University of La Verne: March 2008 Archives

The University of La Verne golf team earned yet another victory in SCIAC competition by taking top honors at the SCIAC #3 Tournament Monday at the friendly confines of Sierra La Verne Country Club.

The Leopards finished with a four-player team total of 294 to prevail over Redlands (297) by three strokes. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps finished third at 300 followed by Cal Lutheran (308), Pomona-Pitzer (309), Occidental (317) and Whittier (350).

Chris Davis earned medalist honors with the top individual finish of the day with a round of 72 (37-35). Teammates Mitchell Fedorka and Ryan Waring were among five players who tied for second one stroke back with respective rounds of 73, while Rizal Amin contributed with a 76.

The Leopards break from conference play to compete at the West Region Invitational held April 8 at Berry Creek Country Club in Texas.

University of La Verne junior forward Trenecca Jones was named to the D3hoops.com First Team All-West Region as voted on by Sports Information Directors in the region and announced on Wednesday.

A 5-9 product from Ontario and a 2008 First Team All-SCIAC selection, Jones helped lead La Verne to a 20-8 overall record and a second consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Jones led the SCIAC in both scoring and rebounding for the second year in the row, averaging a double-double of 17.2 points and 10.9 rebounds in 2007-08. Moreover, she paced the Leos in field goal percentage at .503 to rank third overall in the conference.

She distinguished herself in the postseason by averaging 19.0 points and 11.7 rebounds in ULV’s three tournament games. She helped lead the Leopards to the first-ever SCIAC Tournament Championship with a 17-point, 18-rebound effort in a 65-60 triumph over Redlands in the tournament semifinals on Feb. 28 along with a 20-point, 12-rebound performance in a 79-51 triumph over Occidental in the conference championship game on March 1. For her efforts, she was named SCIAC Female Athlete of the Week on March 5. Jones ended the season with a game-high 20 points in La Verne’s 74-58 NCAA first round defeat to Puget Sound.

Jones registered a career-high 19 rebounds against Tri-State University (IN) on Dec. 17 while recording a season-high 34 points against UC Santa Cruz on Nov. 17. All told, she recorded 15 double-doubles for the Leopards this season. On February 16, Jones reached the 1,000-point milestone for her career in a 72-40 victory over Caltech, becoming the sixth Leopard in school history to reach 1,000 points.

A D3hoops.com First Team All-Region selection last season, Jones is a repeat member on the squad and is the only SCIAC player to earn First Team honors.

Players were nominated for the D3hoops.com awards by the Sports Information Directors at the various schools in the West Region. A record 606 players were nominated nationwide. The ballot was then made available to SIDs, who voted for 10 players in their region. SIDs voted for six frontcourt players and four backcourt players and the top vote-getters at each position were named to the All-Region team.

2007-08 Women's Basketball All-SCIAC Awards
March 4, 2008 

The 2007-2008 All-SCIAC Women's Basketball Honors have been named.  The Occidental Tigers and Head Coach Jaime Hoffman claimed the title of Conference Champions finishing 12-2 in conference.  Head Coach Julie Kline and the Leopards of La Verne (11-3, SCIAC) were crowned champions of the inagural SCIAC Tournament and will represent the SCIAC in NCAA post-season competition as they go on the road to face Puget Sound Friday night.

Player of the Year:  Brianne Brown, Junior, Occidental College

Ed Baldwin Award Recipient: Lindsay King, Senior, California Institute of Technology                                               

The 2007-2008 All-SCIAC Men's Basketball Honors have been named.  The Conference Co-Champions and recipients of the Dave Jacobs Trophy were the Occidental College Tigers and California Lutheran University Kingsmen.  Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens were crowned the SCIAC Tournament Champions.   

