Leopards tumble from first place
Campus Times
February 13, 2004
Sydni Myrick (No. 45), center for the University of La Verne, attempts a
shot against the Poets’ Chaznae Waters (No. 32) in the first half of the
game against Whittier, Tuesday night in the Supertents. The Leopards left the
court victorious, 63-56.
True champions always show their real character in the face of adversity,
no matter how tough it is, or what obstacles are thrown their way.
Only playing with seven healthy players, the University of La Verne women’s
basketball team bounced back from its defeat against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
Friday night and returned to their winning ways with a hard-fought 63-56 victory,
in which they had three players in double figures, Tuesday night in the Supertents.
The Leopards were without the services of junior guards Kourtney Hicks and
Felirose Tamparong. The trio of Sally Marroquin, Sydni Myrick and Audy MacDonald
steered them to victory.
Marroquin paced the team with 17 points on five for seven shooting.
“This victory definitely gives us confidence,” Marroquin said. “It
lets us know we can still take care of business despite our injuries.”
Not far behind, Myrick did her usual damage on the inside with 16 points and
seven rebounds. MacDonald chipped in 14 points, 12 of which were shot from behind
the arc.
“It was a big win for us,” Myrick said. “We know we can adjust
and win even when adversity comes along.”
The victory brings the Leopards’ Southern California Intercollegiate
Athletic Conference mark to 7-2, just a game behind conference leader CMS.
“We bounced back great from the loss on Friday,” head coach Julie
Kline said. “It shows that we have the desire to have a successful season
and finish on top.”
The Leopards put the Poets on their heels early when they started the game
with a 17-8 run that prompted the Poets coach into an early time-out.
Whittier made a few runs of their own midway through the half, coming within
six of the Leopards, but trailed at halftime 31-24.
In the second half the Leopards reverted to their old ways of committing turnover
after turnover, allowing the Poets to creep back into the game.
Whittier’s Kelly Kisting tied the game at 46 on a long three-point shot
with 11:55 left in the game.
That was as close as they would come to victory, as the Leopards pulled away
in the last segment of the game.
“We showed up and played a great game,” guard Denae Howell said.
“Even with our situation, we showed we are a strong team with a lot of
character.”
The game at CMS was a battle for sole possession of first place in SCIAC.
One would expect a competitive game, but instead the contest which was billed
to have the same fireworks as the first turned out to be a one-sided affair
as CMS sent the Leopards down to second place with a commanding 67-42 victory
Friday night at Ducey Gymnasium in Claremont.
Outplayed from the start, the Leopards were faced with the Athenas’ deadly
shooting attack that seemed like they knocked down every shot they took.
To add fuel to the fire, the Leopards were also fighting their own demons
as they shot 32 percent from the field, only making 16 field goals the entire
game.
The Leopards allowed 17 offensive rebounds not to mention a non-existent offense
which recorded only one player in double figures, compared to Claremont who
had three.
The Leopards also turned the ball over 19 times – a far cry from the
two teams’ previous meeting won by the Leopards 63-60.
“The bottom line is they outplayed us on both sides of the ball,”
Kline said. “They deserved to win because they were flat out the better
team tonight.”
Leading the way for the Leopards was point guard Marroquin who dropped in
14 points on 5 for 10 shooting from the field and a perfect four for four from
the line.
On the flip side, she committed eight of the Leopards’ 19 turnovers,
due in large part to the in-your-face defense played by the Athenas.
Right from the get go, the Athenas wasted no time as they opened the game
with an 11-2 run that set the Leopards back on their heels early.
They used a furious full-court press that confused the Leopards and took them
out of their game plan.
Despite not being able to grab a rebound or play any transitional defense,
the Leopards were only down 34-25 at the break due to a 8-0 run just before
the half.
The Leopards’ fate went from bad to worse as Hicks went down with an
ankle injury early in the second half. From there the Leopards could not put
the pieces back together.
The Athenas used the same intensity from the first half to put the Leopards
away.
The Leopards had spurts of great play down the stretch but it was too little
too late as the outcome had been decided.
The Leopards play Pomona-Pitzer at 7:30 p.m. tonight in Claremont.
