| Cuyamaca women’s
basketball on hiatus
© East County Sports.com
RANCHO SAN DIEGO (7-29-10) — Following the recent
resignation of yet another head coach following a short
tenure, Cuyamaca College has decided to suspend its
women's basketball program for the 2010-11 season.
"We just received official word about placing
the women's basketball team on a 1-year hiatus last
Thursday," said MARK WARNER, the former long-time
women's volleyball coach at San Diego State University
who is currently serving as Cuyamaca's interim director
of athletics.
"We will be studying all of the women's sports
programs."
Cuyamaca is going through a variety of personnel changes.
Included will be the naming of a new college president,
a vice president for student services to oversee athletics,
health and physical education, while Warner will direct
the athletics department until the college hires a new
associate dean for athletics.
"There were several recommendations made about
three weeks ago," Warner noted about the future
of Coyotes athletics department. "They went through
several levels of management until we got word on what
was accepted last week."
Women's basketball has struggled since its inception,
going though seven different head coaches who all lasted
two seasons or less. Much of the school's problems resulted
from late summer hirings which hampered recruiting efforts.
Last season, the Coyotes dropped all 23 contests, including
all 14 conference ballgames by double figures.
The school has never posted a winning record in women's
basketball. The best mark was 10-13 in 2005-06 under
coach TAUFIK SOROUR; his sister, HEIDI, is the current
head coach at San Diego City College after assisting
at Cuyamaca that season.
In discussions with previous Cuyamaca administrations,
suggested sports to add – which are strong among East
County high schools – included women's golf and men's
wrestling.
Southern California Regional BRACKETS
Play-In Round
Wed., Feb. 24
No PCAC teams scheduled
First Round
Fri., Feb. 26
Grossmont 69, Antelope Valley 56
San Bernardino Valley 58, Palomar 55
Fullerton 82, Santa Barbara 64
Second Round
Sat., Mar. 6
(1) Fullerton 54, (8) Grossmont 45
(4) Pasadena 65, (5) Riverside 56
(3) Mt. San Antonio 60, (6) L.A. Trade-Tech 47
(2) Ventura 61, (7) San Bernardino Valley 55
These teams advance to the state quarterfinals vs. 4 No.
Calif. teams.
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2009-10
All-Pacific Coast Conference
(Selected by the coaches)
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First Team
Kiara Stinson, Palomar
Leticia Ridley, Grossmont
Tagisia Togisala, Southwestern
Lauren Matheney, Palomar
Camille Smith, Imperial Valley
Briottany Robinson, Grossmont
Bethany Wong, San Diego City
Megan Conroy, MiraCosta
Meagan O'Farrell, Palomar
Jasmine Bonds, Southwestern
Amanda Jamison, San Diego Mesa
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Player of the Year
Kiara Stinson
Palomar
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Coach of the Year
Sheri Jennum
Palomar
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Honorable Mention
Cuyamaca - Nada Hanna, Belinda
Pickens. Grossmont - Phylicia Schultz, Tiffany
Klein,Breanna Durant, Ariel Meek, Sydney D’Angelo,
Alex Lamourelle . Palomar - Amber Glasser, Melanie
Wilkerson, Natalie Curran, Stephanie Bishop. Southwestern
- Tiffany Depfer, Teanna Williams. MiraCosta -
Rachel Darby, Ali Congini. Imperial Valley - Johanna
Uribe, Marissa Gonzalez. San Diego City - Michelle
Brown, D'Arjene Porter. San Diego Mesa - La Queshia
Donald, Shelby Watson.
