Coyote Athletics : Women's Basketball : Headlines

Lady Coyotes rally to beat San Bernardino Valley, 68-60

By Nathan Ahle, The Daily Independent

Candace Poleyestewa (34) makes a play for the ball during a recent game. Monday night against San Bernardino Valley College, Poleyestewa scored 14 points to help lead the Lady Coyotes to a 68-60 victory, their fifth of the season. DAILY INDEPENDENT FILE PHOTO BY MIKE DELANEY

The Cerro Coso Lady Coyotes basketball team improved to 2-1 in Foothill Conference play Monday night with a 68-60 win over the San Bernardino Valley College Wolverines at Cerro Coso.

Fernanda Yazzie and Tashena Nelson led the Coyotes in scoring with 17 points each, followed by Candace Poleyestewa with 14, Stephanie Hart with 11, Cetra Banks with seven and Orlanda Chee with two.

Cerro Coso (5-7, 2-1 Foothill) got the win thanks to its solid perimeter shooting game, but the team continues to struggle inside. The Lady Coyotes were outrebounded 46-31.

"We kept our poise at the end," said Cerro Coso Head Coach Tom Heck, "but we still need to get something going inside."

"We're living and dying by the three-pointer right now, and that's a dangerous way to live," Heck continued.

The Coyotes led by a point at the half despite scoring only two points from the paint. Cerro Coso was able to remain in the hunt thanks to solid defense of the Wolverines' Michelle Burt, who scored 21 points to lead all scorers. Heck compared Burt's offensive prowess to that of Allan Iverson, an NBA star.

"We used a box-and-one (defense) on her, we double-teamed her, whatever we could do," Heck said.

Things were made worse for the Coyotes in the final minutes, when Banks had to leave the game with four fouls. The Coyotes' center returned to the game with just minutes to play to help seal the victory. Banks has had foul trouble of late; she fouled out of Cerro Coso's last game against L.A. Pierce with 12 minutes to go.

The Coyotes will try for their sixth win of the year Wednesday night at Barstow College, and will play the next five games on the road. The team's next home game is Jan. 24

January 4, 2005

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