COLLEGE DIVISION NOTEBOOK / MARTIN BECK : SCC’s Cooper Working to Overcome Setbacks

Basketball wasn’t much of a priority for Southern California College women’s basketball Coach Dean Cooper during much of November.

The week of the Vanguards’ season opener, Cooper got word that his 82-year-old father, Albert, had suffered a stroke. So Cooper left assistant coach Randy Hawkins in charge of the team and headed to Leadwood, Mo., a small town south of St. Louis, to be near his father.

During Cooper’s 2 1/2 weeks in Missouri, his father died. Cooper took it hard, but upon his return quickly got back into basketball--probably too quickly.

After one day of practice, he and the Vanguards went to the Golden State Athletic Conference Preseason tournament in Fresno.

“My dad and I really were close; he was my fishing buddy,” Cooper said. “It took an awful lot out of me, and when I came back my wife asked me not to go to Fresno because I wasn’t ready physically or emotionally and after I got back I wished I hadn’t gone.”

In Fresno, the Vanguards were swept, losing to Concordia, Fresno Pacific and Cal Baptist, which SCC had defeated by 18 points in its season opener.

“We were out of shape,” Cooper said. “We just stunk up the place.

“I don’t care how good your assistants are. When the head coach is not there the team will generally sputter.”

After returning from Fresno, the Vanguards had two weeks to prepare for their next game, a span that might have helped Cooper as much as the team.

“It helped me get my mind off it,” Cooper said. “We really got a lot done and I think we came together as a team in those last weeks.”

SCC lost to Cal State Dominguez Hills, 68-62, but Cooper was pleased with the Vanguards’ progress. SCC led by six with two minutes left before fading. Dominguez Hills has beaten Concordia by 40 this season.

“During those two weeks we ran them really hard,” Cooper said. “I thought they were in really good shape for the Dominguez Hills game and then we’re off for another 10 days and now we’re probably back to (ground) zero. They promised me that they would run over the vacation, but they never do.”

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A big part of SCC’s problem is that the Vanguards have lost three post players. Cooper expected Sanja Simidzija to average about 25 points and 10 rebounds, but the 6-foot-2 forward from Serbia decided to quit the team because of an offer to train for an international banking job.

Elaine Whittemore, a 6-foot freshman who led her high school team to an Oregon state championship last year, and Sarah Eberhardt, a 5-10 freshman from Beaumont High, each suffered injured knees and probably will miss the season.

Carrie Elsaesser, a 6-3 senior who played at Los Amigos High and Orange Coast, has stepped in and is averaging eight points and seven rebounds. Cooper hopes Heather Woodruff, a 6-2 freshman from Springfield, Ore., will be able to adjust to college play.

Because the Vanguards aren’t deep, Heather Brannan, a 5-10 senior wing player from La Quinta High and OCC, has played more at forward than usual. Brannan leads the team in scoring with a 16-point average and is second in rebounding average (six).

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The Vanguards (2-5) play three consecutive home games starting with tonight’s 7:30 game against Bethel (Kan.). They play host to Concordia (Wis.) at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Concordia (Neb.) at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.

The Friday and Saturday games are part of doubleheaders with the men’s team. The Vanguard men’s team will play Concordia (Ore.) at 5 p.m. Friday and Concordia (Minn.) at 6 p.m. Saturday.

Notes

The Concordia Irvine men’s team plays host to Concordia (Minn.) at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Concordia (Ore.) at 5 p.m. Saturday. The Eagle women’s team plays at Cal State Los Angeles Friday. . . . The Chapman men’s team, which plays Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) tonight at the Utah State tournament, plays host to Claremont-Mudd at 6 p.m. Saturday. The Chapman women’s team is playing in the UC San Diego tournament, which finishes Friday.