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Sat., Feb. 20
MiraCosta 57, Imperial Valley 52 (make-up from
Jan. 22)
END REGULAR SEASON
Fri., Feb. 19
Grossmont 66, Southwestern 59
MiraCosta 78, San Diego Mesa 49
San
Diego City 57, Imperial Valley 52
Palomar 93, Cuyamaca 28
CLICK LOGO FOR DETAILS
Wed., Feb. 17
Grossmont 75, San Diego City 53
Southwestern 53, Palomar 47
Imperial Valley 64, MiraCosta 61
San Diego Mesa 76, Cuyamaca 71
Fri., Feb. 12
Imperial
Valley 66, Cuyamaca 50
Palomar 70, MiraCosta 46
Grossmont 75, San Diego Mesa 47
Southwestern 58, San Diego City 56
Wed., Feb. 10
Grossmont 84, Cuyamaca 44
MiraCosta 54, San Diego City 42
Palomar 55, San Diego Mesa 37
Southwestern 72, Imperial Valley 70
Fri., Feb. 5
Palomar 58, Grossmont 32
Southwestern 64, MiraCosta 35
Imperial Valley 59, San Diego Mesa 56
San Diego City 63, Cuyamaca 44
Wed., Feb. 3
Palomar 94, San Diego City 45
MiraCosta 69, Cuyamaca 32
Grossmont 66, Imperial Valley 63
Southwestern 63, San Diego Mesa 54
Fri., Jan. 29
Grossmont 63, MiraCosta 51
San Diego City 46, San Diego Mesa 31
Palomar 83, Imperial Valley 66
Southwestern 69, Cuyamaca 43
Wed., Jan. 27
Grossmont 78, Southwestern 70
Palomar 75, Cuyamaca 40
San Diego City 68, Imperial Valley 55
MiraCosta 48, San Diego Mesa 39
Fri., Jan. 22
Palomar 83, Southwestern 43
San Diego Mesa 78, Cuyamaca 50
Grossmont 71, San Diego City 49
MiraCosta at Imperial Valley, ppd. (rescheduled for
Feb. 20th)
Coyotes receive mixed medical news
© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (1-16-10) — Cuyamaca College, which dropped
an 85-42 decision to visiting Imperial Valley College
in Wednesday's (Jan. 20) Pacific Coast Athletic Conference
contest, received all sorts of off-court news prior
to the ballgame.
Coyotes head coach LORRI SULPIZIO reported that freshman
forward HELENA DITZEL, who hails from Norway, has been
accepted to medical school in her home country. Unfortunately,
schools there are on a different time schedule than
those in the States, so Ditzel will be leaving the basketball
team in two weeks to attend classes.
"Whether we win 20 games or no games, one of the
goals for our program is to make sure all of our players
graduate and get to a 4-year school," said Sulpizio.
"Even though we'll miss her, this is a great opportunity
for Helena."
Meanwhile, on the court news finds Cuyamaca scoring
leader BELINDA PICKENS out with a finger injury, while
KURSTYN SIMMONS is out with an ankle injury, leaving
the Coyotes with just six players on the active roster.
"Our trainers are not sure if Belinda's finger
is strained or if she broke it," the coach added.
Cuyamaca returns to action Friday (Jan. 22) at San
Diego Mesa, starting at 7 p.m.
Wed., Jan. 20
Imperial Valley 85, Cuyamaca 42
Palomar 67, MiraCosta 59
Grossmont 83, San Diego Mesa 44
Southwestern 68, San Diego City 50
Coyotes getting closer
© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (1-16-10) — Cuyamaca College, which has
been raked with recent injuries, fell on the road to
district rival Grossmont, 96-38, in Friday's PCAC contest.
Fri., Jan. 15
Grossmont 96, Cuyamaca 38
Palomar 66, San Diego Mesa 29
MiraCosta 57, San Diego City 47
Southwestern at Imperial Valley, late
Wednesday's late score
Grossmont 68, Palomar 64
Wed., Jan. 13
San Diego City 86, Cuyamaca 43
MiraCosta 46, Southwestern 42
Palomar at Grossmont, no report (Note: Palomar did
not report to the North County Times, as well)
Imperial
Valley 62, SD Mesa 39 / PHOTOS
Fri., Jan. 8
MiraCosta 85, Cuyamaca 42
Imperial
Valley 89, Grossmont 77
Palomar 78, San Diego City 60
Southwestern 69, San Diego Mesa 38
Coyotes getting closer
© East County Sports.com
RANCHO SAN DIEGO (1-7-10) — Cuyamaca College stayed
in contention for more than a half Wednesday (Jan. 6),
yet still are searching for a victory after dropping
its Pacific Coast Athletic Conference opener to visiting
Southwestern, 81-52.
