COLLEGES / IRENE GARCIA : Women’s Basketball Gaining Ground by Triple-Doubles

Carla Fujimoto, a veteran NCAA Division I women’s basketball official believes women’s collegiate games should have three referees--as do the men--instead of two.

Female athletes are quicker and more powerful than they were a decade ago, said Fujimoto, who played basketball at Valley College and Cal State Northridge in the 1970s.

Fujimoto has worked at the women’s NCAA Final Four, the Goodwill Games, two Olympic Sports Festivals, several U.S. National team trials and an array of international events.

She has seen today’s top players up close. Compared to the caliber of athlete that competed when she did, it’s like night and day. Today’s female players are more dedicated and their skills are more refined.

That doesn’t only apply to the international and top college level.

Take College of the Canyons’ center Kerri Garland, for instance.

Over the weekend Garland did a rare thing in women’s basketball at any level: She recorded a triple-double. It’s not unheard of in women’s basketball, but it happens about as often as the CSUN women’s team wins a game.

No local junior college coaches could recall being involved in a game when a player had a triple-double.

“I haven’t seen any since I’ve coached here,” said Greg Herrick, who has been Canyons’ coach for three seasons. “It’s pretty impressive.”

Garland’s feat attracted extra attention because one of the statistics was blocked shots. She had 10, a school record.

“That’s amazing, almost impossible,” Oxnard Coach Alex Flores said. “I don’t even see five blocked shots a game. You don’t even see triple-doubles with assists in women’s basketball, so this is unbelievable.”

It’s just part of the game’s evolution, say those involved with the sport.

Maybe in a couple of years a triple-double will not be so unusual in a women’s game. Who knows--it may even become the norm.

Back to Garland. She also had 13 points and 11 rebounds in the Cougars’ 71-49 Western State Conference victory over Santa Monica. Canyons is 24-5 and leads the WSC South Division with a 6-0 record.

A 6-foot-4 freshman from Kennedy High, Garland broke Canyons’ single-season record for blocked shots (59) a long time ago. She reached 89 during in Saturday’s record performance at Santa Monica.

The season didn’t start well for Garland. She averaged about two points and three rebounds early, but Herrick instilled a stronger work ethic.

When he first saw her in high school, she was so much taller and stronger than her opponents that she didn’t have to play very hard. That attitude apparently carried over to college. Difference is, the competition is a lot tougher.

“We were clashing a lot at the start of the season,” Herrick said. “I felt she wasn’t working hard and she found every excuse she could find for why she didn’t do well in a game.”

Garland became a dominant force toward the end of January and now Herrick says she is the team’s most consistent player. She fits Herrick’s system perfectly. The coach likes fast-paced basketball that leaves opponents sucking air and begging for timeouts.

The Cougars lead the state in offense with 84 points a game. Two other junior college teams (Merritt and Fresno) average more than 80 points a game. That’s another sign of the times.

When Fujimoto played competitive basketball in the 1970s, teams probably averaged about 50 points.

Canyons has scored more than 100 points in five games this season. This team is every statistician’s nightmare. In the old days, statisticians probably took naps during games while still managing to include every basket.

“I gotta admit, I had never even watched a women’s basketball game from end to end before I started coaching women here three years ago,” Herrick said.

The game had a bad rap from years past. Too slow compared to men.

Oh, and women weren’t as agile or strong. Certainly they were not when compared to their male counterparts, but the women’s game has come a long way.

Women train longer and harder than they did a decade ago and with full college scholarships available, there’s more incentive to work longer.

Just ask Fujimoto how good today’s collegiate players are. At 38 she is in the same condition she was as a player more than 20 years ago.

You have to be, she says, to keep up with today’s athletes and the faster pace of games.

“Players’ attitudes went from, ‘This is an extracurricular activity,’ to ‘This is a chance for advancement,’ ” Fujimoto said. “They are serious about this.”

And the game reflects it. Just take a look at a sweaty, run-down official at the final buzzer.