Coyote Athletics : Women's Basketball : Headlines

Two more Foothill wins for Coyotes

By Nathan Ahle, The Daily Independent

Still mathematically alive for a playoff spot, the Cerro Coso women's basketball team picked up two Foothill Conference victories this week.

Monday night, the team grabbed a 63-33 win over the Victor Valley College Rams in Victorville.

The first half saw the Coyotes (13-7, 7-3 Foothill) start off sluggishly. The team trailed the Rams 15-14 with 10 minutes to go in the first half, but switching to a trap defense soon paid off, as the team went on an 18-3 scoring run in the final 10 minutes of the half to take a 33-18 lead into the locker room.

In the second half, Cerro Coso used the trap to perfection, holding Victor Valley to only 15 points in the half.

"We defended well tonight, and even though we're not a pressing team, our traps really worked tonight," said Coyotes Head Coach Tom Heck.

Turnovers have been an Achilles heel for the Coso team this year; but against Victor Valley, the locals did well, turning the ball over 15 times.

"Fifteen turnovers is actually a good game for us," said Heck.

Amy Rucker led all scorers in the game with 27 points. Rucker also had eight steals. Frederica Morgan had another solid performance, adding 10 points and 12 rebounds. Fernanda Yazzie chipped in with 18 points, all coming by way of the three-pointer.

Wednesday night against the College of the Desert Roadrunners, Cerro Coso picked up its seventh conference win by a score of 60-55.

Just as in Monday's game, the Coyotes trailed through the early part of the game. Also like Monday, Cerro Coso went on a late-first-half run (this time a 6-0 run) to take a lead into the half.

The Coyotes started out strong again in the second half, opening up an 11-point lead. College of the Desert attempted to come back with several three-point conversions, and eventually cut the lead to 57-55 with 42 seconds to play.

Emma James of Cerro Coso was fouled and converted on one of two free-throws to extend the lead to three. The Roadrunners put up another three-pointer, but the shot rolled in and out of the basket, and the Lady Coyotes held on for the win.

"This was a very physical sparring match," said Heck. "The last one standing won; fortunately it was us.

"It was a great game, but it was tough on my immune system, the coach continued.

Statistically, Rucker was the top scorer again for the Coyotes, picking up 22 points before fouling out with a minute to go. Yazzie and Morgan added 15 points each, with Yazzie's points again coming by way of the three-pointer.

"This was a big win for us because it keeps us mathematicallly alive in the playoff picture," added Heck.

While still technically alive, the Coyotes have a tough road ahead - the team will face Chaffey, the 11th ranked team in Southern California, Saturday night on the road.

"There is no easy game in this conference," said Heck. "We'll be outnumbered against Chaffey, but I know we'll come to play."

February 5, 2004

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