Canyons Goes Bowling Again, Joining Ventura and Moorpark

Bowl games have been few and far between for College of the Canyons and Ventura College.

For Moorpark, it just seems that way.

Regardless, all three teams conclude the season Saturday in bowl games.

Canyons (7-3), playing its first season since 1981, will play Mt. San Jacinto (8-2) in the McDonald’s Charity Bowl at Antelope Valley College at 2 p.m. It’s the first bowl game for the Cougars since 1975.

Ventura (8-2) plays host to West L.A. (7-3) in the Western State Bowl at Ventura High at 7 p.m. Ventura, 1-9 last season, hasn’t appeared in a bowl game since 1989.

Moorpark (9-1), ranked No. 7 in the state, plays No. 18 Chaffey (8-2) in the Southern California Bowl at Chaffey at 1 p.m.

Moorpark has qualified for a bowl game 11 consecutive years. But the Raiders’ game against Santa Barbara in the Western State Bowl last season was canceled because of a storm.

Despite a steady drizzle, it was business as usual this week at practice for Moorpark.

“Strange things happen with bowl games,” Coach Jim Bittner of Moorpark said.

The mood was lighter at Canyons, which sweated out a bye the final week of the regular season.

The Cougars, who finished fourth in the WSC Northern Division, were fortunate to be included in the bowl mix.

“We practiced with the offense playing defense and the defense playing offense,” Coach Chuck Lyon of Canyons said. “We were getting things done. We were just enjoying ourselves. People are really excited up here about this.”

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Cal State Northridge has come back to earth after winning its first four women’s basketball games.

The Matadors (4-2) were defeated by Yale on Nov. 25 and fell to Loyola Marymount, 74-71, on Tuesday night on Taryn Reynolds’ three-point basket at the buzzer.

In each of the losses, All-American guard Edniesha Curry unleashed a torrent of shots for Northridge.

The sophomore from Palmdale High made 10 of 29 shots against Yale and scored a school-record 40 points against Loyola Marymount. She made seven of 12 three-point shots.

“When our offense is stagnant, Edniesha tries to get us going,” said Frozena Jerro, interim coach. “I trust her to make the right decisions.”

Against Loyola Marymount, Curry’s layup and free throw with nine seconds remaining tied the score, 71-71.

“It’s better these losses happen now than when conference starts,” Jerro said. “We are learning how to play as a team, what our limits are and what we can accomplish. We got off to a great start, but there will be growing pains.”

The Matadors miss forward Neda Milic, out because of a stress fracture in a foot. Milic, a sophomore from Belgrade, Serbia, is scheduled to begin practicing next week.

“We won’t rush her back,” Jerro said.

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Paul Bubb, who resigned under pressure on Nov. 3 as Northridge athletic director, attended the men’s basketball game against Southern California College on Monday.

He sat alongside Dr. Keith Richman, who headed the Task Force on Intercollegiate Athletics that put Northridge’s program under a microscope after the school cut four men’s sports in 1997.

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Staff writers Fernando Dominguez, Steve Henson and Vince Kowalick contributed to this notes column.