ALLEN'S EVIL EYE MEAN DEMEANOR LENDS TO CSUN GUARD'S GAME.Byline: Lee Barnathan Staff Writer People walk up to Sha'Tasha Allen and ask what's the matter. Or they avoid her altogether. Or worse, they call her evil and then avoid her altogether. It's their loss judging the Cal State Northridge guard on first impression. They don't see how nice she is, that she only looks angry, and they miss seeing how good a basketball player she is. Allen has taken her considerable skills from College of the Canyons College of the Canyons is one of the fastest-growing community colleges in the state. According to the National Junior College Research Association, College of the Canyons consistently ranks in the top 50 community colleges in the nation. to CSUN CSUN California State University Northridge , where she's the team's second-leading scorer with 11.5 points a game - off the bench. The 4-7 Matadors begin Big Sky Conference play tonight at home against Weber Weber, river, United States Weber (wē`bər), river, c.125 mi (200 km) long, rising in the Uinta Mts., N central Utah, and flowing north and northwest to join the Ogden River at Ogden. The combined stream flows to the Great Salt Lake. State. ``Hearing people say, `I thought you were so mean.' I tell them, `That's how I look,' '' Allen said. ``I never realized I had that look.'' She realized it when she visited her father and asked him the same question: What's wrong? He just laughed. Most people either don't want to or can't take the time to look closer. Allen figured when she came to COC See chip on chip. , people took a look at her bio - that she's from Compton and went to Banning High in Wilmington - and decided that as a child of that area, she held grudges. Actually, Allen, now 20, grew up in Watts Watts, residential section of south central Los Angeles. Named after C. H. Watts, a Pasadena realtor, the section became part of Los Angeles in 1926. Artist Simon Rodia's celebrated Watts Towers are there. surrounded sur·round tr.v. sur·round·ed, sur·round·ing, sur·rounds 1. To extend on all sides of simultaneously; encircle. 2. To enclose or confine on all sides so as to bar escape or outside communication. n. by a loving family, the middle child of three (plus two older half-sisters). Her extended family of several uncles lived nearby. All teamed to keep her and her siblings siblings npl (formal) → frères et sœurs mpl (de mêmes parents) away from the area's drugs, gangs and violence. ``I wasn't allowed to go see it,'' she said. ``I wasn't allowed to get involved with it.'' She was, however, allowed to compete with the many males (she was the only female who liked the rough stuff). No one in her family liked to lose, so the family football, basketball and even boxing matches were hard-fought. From these games came a confidence in her abilities, which she still shows. CSUN captain LaShaunda Fowler was surprised that on the first day of practice, this new player was ``taking it strong, not afraid to bang, not afraid of contact. She was like a bully. I got some elbows.'' Myesha Saleem called Allen evil. Now, Saleem considers her teammate among the smartest. ``She's confident in her game,'' Saleem said. ``I don't think she doubts what she does know. New people can allow the team and coaching staff to form her ideas. She didn't come in here unaware.'' The Nevada-Las Vegas game Dec. 19 showed Allen knows her look can work for her. With Northridge ahead in the closing minutes, UNLV UNLV University of Nevada, Las Vegas players had to foul to stop the clock, and they fouled hard. One time when Allen had the ball, a player almost jumped on her back to foul. Allen responded with an elbow and a look that said, ``Get back.'' No UNLV player fouled as hard again. ``I was tired of getting hacked Modified. Attacked. Having code altered. See hack and hacker. . I got to let them know,'' she said. CSUN coach Frozena Jerro says it's not anger. It's intensity. ``She doesn't back down from situations,'' Jerro said. ``When you play teams like UNLV, like Virginia, they're going to test you, and depending on how you respond, they'll (continue or not). ``She won't go out and initiate, but she won't back down, and I think that's needed at this level. You have it or you don't.'' No matter what it looks like. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) Sha'Tasha Allen is the second-highest scorer for the CSUN women's basketball Women's basketball is one of the few games which developed in tandem with men's. It became popular, spreading from the east coast of the United States to the west coast, in large part via women's colleges. team, averaging 11.5 points per game off the bench. Evan Yee/Staff Photographer |
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