Shameil Coleman

The 11th-ranked Cal State Long Beach women's basketball team withstood a second-half Hawaii rally to defeat the Rainbows, 86-80, Friday night in a Big West Conference game at Honolulu. A layup by forward Judy Mosley cut Long Beach's lead to 79-77 with 2:23 left, but consecutive baskets by forward Shameil Coleman gave the 49ers an 83-77 lead and Hawaii never got closer than four points. Long Beach, 18-4 overall and 11-0 in the Big West, extended its winning streak to 11 games.

Shameil Coleman used to sit quietly in team meetings, never sharing her thoughts, never speaking a word. As far as her teammates at Cal State Long Beach are concerned, those were the good old days. "As an underclassman, when we had a meeting, (Coach) Joan (Bonvicini) would look around and say to people, 'You have to work on your offense, you have to work on your defense . . . and Shameil, you have to work on your attitude,' " Coleman said. Which means what, exactly? "I was a crybaby.

Shameil Coleman used to sit quietly in team meetings, never sharing her thoughts, never speaking a word. As far as her teammates at Cal State Long Beach are concerned, those were the good old days. "As an underclassman, when we had a meeting, (Coach) Joan (Bonvicini) would look around and say to people, 'You have to work on your offense, you have to work on your defense . . . and Shameil, you have to work on your attitude,' " Coleman said. Which means what, exactly? "I was a crybaby.

The 11th-ranked Cal State Long Beach women's basketball team withstood a second-half Hawaii rally to defeat the Rainbows, 86-80, Friday night in a Big West Conference game at Honolulu. A layup by forward Judy Mosley cut Long Beach's lead to 79-77 with 2:23 left, but consecutive baskets by forward Shameil Coleman gave the 49ers an 83-77 lead and Hawaii never got closer than four points. Long Beach, 18-4 overall and 11-0 in the Big West, extended its winning streak to 11 games.

Dana Wilerson scored a career-high 20 points and Shameil Coleman added 18 as the No. 7-ranked Cal State Long Beach women's basketball team defeated UC Irvine, 108-44, in a Big West game Saturday night at Long Beach. The 49ers, winning their fourth straight, are 4-2 overall and 2-0 in the Big West. They shot 61.6%. Irvine, which had 41 turnovers, is 2-4 and 0-2.

Penny Toler scored 20 points and seventh-ranked Cal State Long Beach overcame 29.6% shooting to beat Southern Illinois, 61-53, Monday night in the Seattle Times-Husky women's basketball tournament. The 49ers (5-2) trailed, 40-36, but scored 14 straight points while holding the Salukis (1-5) scoreless for 6 1/2 minutes to take a 50-40 lead with 9:45 left. Shameil Coleman added 10 points and 10 rebounds for Cal State Long Beach.

Banning stars Joey Johnson and Eric Cooper will lead the South against the North in in the fifth annual Carson Lions Senior All-Star high school basketball game tonight at 8:30 at Cal State Dominguez Hills. In the girls' game, starting at 6:30, the South team will have five players from Southern Section 4-A champion Compton. Shameil Coleman of Fairfax, City 3-A Player of the Year, will lead the North.

Penny Toler scored 20 points, and Shameil Coleman added 15 points and 8 rebounds to lead the Cal State Long Beach women's basketball team past Nevada Las Vegas, 82-78, in a Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. game Saturday night at Long Beach. Las Vegas led, 34-22, with 5:56 left in the first half, but the 49ers scored 11 consecutive points and trailed by only one at the half, 42-41. DeNise Ballenger led the Rebels with 20 points. Long Beach, ranked No.

Shannon Smith collected 22 points and 15 rebounds Monday night to lead 11th-ranked Cal State Long Beach to a 70-44 Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. women's basketball victory over UC Santa Barbara. The 49ers (5-3 overall, 2-0 in the PCAA) built a 38-25 halftime lead and held the Gauchos (7-3, 0-2) to 19 points in the second half. Long Beach's press forced Santa Barbara into 29 turnovers.

The Cal State Long Beach women's basketball team will play San Jose State at 7:30 tonight in the university gym. Coming off an 85-81 victory at Nevada-Las Vegas on Monday night, the 49ers have won seven games in a row. They are 14-4 overall and 8-0 in the Big West Conference. Penny Toler leads the 49ers with an 18.2-point average, followed by Traci Waites, averaging 17.7, and Shameil Coleman, averaging 11.4. The 49ers are averaging 95 points a game in the league.

Cal State Long Beach easily defeated Cal State Fullerton, 81-61, and Nevada Las Vegas beat Hawaii, 78-65, in the semifinals of the Big West Conference women's basketball tournament Friday at the Long Beach Arena. The 49ers and Rebels will meet in the championship game at noon today. Guard Penny Toler scored 23 points and forward Shameil Coleman added 15 to lead the seventh-ranked 49ers (27-4). Center Gena Miller scored a game-high 29 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for the Titans (21-8).