Broncos Take an Up-Front Approach : Colleges: Behind a strong front line, Cal Poly Pomona women are nearing their 11th consecutive California Collegiate Athletic Assn. championship.

The Cal Poly Pomona women’s basketball team appears to be headed for its 11th consecutive California Collegiate Athletic Assn. championship.

And at the forefront of the Broncos’ title drive is a front-court combination that has proven almost unstoppable.

Senior forward Leslie Ellis, junior forward Carrie Stritenberg and sophomore center Mildred Conston are among the top six in scoring in the CCAA. Conston, a transfer from Nevada Las Vegas, is also second in rebounding and blocked shots.

The three players have led Pomona to an 18-5 record and 9-0 mark in the CCAA entering Friday’s game against Chapman.

Coach Darlene May should be pleased. After all, everything appears to be going beautifully for the Broncos, who are prospering despite an injury-depleted roster that has been diminished to only eight players.

But May, who is in her 17th season at Pomona, has never put much stock in appearances.

“We’ve been lucky to do what we have to to win,” May said. “Sometimes we play well, sometimes we don’t.”

May is not impressed with the Broncos’ unblemished CCAA record and conference-leading 69.6 points a game scoring average. She says the CCAA, including Pomona, is not as strong as in years past.

Pomona is limiting opponents to a conference-low 55.8 points a game. But as she watched a tape of the Broncos’ 63-56 victory over UC Riverside on Friday, May said she finds her players’ attitude toward defense a little bit offensive.

“Team-wise, they just don’t take the same pride in their defense--and I think it’s going to end up costing us,” said May, who entered this season having won three Division II national championships and 15 conference titles. “If we get out of our conference tournament and into the regionals, this is going to cost us.”

Up to this point, Pomona has been making opponents pay for defensive schemes that have been useless against the Broncos’ front court.

The 6-2 Ellis transferred to Pomona last season from Eastern Montana College. She averaged 10.4 points and 5.3 rebounds for a Pomona team that finished 22-9 and fifth in Division II. This season, Ellis is playing more on the perimeter. She averages 15.9 points and 3.9 assists and ranks second in the CCAA in both categories. She also leads the conference in free-throw percentage (.857).

“Being on the outside, you can create more and see the court better,” said Ellis, who graduated from Santana High in Santee, Calif.

The 6-foot Stritenberg transferred to Pomona this year from Napa Valley Community College, where she averaged 24.8 points and 12.7 rebounds.

Stritenberg’s strength is her inside play. She is fourth in the CCAA in scoring (15.6).

Finally, there is the 6-2 Conston, who averaged 22 points, 14 rebounds and six blocked shots a game at Oceanside High in 1990, but played in only six games at UNLV last season.

“I came in to Pomona with no confidence,” Conston said.

She has plenty now.

Conston is averaging 14.2 points, 12.2 rebounds and 1.9 blocked shots a game. She has twice been named CCAA player of the week, including last week when she scored 34 points and grabbed 18 rebounds in victories over Riverside and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

“If one of us isn’t on, there are two other people who can pick up the slack,” Ellis said. “Every night, it’s somebody different.”

Ellis, Stritenberg and Conston agree that the Broncos’ defensive effort is sometimes lacking.

“Our defense is really shaky,” Stritenberg said. “When we talk on the court, we’re fine. But people are kind of hesitant to take the initiative. The communication is improving, but we still have a ways to go.”

After Friday night’s game against Chapman, Pomona will conclude its regular season with games against Cal State San Bernardino on Saturday and Cal State Dominguez Hills on Feb. 21.

Then it’s on to the four-team CCAA tournament, which will determine the conference’s playoff representative.

If Pomona clinches or wins the conference championship, the Broncos will play host to the postseason tournament on Feb. 27-28.

“We’ve started to pull together the last couple of weeks,” Ellis said. “If we communicate on defense, we’re going to be tough to beat.”

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