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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Wednesday, November 26, 2008

HOMEGROWN REPORT
Lee captains Cal Lutheran basketball

By Kalani Takase
Advertiser Staff Writer

On a basketball team full of new faces — including the head coach — Cheryl Lee is expected to be the veteran presence to bring it all together.

Lee, a senior guard for Cal Lutheran, is the lone returning senior on a team that features nine newcomers, which made it easy for first-year head coach Roy Dow to appoint Lee, a 2005 Maryknoll School graduate, as one of the captains.

"When I accepted the job and started digging into taking over the program, they had not elected any captains yet," said Dow, who was a men's assistant at Chaminade under Al Walker in the late 1990's. "I told Cheryl that she wouldn't have to worry about trying out or anything like that. As a three-year player under the previous coach, that was good enough. We needed her leadership and she took the opportunity to be the unofficial leader of the team until we elected captains. She's surprised a lot of people."

Dow said Lee was an easy choice as a captain by her peers as well as the coaching staff.

"She really worked hard over the summer and when she got (to California), she kept it up, leading by example," Dow said. "We waited until about three weeks of practice and she was very clearly a choice of the players and coaches."

As a junior, Lee played sparingly, starting five of the 18 games she appeared in. She averaged 2.2 points and 2.1 rebounds in about 12 minutes per game.

However, if Saturday's season-opening win over Cal State-East Bay is any indication, she can expect much more playing time this year.

Lee started and scored 19 points with four rebounds and two assists in 28 minutes in a 104-103 win. She was 6-of-8 from the field, including 2-of-3 on 3-pointers. She also made 5 of 6 free throws.

"We'll have wild swings because we're so young, but the thing that will be consistent is how hard we play and Cheryl will be a big part of that," Dow said. "But to come out with a win in our first regular-season game, it was pretty exciting and a wonderful thing to build upon for the next game."

Cal Lutheran, which finished 13-12 last season, competes in the NCAA Division III and is a member of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

The Regals host Whitworth (Wash.) today before games against Chapman (Calif.) and Northland (Wis.) this weekend.

MORE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

  • Cal State Northridge sophomore forward Analee Viena-Lota (Kamehameha '07 of Honolulu) had a double-double performance in a losing effort to San Diego last Wednesday. She scored 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the 64-51 loss to the Torreros. Viena-Lota scored eight points and grabbed 10 boards in Saturday's 74-59 loss to Cal State Bakersfield.

  • Gonzaga sophomore guard Tatriana Lorenzo (Kamehameha '06 of Wahiawa) had four points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal in 14 minutes of Friday's 100-47 win over Montana State-Billings.

  • UNLV freshman guard/forward Jamie Smith ('Iolani '08 of Kailua) had 12 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two steals in 21 minutes of Friday's 66-53 win over Nevada.

  • Washington University (Mo.) senior guard Shanna-Lei Dacanay (Punahou '05 of Honolulu) had six points and three assists in Friday's 90-48 win over Central. In Saturday's 72-69 loss to Illinois Wesleyan, Dacanay had three assists and two rebounds.

  • Concordia (Calif.) sophomore guard Nicole Fu (Maryknoll '07 of Honolulu) had three points, three rebounds, nine assists and two steals in 17 minutes of a 108-47 win over La Sierra last week.

  • Willamette freshman guard Tiana Abbley (Kamehameha '08 of Honolulu) had 11 points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal in a 66-58 loss at Colorado State-Pueblo Friday. Freshman guard Dayna Jandoc ('Iolani '08 of Honolulu) had two points for the Bearcats. Abbley had 16 points, three rebounds, two assists with a steal and Jandoc added two points, one rebound, two assists and a steal in Saturday's 86-57 win over New Mexico Highlands.

  • All four teams at last weekend's Southern Oregon Women's Basketball Classic featured a player from Hawai'i. They were Southern Oregon's Keri Nakamura (Mid-Pacific '06 of Honolulu), Oregon Institute of Technology's Megan Miyasaka (McKinley '05 of Honolulu), Menlo's Kelci Fushikoshi (Lahainaluna '05) and Bryanna Batts (St. Francis '08 of Kapolei), and Holy Names' Chelsie Kadota (Roosevelt '05 of Honolulu), Larisa Nakasone (Roosevelt '06 of Honolulu), Jamie-Leigh Ronolo (Moanalua '07 of Honolulu), Britni Ronolo (Moanalua '08 of Honolulu) and Danielle Lovell (Wai'anae '07). Southern Oregon went 2-0 to win the tournament. Holy Names and Menlo each split their games, while OIT dropped both games.

