USD Signs Junior College Player

Reed Watson of Mesa Community College, Ariz. signed a national letter of intent to play basketball at the University of San Diego, Athletic Director Tom Iannacone said Tuesday.

Watson (6-feet-9, 210 pounds) averaged 8.5 points and 3.4 rebounds while shooting 63% from the field and 83% from the line as a freshman at Mesa last year. Watson attended Ricks College in Idaho after high school, but did not play basketball. He then went on a Mormon mission for two years before attending Mesa College.

Watson started eight games for Mesa, which was 22-9 last year.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

San Diego State signed one player to a national letter of intent, the University of San Diego signed two.

The Aztecs signed Tammy Blackman of Brea Olinda High School. Blackman, a 5-foot-8 guard, averaged 14 points, six rebounds and four assists for Brea Olinda, which won the Division III state championship last year. Brea Olinda was 31-2 last year and Blackman was a first-team All-Southern Section player last year as a junior and second-team selection as a sophomore.

USD signed Melisa Sortino of Marina High School in Huntington Beach and Jill Shaver of El Dorado High in Albuquerque, NM.

Sortino, 5-7, averaged 20.3 points and 4.4 rebounds as a junior last season and Shaver, 6-1, averaged 23.8 points and 9.2 rebounds to lead El Dorado to a 26-0 record and the Class AAAA state championship. Shaver was selected a pre-season honorable mention All-American by Street & Smith.

The University of San Diego lost to the English National team, 80-77, in an exhibition game at USD.

USD led at halftime, 38-36.

Candida Echeverria led the Toreros with 17 points. Kris Enger and Lynda Jones each had 14 for USD.

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL

San Diego State defeated Cal State Fullerton, 15-5, 15-4, 15-6, in a Big West Conference game at SDSU. Amy Erben had 12 kills and Shannon Mathew had seven for the Aztecs (17-16, 7-9). Susan Herman had 10 kills for Cal State Fullerton (7-20, 1-15).

MEN’S GOLF

USD placed 10th (982) among 12 teams at the San Francisco Invitational. UC Berkeley won with 911.

UC Berkeley Ben Furth shot 218 for first. USD’s Creighton Aotani shot 239 to tie for 32nd, Rick Schultz placed 44th (243), Mark Yarter was 46th (247) and Tom Shea placed 52nd (253).