Leopard win two in row, drop one
Campus Times
December 12, 1997
After two straight losses on Nov. 22 and 23 in the Trinity Tournament
in San Antonio, Texas, to Wartburg College and Occidental, the University
of La Verne's women's basketball team bounced back of late to win two games
and dropped one to lower its record to below .500, at 2-3 overall.
The first win came in a big way last Tuesday, Dec. 2, against La Sierra
as the Leopards disposed of an unprepared Golden Eagles team 76-30. The
second came on Friday against Pacific Christian College in Fullerton, 67-56.
La Verne came out running in the first half as transfer junior Heather
Johnson ran the floor for the Leopards and shot well, leading her team to
10-for-31 in field goal attempts in the half and banged seven out of 13
three point baskets in the game to give La Verne a 33-22 lead going into
the second half.
Johnson continued her rally in the second half and often dished to junior
forward Jennifer Spring, who cashed in for four out of 11 from the field
in 38 minutes on the floor and finished with 13 points.
Sophomore forward Michelle Geiger also contributed late in the game
putting in two out of eight attempts and a three pointer to finish with
11 points.
Geiger did have trouble defending her opponent as Pacific Christian's
center Adrie Penn combined with Kimberly Bento and went 10 of 19 for 21
points.
PCC also had the help of guard Jamie Curfman as she combined with Bento
for 14 points in 34 minutes on the floor for the Regals. Bento finished
the contest with a game-high seven assists.
As the second half ran down, the Leopards put the game away shooting
10-for-22 from the field and, with the help of Johnson's five second half
three-point baskets and 30 points on the way to defeating the Regals, 67-56.
"Heather really stepped up for us and has been a big impact on
our team. She is fitting in great," said assistant coach Katie Miner.
Last year's leading scorer, sophomore forward Lori Johnson, finished
2-for-7 from the field and had four points in the Leopard win. Freshman
forward Amy Perkins also contributed to the ULV victory with four points.
The Leopards travelled to Concordia University on Tuesday, where a strong
Eagles team taught La Verne that it has a lot of work ahead of it this season
as it lost the game, 81-56.
"The main difference in the Concordia game is that we got majorly
out-rebounded," said Miner. "Our philosophy is 'Rebounds win games.'
In this game, we lost because of rebounds."
La Verne did stay in the game with the help of junior point guard Heather
Johnson and Lori Johnson as they combined for 17 points each and shot 11-for-27
from the field in the first half. Heather Johnson also shot two for five
from three point land and had five assists. Spring also contributed for
the Leopards with 12 points and five rebounds for ULV.
The Concordia team proved to be too much for the Leopards as the first
half ran down and forward Angela Good knocked down seven out of 12 for 15
points and often combined with center Heather Carll who had 13 points and
nine rebounds in the winning effort.
La Verne is still fighting through injuries in the 1997-98 season as
senior guard Alicia Gibson could only play 15 minutes in the Pacific Christian
game and was only able to cash in for two points and a steal. The Leopards
look to both Heather and Lori Johnson for leadership and guidance early
in the season.
La Verne will travel to El Cajon tonight to face Christian Heritage
College at 7:30 p.m. and will be diligently preparing for a tough challenge
in the UC San Diego Tournament Dec. 28-30.
"UCSD will be a good test for our team stamina and mental toughness,"
said Miner.
According to head coach Julie Kline and Miner, the coaching staff is
preparing for the UCSD Tournament with anticipation.
"From a coaching standpoint, we are getting ready for the tournament,"
said Miner.