The Coyotes (0-8, 0-1 PCAC) trailed by only three points
at the half, but the Jaguars sprinted away in the second
half.
LIANA PITMAN (El Capitan) paced Cuyamaca with 12 points,
while KURSTYN SIMMONS followed with 8 points.
Cuyamaca concludes a 4-game homestand by entertaining
MiraCosta on Friday (Jan. 8) at 7 p.m.
The stretch of home games began with last week's Surf
'n Slam tournament, held Dec. 29-30, with Cuyamaca dropping
ballgames to club teams San Diego Select and Little
Big Horn of Montana.
NADA HANNA earned an all-tournament berth after scoring
21 points against Little Big Horn. Hanna was joined
by Pitman for tournament honors after a 19-point outing.
Attempting to turn the corner and garner a victory has
proven difficult due to illness and injury. Hanna injured
an ankle during the tournament and played limited minutes
against Southwestern. The Coyotes also played without
point guard PATRICE CRAIG, the team's third-leading
scorer, who is out of town for a week.
"We seem to struggle with injuries and getting
everyone here at once. What this team has proven is
that we play hard – that's the foundation the coaching
staff is excited about," said head coach LORRI
SULPIZIO. "When I came to Cuyamaca last year I
knew it would take some time to grow this program, but
every day we get a little bit better, and these freshman
are excited to continue to improve and strengthen our
team for the future."
Wed., Jan. 6
Grossmont 50, MiraCosta 40
Southwestern 81, Cuyamaca 52
Palomar
81, Imperial Valley 62
San Diego Mesa 79, San Diego City 68
Coyotes get splashed by Long Beach
© East County Sports.com
IMPERIAL (12-20-09) — Cuyamaca College saw its
run at the Imperial Valley College Holiday Classic end
in just two games. The Coyotes (0-7) were eliminated
by Long Beach City College, 53-47, in Saturday's (Dec.
19) consolation semifinals.
With the victory, the Vikings (3-8) snapped a
4-game losing streak.
Coyotes fall to Victor Valley
© East County Sports.com
IMPERIAL (12-19-09) — Cuyamaca College continues
to search for its initial victory of the season after
falling in Friday's (Dec. 18) opening round of the Imperial
Valley College Holiday Classic. The Coyotes (0-6) fell
to the Victor Valley Rams, 56-32, at DePaoli Sports
Complex.
Cuyamaca will face Long Beach City College in Saturday's
consolation semifinals at 1 p.m. The Vikings (2-8) lost
their fourth straight after getting downed by L.A. Pierce,
73-46.
Griffins reach another title tilt
© East County Sports.com
IRVINE (12-15-09) — In a battle of Top 20 ballclubs,
Grossmont College saw its 5-game winning streak snapped
in the championship of the Irvine Valley College Tournament
after the host Lasers (11-1) secured a 60-48 decision.
COMPLETE GAME STORY HERE.
The Griffins (9-3) have now reached the title game in
all four tournaments they have participated in this season,
with their lone triumph coming in the Lady Charger Classic
after downing host Cypress, 83-81.
Grossmont takes two weeks off for the holidays before
hosting its own 22nd Annual Grossmont Holliday Tournament,
slated for Dec. 28-30. The Griffins entertain Reedley
College of Central California in the 5 p.m. opener.
Meanwhile, Cuyamaca College was swept out of the IVC event
in two games following a 72-40 setback to powerful Chaffey.
The Coyotes next travel east for this weekend's Imperial
Valley College Classic, meeting Victor Valley in Friday's
(Dec. 18) 11 a.m. event opener.
Griffins skate past Chaffey
Courtesy, Irvine Valley College
IRVINE (12-11-09) — The 14th-ranked Grossmont College
women's basketball team opened the Irvine Valley College
Tournament by whipping three-time defending champion
Chaffey, 65-61, in Thursday's (Dec. 10) first-round
contest.
