Titan Women Make History, Get NCAA Bid : Fullerton Will Play Montana in the First Round Wednesday

For the first time in the school’s history, Cal State Fullerton has advanced to the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. women’s basketball tournament.

Fullerton (21-8) will play at the University of Montana (26-3) Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. in the first round of the West Regional. If the Titans win, they will play at the University of Texas, the regional’s second-seeded team, on Saturday.

“We like making history,” Fullerton Coach Maryalyce Jeremiah said. “This is great for the program. It shows kids we have something over here we’re doing right.”

Jeremiah, a fourth-year coach, has taken two other teams to the NCAA tournament. In 1983 with Indiana, the Hoosiers won the Big 10 title and advanced to the second round. In 1980, Jeremiah’s Dayton team won the NCAA Division II title.

Fullerton’s women’s basketball team hasn’t played in a national championship tournament since 1975, when the Titans played in the Western Regional of the Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women. Fullerton won the AIAW national title in 1970. The Titans also played in the women’s National Invitation Tournament in 1985.

“I’m really happy for these kids,” Jeremiah said. “They’ve gone year after year and not experienced this; they didn’t know how it feels. But we’re not going to participate, we’re going to win.”

Montana, which has 21 consecutive victories, is the Big Sky Conference champion, finishing 16-0 in conference play.

Center Lisa McLeod is the team’s leading scorer and rebounder. McLeod, a 6-foot-1 senior, averages 14.3 points and eight rebounds. Three other Montana starters average in double figures.

“We’re collecting information on Montana now,” Jeremiah said. “I don’t think their conference is as strong as ours. We’re seeded seventh and they’re seeded 10th.

“They don’t have one player that scores a lot of points, but they get offense from all their starters. That can be a problem.”

Fullerton is led by Gena Miller, a 6-3 sophomore center. Miller averages 20.4 points and 8.9 rebounds per game. She is also sixth in the nation in blocked shots, averaging 3.4 per game.

Kathy Werth, a 6-1 junior forward, is averaging 12.8 points and 5.9 rebounds.

Fullerton finished 12-6 in conference play and was tied for fourth in the Big West Conference with San Diego State. Long Beach won the regular-season title and the conference tournament.