By Nate Rodriguez, Sports Information Intern
LA VERNE, CA — Running-and-gunning their way into conference play, the Leopards women's basketball team looks to keep their foot on the gas pedal as they prepare to open up SCIAC play against the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens at home Wednesday, Dec. 1 at 7 p.m.
The Lady Leos have returned to the hardwood underneath The Tents to start the 2021-22 season for the first time since COVID-19 stripped basketball away from many of the women on this La Verne roster. Led by senior point guard Jazzlyn Johnson and first-year shooting guard Marissa Howell — with a team full of ballers — the Leopards have dazzled their way to a 3-1 start to the 2021-2022 season.
The Leopards clawed and scratched for 77 points against a tough College of Idaho Coyotes team in a season opening loss, despite a stellar return to the floor for Johnson and an impressive collegiate debut for Howell.
The first-year guard scorched SAGU American Indian College two nights later, draining 11 three-pointers in a 106-59 win — tying the school record for beyond-the-arc buckets made.
Howell, a high school point guard, embellishes the opportunity to play shooting guard in college.
"I enjoy shooting more than dribbling," she chuckled. "I enjoy playing with my teammates. We are a big family and we really want the best for each other."
Following Howell's big game, Jason Pruitt, head coach of women's basketball, led the Leos to two more wins. Having fun at practice has been vital to their early chemistry, and has led to their early success — something Pruitt says 'fills the team with joy.'
"The theme of the season this year is 'practice'," Pruitt said. "The more practice, the better. If you hear us at practice, we are yelling, screaming and having fun. I just want them to improve and get better everyday."
One of Pruitt's stars, senior point guard Jazzlyn Johnson, has gotten better each game — and attributes her hunger for success to the absence of the previous athletic season.
"It just feels so good to be back in my element; [the court] is a way for us to release after everything that has happened," Johnson said, in reference to her missed junior season. "It's about not letting up. When we step out on the court, we are picking each other up and hitting first."
In the team's second win of the season, a 90-75 victory over the University of Antelope Valley, Johnson recorded her first ever double-double. She tied her career-high in points, 31, collected 10 rebounds, and snagged two steals. Johnson put on her best 'Swiper the Fox' impression the following evening against Bethesda University, swiping four steals on her way to nab SCIAC Defensive Player of the Week honors.
The La Verne faithful can expect a lot of energy led by Johnson and the shooters around her.
In addition to Howell's off-the-bench presence, senior guard Jaelynn Curley poses a threat averaging almost 13.5 points per game and orchestrating the offense when called upon. On top of that, senior forward Kayla Rubio has stepped up big so far, averaging nearly 10 rebounds per game— five on both sides of the floor to lock down possession and put up second chance shots.
These impressive Leopards will kick off their 16-game conference schedule with the home SCIAC opener against Pomona-Pitzer. With a win, the Leos would snap a five-game losing streak against Sagehens, and would blow the roof off The Tents, yet again, for the fourth straight game.