The Griffins rallied from a 34-29 halftime deficit
to stun the Panthers thanks to ARIEL MEEK, who converted
back-to-back three-pointers to give Grossmont the lead
for good. Meek finished with 11 points off the bench.
ASHLEY McWHORTER posted 11 points and added seven rebounds,
while PHYLICIA SCHULTZ added 10 points and nine rebounds.
In addition, ALEX LAMOURELLE had 10 points and BRITTANY
ROBINSON finished with nine points, 12 rebounds, four
assists and two steals for the Griffins in a nice all-around
team performance.
Chaffey helped force 25 Grossmont turnovers, but had
trouble turning those into points.
The Panthers shot just 32.8 percent (21 of 64) for
the game, including only 3 of 21 (14.3 percent) from
behind the three-point line. Kyla Smith had 17 points,
Brittney Abram had 10 points and five rebounds, Rosiland
Barnes finished with nine points and Tierney Arnold
added nine rebounds for Chaffey.
Rio Hondo 60, Cuyamaca 54 — In another
first-round contest, the Rio Hondo Roadrunners of Whittier
secured its first win of the season behind a stellar
performance from Vanessa Gonzalez, who had 18 points
and 17 rebounds.
Amber Gonzalez added 16 points and two assists and
Vimi Sainz came off the bench and contributed eight
points, four rebounds, three assists and four steals.
Cuyamaca was led by LIANA PITMAN, who had 16 points
and five rebounds, BELINDA PICKENS, who had 14 points,
five rebounds and four steals and NADA HANNA, who finished
with 13 points and four rebounds.
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Cuyamaca center Helena Ditzel
goes up for the ball
in Friday's game vs. College of the Desert during
first-round action of the San Diego City Invitational.
(Photo by Cierra Coleman)
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Public Notice
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Grossmont College women's basketball
has elected NOT to participate or report to East
County Sports.com this season. To address
this situation, please contact
the Griffins coaching staff
by EMAIL.
Please be polite. |
Coyotes play catch-up
at SDCC Invitational
© East County Sports.com
SAN DIEGO (12-6-09) — In the team's first action
in almost a month, the Cuyamaca College women's basketball
team needed to play catch-up over the weekend, dropping
a pair of contests at the San Diego City College Invitational.
The Coyotes (0-3) fell in Friday's (Dec. 4) opening
round to College of the Desert, 75-63, then dropped
a consolation contest to Saddleback, 74-34.
Still, there is reason for Cuyamaca to feel good by
showing dramatic improvement with a roster which returns
only one player.
Against the Roadrunners in the tournament opener, four
Coyotes scored in double figures. BELINDA PICKENS (
Steele Canyon ) and NADA HANNA ( British Columbia )
led the parade with 12 points each, while LIANA PITMAN
(El Capitan) and KURSTYN SIMMONS ( University City )
poured in 11 each.
"With only one player returning from last year's
team, the youth and inexperience seemed to show,"
said Cuyamaca head coach LORRI SULPIZIO, noting her
ballclub climbed to within three points in the second
half before Desert pulled away,
Against the Gauchos, Pickens and Simmons collected
10 points each.
"We need to do a better job of taking care of
the ball. That should come with some more competitive
court time," added the coach. "These players
are getting their introduction to college-level basketball,
and as a team we need to settle-in to our game and find
a rhythm."
"They play very hard and have shown some really
nice elements to their game. Our challenge is to put
more of those elements together consistently in a game."
Simmons, who leads the team in scoring and rebounding,
is the lone returnee from last season, while sophomores
JESSICA WAFER (Monte Vista) and MURIAH PETTIFORD (Patrick
Henry) participated for the 2007-08 season. Pitman returns
home following a season at Whittier College .
"We are going to have to rely on strong bench
play as we continue," added Sulpizio. "There
isn't a clear starting five at this point, so the coaching
staff is trying to see how the players contribute and
how to use everyone's strengths."
Cuyamaca will battle state-ranked Rio Hondo in the
opening round of the Irvine Valley College Tournament
on Thursday (Dec. 10).
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