Orange Coast’s Kazmer Came West After a Holiday Visit

LeAnn Kazmer, a standout forward for the Orange Coast women’s basketball team, came to Southern California on vacation from Wisconsin two years ago.

She had no intention of staying long. Kazmer said it was just a chance to get away from the cold and snow for a few weeks.

She had been attending Carroll College, just outside Milwaukee, but left school after the fall semester in 1991 because of differences with the basketball coach.

She planned to use her trip west before Christmas to think over her options, which at the time didn’t include a community college. While she was in Southern California, she planned to visit Southern California College and Christ College Irvine (now Concordia University).

Kazmer found out about Orange Coast when her friend got a class schedule in the mail and Kazmer looked through it one afternoon.

“It was an accident,” she said about choosing OCC. “I was wondering if I could even go to a community college. But I just called up Mike (Thornton, the OCC coach) and here I am.”

Thornton took Kazmer on a tour of the campus and she attended a Pirate game.

Kazmer, who also is a standout sprinter and high jumper, liked OCC’s fast-break style.

“I don’t think Mike really believed I would come back,” she said. “But I went home, told my dad I was going and packed up my car.”

Kazmer ran track in spring 1992 at OCC, then went out for basketball that fall. She earned a starting position at center but admitted playing that position was a struggle.

Kazmer, who was a power forward in high school, had hoped to play the same position at OCC. But what the Pirates lacked was a center.

Colleen Hatch, who went on to be an All-Southern California pick, was returning at power forward. Hatch is OCC’s all-time second-leading scorer and third in rebounds.

“I had never played (center) before,” Kazmer said. “It was so frustrating. I could play center OK, but it just wasn’t natural to me.”

Still, Kazmer averaged 11 points and seven rebounds for OCC, which had its most successful season, winning 27 games and reaching the State tournament for the first time.

While Kazmer was succeeding on the court, the same couldn’t be said for her in one of her classes, which she failed.

She rebounded the next semester, receiving all A’s and a B, and all A’s this fall.

“That F really woke me up,” she said. “It was just time to kick it . . .”

Kazmer is also excelling on the court this season, averaging a team-high 21 points and 11 rebounds. She has been the Pirates’ leading scorer in 12 of 15 games. She also was the rebounding leader in 11 games as well.

“She is the best athlete I’ve had here,” Thornton said. “She has just really benefited from the community college system.”

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Women’s soccer: Pam Prine, a freshman defender from Cypress, was selected as the Orange Empire Conference’s most valuable player.

Prine, Lori and Tracy Van Herk, Leah Russell and Christy Rowe made the first team for Cypress, which went 12-0 in conference.

Cypress finished the season, 20-1, losing in the State championship game on penalty kicks.

Also on the first team: Jennifer Crispin, Rebecca Norquist, and Jessica Williams of Orange Coast; Allegra Garcia and Courtney Leonard of Irvine Valley; Tamra Burch and Carey Gordon of Golden West; Stephanie Phillips of Fullerton and Jenny Rovane of San Diego Mesa.

Sue Spenser and Jan Engesser of Golden West were coaches of the year.

On the second team were: Carrie Fair, Debbie Klein, Caren Morgan and April O’Brien of Cypress; Amy Cook, Melissa Denham and Stacy Hetherington of Orange Coast; Crista Capshaw and Erica Dunne of Irvine Valley; Maurine Bosman and Jenni Murray of Golden West and Fullerton’s Marci McKean.