Sirchia Has No Bit Part in This Show

Elizabeth “Bits” Sirchia has had an outstanding basketball season and as a result, the Golden West women’s team is making its fifth consecutive appearence in the state tournament, which starts today at Los Angeles Valley College.

But oddly enough, one of the major reasons the team has advanced this far is because of the time Sirchia, a sophomore guard, was out of the lineup with an injury. In late December, Golden West was competing in the Fullerton Tournament, considered the most competitive tournament in Southern California.

In the semifinal-round game against Los Angeles Valley, Sirchia injured her ankle and was taken out in the second half. She asked to return but Dick and Dave Stricklin, the team’s co-coaches, kept her out of the lineup until the injury could be evaluated.

With Sirchia out, Golden West was left with one sophomore, guard Dawn Haag, who fouled out in the first overtime against L.A. Valley. With a team of freshmen, Golden West went on to win in double overtime, 80-70.

“That’s when the team really started to come together,” Sirchia said.

The next night, Golden West, without Sirchia, defeated College of the Sequoias, 71-68, to win the tournament.

“In the L.A. Valley game, everybody on the bench wanted to know if Bits could come back in,” Dave Stricklin said. “The second night there was no mention of it. They gained the confidence to win and not always count on her.”

But all things considered, Golden West would prefer to have Sirchia playing. She averaged 18 points and nine assists for Golden West, which averaged 89 points a game to its opponents’ 66.

The Rustlers (32-1) play San Mateo (31-2) today at 6 p.m. in the first round. Golden West, which went undefeated (12-0) in the Orange Empire Conference for the second consecutive year, has won 24 in a row. Sirchia, to the surprise of no one, was picked as the conference’s most valuable player.

Sirchia, 5 feet 7, played on the varsity for four years at Diamond Bar High School. When she began as a freshman, she was 4 feet 9, maybe, which is where her nickname, “Bits,” as in “little bit,” originated. “I was so tiny when I first started playing that people called me that,” she said. “It has just stuck with me, but I don’t mind.”

After high school, Sirchia wasn’t recruited by four-year colleges, so she decided to play at Golden West because she said she knew it was a strong program.

As a freshman, she averaged 11 points and seven assists, and Golden West went 37-1 and won the state title. Sirchia was picked to the all-Orange Empire Conference and all-state teams.

Sirchia wanted to take the anxiety of choosing a four-year college out of the way, so she signed with Hawaii in the fall.

“They run the same sort of offense we run here,” Sirchia said. “They like to run the break and so do I.”

State Tournament Notes

College of the Sequoias (29-5) versus Moorpark (29-4) at 2 p.m. is the tournament opener today. Santa Rosa (28-5) plays Bakersfield (22-10) at 4. After Golden West plays at 6, Merritt (28-6) plays host Los Angeles Valley (30-4) at 8.