David Wells Player of the Year:  Connor Whitman, Senior, Occidental College, 6'1"
Ted Ducey Award Recipients: Jabarri Reynolds, Senior, Pomona-Pitzer, 6'4"
                                                 Matt Loretz, Senior, University of Redlands, 6'5"

TRENECCA JONES

La Verne

Basketball

The lowdown: The 5-9 junior forward is ranks first in the conference in rebounding (10.4 rpg), second in scoring (16.1 ppg) and fourth in field goal percentage (.516). Has led the team in scoring nine times with a best of 34 coming against UC Santa Cruz. Had a rebounding high of 19 against Tri-State. Was the SCIAC Player of the Year last season as a sophomore. Career high of 37 points came against Occidental as a sophomore in conference-winning game. Carries a 3.34 GPA.

Age: 19

Hometown: Ontario

High school: Chaffey High School, 2005

Major: Chemistry

Favorite athlete: Chris Webber

Role model: Jesus

Can’t miss TV show: Reba

Most embarrassing moment: Falling down right in the middle of a fast-break.

Person most influential in your athletic success: My cousin Henry Daron Ross

Favorite food: Glazed twist doughnuts

Favorite vacation spot: Anywhere but home

Favorite movie: 50 First Dates

Last good book you read: Monster

Other hobbies: Scrapbooking, traveling

What’s in your CD player/iPOD: Holy hip hop

Best advice anyone has given you: Keep moving forward

Pre-game ritual or superstition: I make sure I am wearing two pairs of socks.

What do you want to be doing in five years: Traveling the world.

By Michelle Gardner

Staff Writer

Last time the women’s basketball teams from La Verne and Occidental squared off, Tigers junior Brianne Brown torched the Leopards for 33 points.

The two teams met again Saturday, this time with the SCIAC championship and a postseason playoff berth on the line. La Verne neutralized its biggest threat and was rewarded with a 79-51 win at Rush Gymnasium.

The Leos (20-7) advance to face Puget Sound Friday in a first round NCAA Tournament game.

Brown, a transfer from Division I Western Kentucky, went just 3-of-11 from the field with seven points and fouled out with 6:33 to play and the Leos comfortably ahead 63-42. She twisted an ankle the last week of the regular season, but Tigers coach Jaime Hoffman said the injury was not a factor and credited the Leos’ defense.

Junior forward Treneeca Jones, a product of Chaffey High School, took the challenge personally.

“We had to stop the one person that beat us last time because it was that one player that beat us,” La Verne junior forward Trenecca Jones said. “I heard she had an injured ankle, but I had diarrhea and that’s worse.”

The first half was an even battle that featured four ties and eight lead changes. It ended with La Verne up 28-25 after La Verne’s Marissa Raya heaved one in from half-court at the buzzer.

“That’s her range,” Hoffman said.

La Verne outscored Occidental 51-26 in the second half. The Leos led 35-32, then chalked up the next nine points, highlighted by a 3-pointer from Raya that gave La Verne its first double-digit lead of the contest at 44-32.

The Tigers (21-6), seeded first and riding an 11-game win streak, got within eight at 48-40 on a 3-pointer by lone senior Stacie Roshon whose 21 points included five 3’s.

But Occidental could get no closer. Raya hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key on the Leos next possession. Then after a Tigers miss, Charleen Guerrero scored inside off a nifty pass from Lindsey Shiomi to make it 53-40. The host team was not in striking distance again.

“We just started pushing the ball up the floor quicker,” Kline said. “That’s our game and we just needed to get back to doing that. It made all the difference.”

La Verne shot 49.1 percent (27-for-55) for the game but was a sizzling 61.5 percent (16-for-26) in the second half thanks to many point blank shots in the paint that came off the fast break. The Leos also sank 17 of 21 free throws.

Raya, who tied the school record for games played, finished with 22 points while Jones tallied 20 with a game-high 12 rebounds. Ashley Paul finished with 13 and Shiomi dished out 11 assists to establish a new career record in that department.

Occidental shot 29.6 percent (16-for-54). It also played without 5-11 freshman center Stephanie Babij, who is out with a hand injury that required surgery. But Hoffman didn’t use that as an excuse either.

“They just beat us. They were the better team,” she said.