Cougars Take Fall, Not a Trip

There goes that luau.

Sophomore guard LaCresha Clark said Greg Herrick, coach at College of the Canyons, promised to take the Cougars to Hawaii if they won the state title.

Those plans will have to wait.

Ventura Coach Ned Mircetic didn’t make any travel plans.

“We are going to Ventura,” Mircetic said. “That’s where we are going and enjoy it with family and friends.”

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At least one member of the Chelette family reached the championship game.

Amanda Chelette, a freshman guard on the Canyons women’s team, played briefly for the Cougars in the title game against Ventura on Saturday.

But her father, Newton, fell short of the championship game by two games.

Chelette, men’s coach at Antelope Valley, saw his team lose to Diablo Valley, 74-73, in a quarterfinal matchup on Thursday.

Chelette watched his daughter’s team lose in the final, 68-59.

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Antelope Valley center Stacey Hartwell, Valley forward Jacque Tennies and Moorpark guards Carrie Billone and Trisha Palmquist played for the South in the women’s all-star game Saturday.

Tennies scored six points and Hartwell, Billone and Palmquist each scored four points in an 85-65 victory by the South.

There was no men’s game.

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Valley women’s Coach John Taylor, in San Jose to watch the tournament, said Monarchs guard Shawanda Hotchkiss had more surgery Friday on the left knee she injured earlier in the season.

It was the second surgery on the knee for Hotchkiss, who is headed for the University of San Francisco next season.

“She was having trouble straightening it out,” Taylor said. “She can’t do the therapy without straightening it out.”

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Hotchkiss is one of six players from the region selected to the all-state women’s team.

Ventura guard Kara Newman was chosen state co-player of the year with Merced forward Cristine Sanchez.

Newman is the second Ventura player to receive the honor in the past two years, following former Pirate point guard Marina Torres.

Also on this season’s all-state team are Canyons’ Clark and Ventura forward Adria Sneed.

The second team included Canyons guard Kyetra Brown and Palmquist.

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The men’s all-state team included Ventura center Eddie Miller, the former Chatsworth High standout, Glendale guard Carl Biel and Antelope Valley guard Michael Hamelin.

Ventura forward James Lee and Valley point guard Benny Hoang received honorable mention.

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Coach Sherry Ruter and the rest of the Moorpark team stayed in San Jose after losing in the quarterfinals to Merced, 70-51, on Thursday at De Anza College in Cupertino.

Normally, teams return home immediately after their last game.

“They are fun to be around,” Ruter said. “It’s an experience that who knows when the next time [might be].”

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Former Ventura point guard Rafer Alston, the tournament’s most valuable player in 1995, led Fresno into the semifinals Friday night against Los Angeles City.

Alston scored eight points in Fresno’s 77-65 loss to the Cubs.

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The state championships move to Concordia University in Irvine and UC Irvine next year.

The women will play the quarterfinal round at Concordia before switching to UC Irvine for the semifinals and final.