Dividends From Small Division

Sometimes a step down turns out to be a step in the right direction.

At least Cal State San Bernardino’s Sarah Hagman says so.

Hagman, who transferred from Division I Cal State Northridge, has been starting for the women’s basketball team at Division II Cal State San Bernardino this season.

And she is enjoying it. San Bernardino is 17-2 and tied for first in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn.

At Northridge, Hagman was in and out of the starting lineup for a team that was 9-45 in her first two seasons. She decided to transfer midway through her junior season.

“I started talking to Division II schools because I didn’t want to sit out for a year,” Hagman said. “I wanted to go somewhere where there were good people, fundamentals were stressed and honesty was a big factor.”

A friend of Hagman’s, Alissa Corey, plays for the Coyotes and was influential in getting Hagman to take a look at the program.

“I love it. I’ve never seen a team with so much heart,” Hagman said. “The skill level is about the same [as Division I], but there isn’t as much athleticism.”

Hagman set a Southern Section record with 121 three-point baskets at Crescenta Valley High School in 1994.

She injured her knee as a freshman and the surgery in February 1995 affected her into the 1996-97 season.

When Michael Abraham, Northridge’s coach, declared last season that he would rescind the scholarships of at least two players, Hagman decided to transfer.

She said the reason had less to do with the possibility that she might be one of them, but more that she was tired of the atmosphere of a losing program.

This season, Hagman has played both guard positions and is averaging 7.5 points on a team with a nine-player rotation.

“We kind of play the point guard by committee,” said Kevin Becker, San Bernardino’s coach. “Shelley Dungo has played point for us and Dobeal Goins became eligible after the quarter, so we use a lot of people.”

Dungo leads the conference at 4.6 assists a game, but the Coyotes are primarily a post-position team.

Keisha Allison and Jill Bekar, who each average 11.8 points a game, give the Coyotes a tremendous frontcourt tandem. Allison is second in the conference with an eight-rebound per game average and Bekar is sixth with a 6.4 average. The pair also are among the leaders in the CCAA in field-goal percentage and blocked shots.

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While many schools are cutting sports programs because of budget limitations or to comply with Title IX gender-equity requirements, Redlands is adding a varsity program.

And in doing so, the women of Redlands’ lacrosse team--a club team--will be elevated to intercollegiate status starting with the 1998-99 academic year.

The move means Redlands will be in compliance with Title IX by fielding 10 men’s and 10 women’s intercollegiate sports.

“Interest in [lacrosse] is growing and our club has had significant participation over the past few years,” said Carl Clapp, director of athletics. “It’s been a fairly strong club sport the past five years, and participation has been around 22-25 ladies.”

Clapp said the relatively low cost of a lacrosse program was a factor, but the program hasn’t completely fit into the budget yet.

“To some degree, we’re working on how we’re going to get [financing] in place,” Clapp said. “But when it’s the right thing to do, you find a way.”

Suzette Soboti has been hired to coach the lacrosse and women’s soccer teams. Anthony O’Neil, who had coached the men’s and women’s soccer teams, will concentrate on the men’s team. O’Neil led the women’s team to its best record at 8-8-1 last season.

Soboti comes from Middlesex County College, a junior college in Edison, N.J., where she started the women’s soccer program and coached lacrosse. Soboti’s first day will be April 1.

The lacrosse team will start its last season as a club sport under volunteer Coach Micah Baldwin on Feb. 14 at the Santa Barbara Shootout tournament. Home matches will be on Redlands’ new Farquhar Fields.

College Division Notes

The Cal State Bakersfield men’s basketball team (15-1) is ranked No. 1 in the nation. . . . Cal Poly Pomona’s Elizabeth Edmond made eight three-point baskets in a Dec. 19 game against the College of Notre Dame to break the school record of seven by Serenda Valdez, set in 1990.