Hornets’ Copp Signs to Play Women’s Basketball at USC

Aimee Copp is among four Fullerton College basketball players to sign with four-year schools.

Copp, a 6-2 center who averaged 16 points and 9.5 rebounds last season, will attend USC. See set a record with 343 rebounds, surpassing previous mark of 264, set by Nicky Durity in 1990-91.

Copp, who attended Fullerton High, was a redshirt during the 1996-97 season, and a first-team All-Empire Conference selection in 1997-98.

Lauren Murphy, a 5-7 guard from Rosary, and Angie Baca, a 5-5 guard from Norwalk Glenn, signed with Division II Humboldt State. Murphy averaged nine points last season, starting 65 of 66 games in two seasons at Fullerton, which shared the Orange Empire Conference championship last season.

Baca, the school’s all-time leading scorer, became the first woman to score more than 1,000 points, finishing with 1,102. She averaged 17 points and set school records for three-pointers in a season (84) and in a career (134).

Heather Floyd, a 5-7 guard from Chino Hills Ayala High, signed with the University of Denver. Floyd set school records for career assists (403) and career steals (186). She was two assists shy of breaking the school’s single-season record (221).

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Villa Park guard Missy Bynon and Irvine Valley College forward Heather Cunningham, who also played at El Dorado High, have signed to play basketball at Cal State Fullerton.

Bynon, who averaged 15.7 points and 5.3 assists last season, was a Times Orange County second-team selection and the Century League’s most valuable player.

Cunningham, an Orange Empire Conference first-team selection the last two seasons, led Irvine Valley to a 24-8 record and to the third round of the Southern California playoffs last season.

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Southern California has announced the addition of three athletes.

Nikki Soriano of Moreno Valley Canyon Springs High has signed to play volleyball. Soriano led Canyon Springs to Ivy League titles the last two seasons.

Cheri Smith of Palmdale High School has signed to play softball. Smith had a 3.93 grade-point average.

Steve James, who played basketball for Pacific Christian College, will transfer to SCC in the fall. James, a 6-8 junior, is from Curacao, which is just north of Venezuela.

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Calvin Byrd has been named an assistant basketball coach at UC Irvine.

Byrd, who played at Villanova from 1989-93, has been an assistant at Alameda St. Joseph Notre Dame High. He replaces Cameron Dollar, who quit to coach Southern California College.

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Golden West and Santa Barbara, with regional playoff victories, are in the state men’s volleyball finals, which begin Friday at Irvine Valley College.

Golden West, which has won the last three state titles, will play Los Angeles Pierce, the South Coast Conference champion, at 4:30 p.m. Orange Coast, winner of the Orange Empire Conference, will play Santa Barbara at 7:30.

The championship game begins at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. The third-place game will be at 4:30 p.m.

Golden West and Orange Coast have met in the last two state finals.

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Adrienne Allen, a senior midfielder/defender at Villa Park, has committed to Westmont. Allen, a four-time All-Century League choice, was her team’s most valuable player for three seasons. Westmont won the Golden State Athletic Conference for the fifth consecutive season and advanced to the NAIA final four last season.

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Esperanza’s David Munoz has signed to play baseball and soccer for Biola, according to college officials. Munoz was named to the All-Empire League first team in soccer twice. Munoz was second in goals scored for the Aztecs last season with 13.