Valley Tournament Will Showcase Region’s Best

Several of Southern California’s top junior college women’s basketball teams will compete in the Valley tournament today through Saturday.

Defending state champion Ventura has won the tournament every year since its inception in 1993. The Pirates play El Camino today at 2.

Moorpark plays Mt. San Antonio at 6 in a rematch of a Southern California regional final last season that propelled Moorpark into the eight-team state tournament. The Raiders defeated Mt. San Antonio, 87-85, with buzzer-beating baskets at the end of regulation and in overtime. Mt. San Antonio defeated Moorpark last season in the consolation round of the Valley tournament.

Moorpark (4-1) placed third last week in the Hartnell tournament. Guard Christina Mosesso averaged 15.3 points over three games.

Valley (3-5), which has lost to Ventura in the tournament final three times, plays Citrus at 8. The Monarchs, who averaged 77 points a game last season and were the fourth-highest scoring team in the state, are averaging only 54 this season. Point guard Porsche McAllister, sidelined for two games because of a sprained ankle, is expected to return.

Cypress plays Chaffey at 4.

Record threes: Sophomore guard Kristen Phillips of Antelope Valley has become the most prolific three-point shooter in school history.

Phillips has made 19 three-pointers this season to raise her career total to 86. Phillips, with four three-pointers against Cabrillo in the season’s third game, broke the mark of 70 established by Andi Boswell from 1994-96.

Phillips has threatened to break Boswell’s single-game record of seven. She made six in a game last season. Phillips’ season-high this year is four.

Phillips and forward Ebony Davis were all-tournament selections last month as the Marauders (3-5) finished second in the Cosumnes River tournament in Sacramento.

FOOTBALL

No makeup: The Western State Conference Bowl between Moorpark and Santa Barbara, canceled last Saturday because of a drenched field at Santa Barbara, will not be rescheduled.

Administrators at both schools were willing to schedule the game for this weekend, but the state Commission on Athletics prohibited the game from being played, said John Keever, Moorpark’s athletic director.

The commission cited a conflict with the inaugural state championship game scheduled for Saturday at Cal State Fullerton between Mt. San Antonio College (11-0) and San Francisco City (11-0).

Heavy rain turned the playing field into a virtual lake.

“It wasn’t just muddy,” Keever said. “It was under water.”

SOFTBALL

Model arena: There is a lot of talk at Northridge about building a multi-use arena and upgrading the football and baseball stadiums, but the facility with the greatest chance of an immediate improvement is the softball field.

The $1.7 million, privately funded stadium is set to break ground immediately after the conclusion of the Northridge season in May. The project was initiated by Steven Soboroff, an assistant to Mayor Richard Riordan and president of the L.A. parks and recreation commission.

Northridge softball Coach Janet Sherman used models of the stadium in her recruiting and five players committed to Northridge during the early signing period.