Cooper Pointed Way for Pioneers

Tawnee Cooper led Ventura County in scoring for three consecutive seasons and spread her points all over the Simi Valley, leading two high schools to their best seasons.

Cooper started her career as a sophomore guard at Royal, leading the Highlanders to a 14-9 mark and averaging 19 points.

Cooper transferred to Simi Valley and was Ventura County player of the year as a junior, averaging 21.5 points.

This season she continued to grow and to improve, becoming a 5-9 forward strong enough to lead Simi Valley to an all-time best 27-3 record by averaging 26.8 points, third in the state.

Cooper will take a career total of 1,869 points with her to UC Santa Barbara.

“Tawnee was a tremendous high school basketball player with a great work ethic,” Simi Valley Coach Dave Murphy said.

In addition to prolific scoring, Cooper has proven to be a strong rebounder who gets good position against taller opponents.

Cooper averaged 12.5 rebounds this season, third-best in the county. She averaged 10.7 as a junior and 9.1 as a sophomore. Her career rebound total is 895.

Academics should not be too difficult, either. Cooper carries a 3.28 grade-point average at Simi Valley and has put in extra study time to ensure that she is ready for college.

Extra time on the court by Cooper and her teammates led to the Pioneers’ best season. The team had a 19-game winning streak and was co-champion of the Marmonte League with Thousand Oaks.

Simi Valley advanced to the semifinals of the Southern Division I-AA playoffs before losing to Palmdale, 61-60, on a last-second shot.

Cooper’s best performance came in a 64-58 quarterfinal victory over Diamond Bar. Simi Valley trailed, 45-42, early in the fourth quarter before Cooper scored 15 of her 31 points--breaking the school career scoring mark set by Cheri Graham.

Cooper was characteristically humble about the record.

“I couldn’t have done it without my teammates,” she said. “I want to thank them because they are the ones who have gotten me the ball.”

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All-Ventura County Girls’ Team

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Position Name School Year Height G Julie Arundell Fillmore Sr 5-10 G Jaline Bradley Oxnard Fr 5-8 F Megan Carmola Westlake Sr 5-10 G Eboni Conley Buena Sr 5-10 F Tawnee Cooper Simi Valley Sr 5-9 C Jenn Detmer Thousand Oaks Jr 6-3 C Nicole Greathouse Buena Jr 6-2 G Jamie Griffin Simi Valley Sr 5-8 G Tracey Milburn Moorpark Jr 5-9 G Kori Sebek Buena Sr 5-8

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SECOND TEAM*--*

Position Name School Year Height F Erin Barker Nordhoff So 5-10 G Amy Berman Newbury Park Sr 5-7 G Nicole Campbell Ventura Jr 5-6 C Danielle Curtis Oxnard Jr 5-10 C Chante Guggia Rio Mesa Sr 6-1 F Stephanie Kinnear Buena Jr 5-10 F Tina Milburn Moorpark Sr 6-0 G Julie Siefert Cornerstone Christian Jr 5-5 G Nicole Woodruff Thousand Oaks Sr 5-11 G Keyana Stanford Nordhoff Sr 5-7

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