SPORTSCOPE : Cal Poly Coach Darlene May Shoots for Her 400th Victory

Longtime Cal Poly Pomona Coach Darlene May will be after a milestone when the Broncos play host to Weber State at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Poly Pavilion.

May, in her 16th season as coach of the women’s basketball team, is only one win away from her 400th career victory. She will take a 399-91 record into the game.

Pomona is 2-0 while Weber State will play its opener.

It was business as usual for Cal Poly last week as it won its second straight Bronco Classic. Pomona crushed San Francisco State, 91-38, in the first round and defeated California Collegiate Athletic Assn. rival Cal State Northridge, 83-73, in the championship game.

The Broncos were led by senior All-American forward Niki Bracken (6-2), who averaged 20 points last season to lead the team to a 28-6 record and the NCAA Division II final. Bracken scored 54 points in the two games last week, including a tournament-record 32 against Northridge.

Another impressive performer for the Broncos was 6-2 freshman center Danielle Carter, an All-CIF Southern Section performer for Fontana High last season, who averaged 12.5 points and nine rebounds in the two games.

Carter was a reserve in the games but still made the all-tournament team along with Bracken, the tournament’s most valuable player.

Pomona is also starting junior Kelly Connelly (6-1) at forward, senior Marcine Edmonds (6-1) at center and juniors Stephanie Coons (5-11) and Denise Ogburn (5-5) at guard.

Weber State is led by 5-6 guard Melanie Knott, who averaged 13 points last season.

After finishing second in its own tournament last week, the Cal Poly Pomona men’s basketball team will step up in class to visit NCAA Division I opponents Southern Utah State and UC Berkeley on Saturday and Monday.

The Broncos, 1-1, will visit Southern Utah at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Cedar City and Cal at 7:30 p.m. Monday.

Both opponents figure to cause problems for the Broncos.

Southern Utah, which will be playing its season opener, is led by 5-8 Kenny Lee who averaged 12 points last season. The Thunderbirds have eight players who are 6-6 or taller, including former USC and Brigham Young center Alan Pollard at 7-3.

California, which suffered a 101-81 loss to top-ranked Nevada-Las Vegas in the second round of the National Invitational Tournament after defeating Air Force 70-49, is 1-1. The Bears are led by guards Keith Smith (6-4) and Ryan Drew (6-3) and former Diamond Bar High star Brian Hendrick (6-8) at center.

On the bright side, Pomona appeared much better than its 7-19 squad of last year in the Bronco Classic. Pomona defeated Pacific Christian, 110-83, before dropping a 104-95 decision to Chico State in the title game.

The Broncos were sparked by junior forward Terry Ross (6-6), who scored 37 points and grabbed 14 rebounds against Pacific Christian, and junior guard Chancellor McCobb (6-3), who scored 20 points against Chico. The team also starts Jim Skinner (6-4) at forward, Rafael Vargas (6-7) at center and D.J. Norman (6-1) at guard.

Six teams from the San Gabriel Valley are listed in the latest Kinney California State High School Cross-Country Rankings.

Topping the list is Maranatha of Sierra Madre, which is rated in both the boys and girls polls. The Minutemen are ranked No. 3 in boys Division III and fourth in girls Division III.

The Maranatha girls figure to advance higher after winning their fourth consecutive CIF Southern Section 1-A Division title last week.

The only other valley team ranked in Division III is the La Salle boys at No. 5. In Division II, South Pasadena is ranked No. 7 in the boys division and San Marino is No. 5 and South Hills of West Covina is No. 6 in the girls division.