49er Women Face Big Step in NCAA

Cal State Long Beach, that would-be Final Four team of women’s basketball, is back again for another try at getting out of the regional, something the 49ers have fallen one win short of in three of the last four seasons.

This year, the 49ers are knocking louder than ever, with the fourth-ranked team in the nation, the top-seeded team in the West Regional and the highest-scoring average in the country at 96.6 points a game.

Getting through the door, though, has been the tough part for Coach Joan Bonvicini, who is 188-36 in the 1980s and has had other great teams, especially those including high scoring LaTaunya Pollard.

In 1982-83, Long Beach beat Stephen F. Austin and Oregon State before losing to USC at Pauley Pavilion, 81-74.

In 1983-84, the 49ers knocked off Nevada Las Vegas and San Diego State, only to lose to USC again in the regional final at the Sports Arena, 90-74.

And finally, 1984-85. They did beat USC, in the semifinals, but lost to Georgia.

Tonight, Long Beach (31-2) is back at Pauley Pavilion for the regional semifinals, with a game at 9 against eighth-ranked Mississippi (25-4) of the Southeastern Conference. USC (22-7) will play Ohio State (25-4) of the Big Ten at 7.

This time around, the 49ers are looking at things differently.

“In the past, maybe it was me, with the pressure I put on the girls,” Bonvicini said Wednesday. “I purposely don’t talk about (the Final Four) this year. To be honest, this year I really haven’t looked at the polls and they don’t matter. We’re not looking to Saturday night. We’re looking at Thursday and playing Mississippi.”

Said All-American forward Cindy Brown: “It’s like when you’re at school and you need prerequisites to get a major. Each year, you go a step higher and learn more. This year, our attitudes will make the difference.

“You can say as athletes, we’re really good. But the attitudes, that has made the biggest difference for us.”

Mississippi Coach Van Chancellor has obviously been practicing his attitude, too. Some might call it sandbagging.

“Our basic plan for (Penny) Toler and Brown is to hope they miss the team bus going to the game,” said Chancellor, Coach of the Year in the toughest conference in the nation, the Southeastern. “You don’t stop great players, in my opinion. You just hope they don’t have all-world games.”

USC, with four starters averaging double figures in scoring, led by forward Cherie Nelson at 20.5, has a chance to avenge a 20-point loss to Ohio State earlier this season. That was suffered in a tournament at Coral Gables, Fla., when several of the Trojans were flattened by the flu. USC is a different team now, something both sides were quick to point out Wednesday.

“I know all about that SC team we played in Miami in December,” Buckeye Coach Nancy Darsch said. “That was probably close to the lowest point of their season. . . . We have to keep things in perspective and realize they’re not the same team.”

Junior forward Tracey Hall is Ohio State’s key player. The All-Big Ten selection is fourth in the nation in field-goal percentage at .636 and tops on the team in scoring with a 16-point average, and rebounding with a 9.7 mark.

Regional Notes The regional final is set for Saturday night at 7 and will be televised live by ESPN. The winner here will go to Austin, Tex., for the Final Four March 27 and 29. . . . Cindy Brown needs 33 points to pass LaTaunya Pollard for the Long Beach single-season scoring mark of 907 points. The 6-2 senior will be going against a Mississippi team tonight whose tallest starter is 6-foot Cynthia Autry and whose two forwards, Alisa Scott and Joy Eichelberger, are 5-9. Point guard Penny Toler is fifth on the single-season scoring list at Long Beach, 20 points short of fourth.

Mississippi Coach Van Chancellor: “We’ll be the sympathy team for the fans. When our five starters come out, you can say some prayers. . . . On the jump ball to start the game, we’ll put all five in the backcourt and not even bother with a jumper.” Joan Bonvicini, for one, isn’t buying that routine. “I can assure that he’s not telling his team any of that,” the Long Beach coach said. . . . Will USC’s game against Ohio State be over by halftime? The Buckeyes have won every game they’ve led at the intermission and lost every time they trailed. . . . Trojan guard Rhonda Windham, on the prospect of a home-court advantage at UCLA: “I could never call Pauley Pavilion home.”