    MEN'S BASKETBALL

  • Colorado School of Mines senior guard Kyle Pape ('Iolani '05 of Honolulu) picked up his first award of the season this week after he was named Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference East Division Player of the Week. In wins over Caldwell and William Jewell, Pape averaged 26.5 points per game and shot 64 percent from the field. He averaged 20.7 points per game as a junior and was selected to the preseason All-RMAC first team.

    FOOTBALL

  • Washington senior defensive lineman Daniel Te'o-Nesheim (Hawai'i Prep '04 of Waikoloa) had seven tackles, including a sack for a 2-yard loss, and two quarterback hurries in Saturday's 16-13, double-overtime loss to Washington State. Senior offensive lineman Vaughn Lesuma (of La'ie) started at left tackle for the Cougars.

  • Oregon State senior safety Al Afalava (Kahuku '05 of La'ie) made six tackles in Saturday's 19-17 win over Arizona. The Beavers (8-3, 7-1) can clinch at least a share of the Pac-10 title and the school's first Rose Bowl appearance since 1965 with a win over rival Oregon Saturday.

  • California junior defensive end Tyson Alualu (Saint Louis '05 of Honolulu) had eight tackles and forced a fumble that led to a touchdown in Saturday's 37-16 win over Stanford. Senior defensive tackle Mika Kane (Kamehameha '05 of Kailua) assisted on a tackle for a loss. Sophomore defensive lineman Matthew Masifilo (Campbell '07 of 'Ewa Beach) was in on two tackles for the Cardinal.

  • UNLV sophomore defensive tackle Malo Taumua ('Aiea '05 of Honolulu) had five tackles, including one for a 2-yard loss, in Saturday's 42-21 season-ending loss at San Diego State.

  • Weber State junior wide receiver Cody Nakamura (Baldwin '05 of Wailuku) caught five passes for 67 yards in a 33-26 loss to Eastern Washington Saturday. The Wildcats (9-3) play at Cal Poly (8-2) Saturday in the first round of the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision Tournament. It is Weber State's first appearance in the tournament since 1991.

  • Western Oregon junior receiver Shaun Kauleinamoku (Saint Louis '05 of 'Ewa Beach) was named to the Great Northwest Athletic Conference First Team as a punt returner and to the second team as a receiver.

    WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL

  • Washington junior libero Tamari Miyashiro (Kalani '05 of Kane'ohe) had 19 digs, three assists and two service aces in Friday's four-set win over Washington State.

  • Oregon State junior setter Camilla Ah-Hoy (Kahuku '06 of La'ie) had 34 assists, 14 digs, nine kills and a block against Arizona State. In Sunday's three-set loss at Arizona, Ah-Hoy had 29 assists, eight digs, two blocks and a kill for the Beavers.

  • Siena junior defensive specialist Kau'i Robello (Punahou '06 of Honolulu) had nine digs and eight kills and senior libero Kathi Kobayashi (Punahou '05 of 'Aiea) added eight digs in Sunday's Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament championship sweep over Fairfield. Senior defensive specialist Brandi Higa (Hawai'i Baptist '04 of Honolulu) led the Stags with a match-high 19 digs and freshman outside hitter Haililani Pokipala (Sacred Hearts '08 of Honolulu) added seven digs and four aces.

  • St. John's (N.Y.) senior Lena Yee (Moanalua '05 of Honolulu) was named Big East Conference Libero of the Year for the third consecutive season, the league announced last week. Yee, already the all-time career digs leader for the Red Storm, averaged 4.13 digs per game this season. She had eight digs and an assist in Friday's first-round sweep of South Florida at the Big East Tournament. In a second-round loss to Notre Dame, Yee had 17 digs for St. John's (26-6).

  • Creighton sophomore defensive specialist Melanie Feldman (Punahou '07 of Honolulu) had two service aces in Saturday's sweep of Bradley. The Bluejays (18-8, 15-3 Missouri Valley) meet the winner of Northern Iowa and Evansville Friday in the semifinal round of the MVC Tournament.

  • Colgate (N.Y.) sophomore outside hitter Logan Keala (Kamehameha '07 of Kane'ohe) had 10 digs, eight kills and three assists in Friday's Patriot League semifinal win over Army. In Saturday's championship final against American, Keala had five digs and four kills in a losing effort for the Raiders.

  • Regis (Colo.) freshman defensive specialist Cassidee Young (Kamehameha '08 of Pearl City) had a match-high 15 digs with two aces and a kill in a four-set loss to Concordia-St. Paul Thursday at the NCAA Div. II Central Regional. The Rangers ended their season at 19-12.

