La Kose earns 300th win

By Mark Nessia
Staff Writer



CSUB's women's basketball head coach Tim La Kose earned his 300th career win on Jan. 13 at the Icardo Center with a 73-57 victory over Long Beach State University. The win pushed the Roadrunner's record to 10-7 (4-0 against Big West Conference opponents), and the team is now 79-0 all-time when keeping opponents under 60 points. Long Beach dropped to 3-13, and has lost six straight games.
"That's our goal," said La Kose in regards to the team's perfect record against Big West opponents. "To finish atop the Big West, finish atop Independent. We're an Independent team, so our goal is to become the top Independent. We aspire to get to the Big West, and we play the Big West, so we want to finish atop the Big West standings also. The ultimate goal is to get to the NCAA championships."
The Roadrunners came off to a fast start, beginning the game with a 17-0 run. Turnovers and missed opportunities plagued Long Beach during the run, which lasted for over seven minutes. Long Beach turned the ball over seven times and was 0 for seven from the field.
La Kose said that the team coming out strong seems to be a trend at home, and that was the big difference in the game.
"Long Beach has some weapons," said La Kose. "They played better at the end of the half and start of the second half, but our team answered and got the stops we needed."
Long Beach cut the Roadrunner's lead to as little as eight points, but again, turnovers and poor shooting halted any chance of a comeback. Long Beach finished the game with 20 turnovers, 24 for 72 shooting from the field and was just three for 18 from three-point range.
The Roadrunners committed 12 turnovers, shot 26 for 68 from the field and were 10 for 29 from three-point range, including six from forward Phynique Allen. Allen led all Roadrunners with 22 points and four steals, and was one of three players to score in double-figures.
"I think we're playing great," said Christine Kepenekian, who finished the game with 18 points. "We're trying to get in the Big West, so it's a good thing for us. It shows them that we can compete with them, and possibly win that conference in the future."
But for the moment, all eyes were on La Kose and his historic achievement.
"It's a big deal," said Allen. "We focused on the win, and the game at hand, but we also knew that this could be coach's 300th win, and we wanted to make sure that happened so we went out there and got it done for him."
When asked about his accomplishment, La Kose deferred the attention to his players. According to La Kose, the players have bought into the opportunity to take a Division II program to a Division I, and tonight's win was another big step toward it.
"Players win games, not coaches," said La Kose. "And it's because of players like Phynique and Christine that are having the success we're having. Christine's been here for six years and she's a big reason why we're winning."
La Kose has now coached the CSUB women's basketball team to 164 of its 185 all-time victories, and currently owns a 164-57 record during his eight-year tenure at CSUB. He had 136 victories as head coach of Cal Lutheran's women's basketball team.
To La Kose, all Division I wins feel good because they are the underdog in a lot of those games. The addition of it being a victory over a Big West team made it even better.
"They have the resources, they have the tradition and track record of success," said La Kose. "Long Beach State was a top Big West team not too long ago, and they've had some big wins this year, and so to get (a win) at home, with this group, is really special."
When asked how important getting his 300th career win at home was, La Kose said it was not that important to him, and the key thing is the team keeps playing well and getting better. He did admit that the fact that it did happen was really nice, but stressed that the main thing is the team keeps playing well and raising the bar.
"When that happens, you get opportunities like we had tonight," said La Kose. "The team is making it happen, and working hard. They want to make history; they want to be the best CSUB women's basketball team ever. The whole campus and community want to see a top Division I program. It has so many ripple effects on the benefits, not only to our players, which is most important, but it's more fun to report, it's more fun to watch, it's more fun to play and it's more fun to coach."