SCC Guard Plays Despite the Pain

Alana Kempton, Southern California College’s shooting guard, wasn’t expected to play again this season after spraining her ankle Saturday.

SCC Coach Russ Davis said he knows a serious sprain when he sees one. “Her ankle was gigantic,” he said.

Yet Kempton scored the Vanguards’ final four points, including a driving layup with six seconds left in a 48-46 victory over Fresno Pacific Tuesday. It was SCC’s first women’s basketball victory over Fresno Pacific, breaking a string of 30 losses.

Kempton, a sophomore from Whittier Christian, was on crutches the night before the game, but the swelling subsided. Kempton didn’t limp noticeably in the game and scored 11 points--all in the second half. Davis said the team’s prayers must have been effective.

“I don’t understand it,” Davis said. “The trainers did a great job but the Lord must have stepped in there and touched it because you can’t heal that fast.”

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Add Vanguards: SCC forward Elaine Whittemore was named the GSAC player of the week after averaging 18.5 points and 10 rebounds in road victories over Biola and Cal Baptist. She made 17 of 22 shots from the field for the Vanguards (17-8, 5-5 in conference).

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Men’s basketball: Adam Dzierzynski, named conference player of the week for the second consecutive week, had another great game Tuesday in the Vanguards’ 91-79 victory over Fresno Pacific.

Dzierzynski, a junior point guard, had 15 points, seven assists, four rebounds, four steals and only two turnovers. “We’re starting to take that for granted,” SCC Coach Bill Reynolds said.

SCC (21-7, 8-3) has won eight in a row and is tied with Biola for second, one game behind Azusa Pacific.

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Baseball: Chapman’s Luis Garcia, a junior from Placentia, hit home runs in his first three at-bats in the Panthers’ 12-6 loss to Southern California College last week.

Garcia, who flied out to center in his fourth at-bat, has three of Chapman’s five home runs this season.

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Women’s track and field: Chapman junior Cortney Postlethwait broke the school triple jump record at the Pomona-Pitzer Invitational last week. She finished second with a mark of 35 feet 2 1/2 inches, smashing the previous record of 34-4 set by Lili Bess in 1987.