CSUN Team, New Coach Shoot for NCAA Title

With victory cheers still ringing in their ears, Cal State Northridge women’s basketball players had cause to applaud for themselves Sunday.

Twice within a minute.

Gathered in the Presidential Suite at the Warner Center Marriott, the team erupted into whoops and hollers at the announcement on ESPN that the Matadors will play Colorado State on Friday night in the first round of the NCAA tournament at Fort Collins, Colo.

Northridge President Blenda J. Wilson and interim Athletic Director Sam Jankovich then stepped to the front of the room and declared that 28-year-old Frozena Jerro, the interim coach who led Northridge (21-7) to Saturday’s Big Sky Conference tournament championship, will be hired permanently.

Team members stood and applauded again. And this time the cheers were accompanied by tears and hugs for the indomitable woman they call “Coach Fro.”

“The most impressive characteristic of this team is the leadership and direction the players received from Coach Fro,” Jankovich said. “The women’s basketball team set a tremendous example to the entire athletics program on what it takes to overcome adversity.”

A season that threatened to unravel before it even began has evolved into an inspiring story of achievement in the face of daunting odds.

Coach Michael Abraham was arrested by the FBI in November and charged with trafficking crack cocaine.

Most of the team learned of the arrest from reporters, and the players’ shock was impossible to hide.

“We were the last to know and we were the ones who had to live with it from that day forward,” said Jamilah Jones, a junior guard and team captain.