  • Concordia (Ore.) freshman setter Skyler Kamaka (Kamehameha '08 of Kane'ohe) earned first team All-Cascade Collegiate Conference and was named Setter of the Year, the league announced Monday. Kamaka averaged just under 10 assists per game in leading the Cavaliers to a 17-13 record, 13-7 in the CCC.

  • Western Nebraska freshman outside hitter Kaleinani Kabalis (Moanalua '08 of Hilo) had 22 kills and 10 digs with two aces in a five-set win over Iowa Wesleyan Saturday to help the Cougars finish third at the National Junior College Athletic Association Tournament. Kabalis was named to the all-tournament team.

    SOCCER

  • With a 1-0 loss at Stanford Friday, Rutgers and sophomore Ashley Medcalf (Christian Academy '07 of Waipahu) ended its season having reached the Sweet 16 and a record of 13-7-2. Stanford's Christen Press scored the lone goal with less than five minutes to play in regulation to send the Cardinal (21-1-0) to a quarterfinal match against Portland.

  • Azusa Pacific senior forward Sarah Yoro (Mililani '05) scored two goals and assisted on two others in Saturday's 10-1 win over William Jessup. The Cougars (18-2) advance to the second round of the NAIA Tournament with a Monday matchup against Cal State San Marcos.

  • Creighton advanced to the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Division I Men's Tournament with a 2-1 win over Tulsa yesterday. Sophomore midfielder Jeremy Wittig (Lutheran '07 of Kane'ohe) has appeared in 11 matches for the Bluejays (15-1-2), who meet Connecticut this weekend.

  • St. Mary's (Calif.) junior midfielder Ashley Nied (Punahou '06 of Honolulu) was named honorable mention All-West Coast Conference. Nied led the Gaels in points (14) and goals (7), including four-game winners.

  • Gonzaga junior midfielder Tye Perdido (Seabury Hall '06 of Kula) was named to the All-West Coast Conference first team and sophomore Nick Love (Punahou '07 of Kane'ohe) earned honorable mention distinction, the league announced last week. Perdido had 19 points and eight goals in 19 matches.

  • Wisconsin-Parkside advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament quarterfinals with a 1-0 win over Grand Valley State Friday before falling by the same score to Metro State Sunday. Sophomore midfielder Kahili Cheng (Kalaheo '07 of Kailua) and her younger sister, freshman midfielder Lauki'i Cheng (Kalaheo '08 of Kailua) started both matches for the Rangers (18-1-2).

  • Azusa Pacific junior midfielder Dana Yoshizu (Hawai'i Baptist '06 of Kane'ohe) was named first team All-Golden State Athletic Conference. Yoshizu started 19 of 20 matches this season with two goals and five points.

  • Occidental junior defender Marci Kang ('Iolani '06 of Honolulu) was named to the All-Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference first team. The Tigers finished 6-9, 5-7 in the SCIAC.

    SWIMMING & DIVING

  • Fairfield freshman Kekoa Taparra (Kamehameha '08 of Mililani) was named swimmer of the week, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference announced yesterday. Taparra set a school record with a time of 24.70 seconds as he won the 50-meter freestyle in a meet against Manhattan and Bryant Saturday. Taparra also finished second in the 200 backstroke in 2:12.19, another Fairfield record, and he was on the winning 200 medley relay team for the Stags. Taparra has already set four individual records in his short time at Fairfield.

  • North Carolina State senior Andrew Lester (Moanalua '04 of Honolulu) won the 1,650-yard freestyle race in 15 minutes, 52.63 seconds at the Maryland Invitational last weekend.

  • Florida State junior Aleia Monden (St. Andrew's '06 of Mililani) finished fifth with 271 points in the 3-meter diving event at the Georgia Tech Invitational.

  • Lindenwood freshman Sarah Billiamosa (Pearl City '08) won four events at last weekend's Thanksgiving Invitational. Billiamosa won the 200-yard individual medley (2:12.28) and 200 butterfly (2:12.96), and helped the Lions capture the 400 medley relay (4:09.26) and 200 medley relay (1:52.68).

    CROSS COUNTRY

  • At Saturday's NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships in Hanover, Ind., Amherst (Mass.) junior Nicole Anderson ('Iolani '05 of Kailua) finished 234th out of 279 runners with a 6-kilometer time of 23:44.20. Amherst, the defending champion, finished 28th out of 31 teams with 569 points.

    Reach Kalani Takase at ktakase@honoluluadvertiser.com.