Tezak and 6-0 forward Marcine Edmonds.

San Luis Obispo has been paced by center Sherrie Atteberry, who averages 15.6 points and 9.5 rebounds, and guard Julie Jordan, who is averaging 14.1 points and 3.5 assists.

The Cal State Los Angeles women’s basketball team will take its highest ever NCAA ranking into California Collegiate Athletic Assn. games against Cal State Dominguez Hills and Chapman this weekend.

The Golden Eagles are ranked No. 15 in the NCAA Division II and No. 2 on the West Coast after splitting a pair of games last week. Cal State lost to No. 1 ranked Cal Poly Pomona, 60-53, and defeated No. 14 UC Riverside, 77-69, to move its record to 11-5 overall and 1-2 in the CCAA.

In games this weekend, Cal State serves as host to Dominguez Hills at 5:45 p.m. Friday and visits Chapman at 5:45 p.m. Saturday in Orange. Dominguez Hills is 6-10 overall and 0-2 in the conference and Chapman is 9-6 and 2-0.

The Golden Eagles have been led on offense by 5-8 junior guard Shelly Bowcutt, who averages 12.3 points. Two other standouts are 6-0 sophomore center Lupe Quintana, who averages 10.3 points and a conference-leading 11.2 rebounds, and 5-10 junior forward Sue Doody, who is averaging 10.9 points and scored 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the win over Riverside.

The Cal Poly Pomona men’s basketball team, which split its two California Collegiate Athletic Assn. games last week, will be in the underdog role when it travels to Cal State Bakersfield and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo this weekend.

Pomona, which is 8-8 overall and 1-2 in the CCAA, meets Bakersfield at 7:30 p.m. Friday and San Luis Obispo at 8 on Saturday. Bakersfield is 11-5 overall and 0-3 in the CCAA and San Luis Obispo is 10-6 overall and 2-1 in the conference.

Pomona should benefit by the return of 6-7 senior center Gregg Brofer, who was recuperating from a concussion and missed last week’s games. Brofer is averaging 9.4 points and 7.3 rebounds.

The best player for the Broncos may be senior 6-7 forward Zenon M, who is averaging 12.8 points and 7.8 rebounds. In conference play, he has been scoring 15.7 points a game and has made 60% of his field-goal attempts.

Three other players scoring in double figures for the Broncos are junior guards Darron Suttle (12.0) and Bill Dobbs (12.0) and junior forward Terry Stevens (11.4).

The Broncos will face a Bakersfield team that is led by forwards Earl Hawkins and Paul Pfiefer, both averaging about 14 points. San Luis Obispo is headed by forwards Sean Chambers (18.6 points) and Melvin Parker (15.1).

Two former San Gabriel Valley high school standouts will lead the Cal Poly Pomona women’s gymnastics team into a dual meet against Southern Utah State at 7 p.m. Saturday in Cedar City.

They are senior Nancy Signer, a former South Hills High star, and Michele Stafford, an All-CIF Southern Section performer at Arroyo. Signer won the all-around title with 32.60 points, her best performance of the season, in a three-way meet against Sacramento State and Southern Utah State last week.

Stafford finished third in the all-around competition with 32.15 points as the Broncos placed second to Southern Utah State in the meet. Stafford’s best individual score was a 9.0 for first place in the vault.