Cal Poly women open season tonight

The Cal Poly Pomona women's basketball team gets a jump on the competition starting the season tonight in the Disney West Coast Classic at the Anaheim Convention Center. That has its positives and negatives but presents a challenge for a team comprised mostly of newcomers.

``It is a little tough now but hopefully will help us come conference time,'' second-year coach Scott Davis said. ``We start out with a couple of tough games so we need to know exactly what we've got. This will help us do that.''

The Broncos (12-16, 8-12) will face Indianapolis (22-8) at 7:30 tonight. They will take on Concordia-St. Paul (28-3) at noon Saturday and round out the tournament with a 6:30 p.m. game Sunday against Central Washington (I13-13).

Davis has just three players back, only two of whom saw considerable playing time. That trio consists of sophomore guard Reyana Colson 13.1 ppg, 5 rpg), senior Unique Anderson (3.2 ppg, 2 rpg) and senior forward Neha Joshi.

Unfortunately Colson, the CCAA Freshman of the Year in 2007, is sidelined with a knee injury. Davis said the injury isn't season-ending but Colson isn't expected back any time soon.

``She is the focal point of our team so obviously we're a different team without her," Davis said. ``We're not pushing it. When we get her back, she needs to be healthy.''

Two other players decided not to play but are still enrolled at the school. A pair of others transferred to schools in the conference - Anna Pineda to Monterey Bay and Andrea Ohlssen to San Francisco State.

Davis is high on a number of his newcomers, most notably junior forward Stephisha Walton, a transfer from Division I Portland State,  6-foot-1 freshman center Megan Ford (Hart HS), freshman guard Rosslyn Beard (San Francisco Sacred Heart Cathedral) and 6-2 freshman center Nicolette Brown (Long Beach Poly). Brown is sidelined with a broken foot but expected back soon.

The Broncos will also be bolstered by the return of senior Ally Smith, who started for two years before having to red-shirt last season with a shoulder injury.

Despite the early injuries, Davis is pleased with the talent he sees.

``We have a lot of girls that are versatile and can play different positions,'' he said. ``We're not going to be locked into playing someone in one spot.''