COC NOTEBOOK: COC GETS SUPPORT FROM BENCH TOP RESERVES COME THROUGH.

Byline: Gideon Rubin Staff Writer

VALENCIA - With its two best front-line players in a slump, the College of the Canyons women's basketball team has had to rely on its bench to get a lift in the low post.

Freshmen forwards Rasheeda Gray, LaTonya Robnett and Lisa Hawkins have come through while starters Siosi Tuli and Briana Kentfield have been less than dominant.

The three were prominent Saturday in an 80-67 Western State Conference Southern Division victory over L.A. Valley College.

Gray had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, Robnett had 10 points and four rebounds, and Hawkins had several key rebounds late in the game and was also instrumental in drawing fouls.

COC coach Greg Herrick said the inability of Tuli and Kentfield to establish dominance in the low post, especially on the offensive end, forced his hand.

``You can't win games with just one shot,'' he said.

Tuli had seven rebounds and Kentfield had five, but they combined for just two offensive boards.

Herrick also said Robnett, a proficient 3-point shooter, helps the Cougars get offensive rebounds because she draws taller defenders to the perimeter.

Vonetta Lanier, the Cougars' most consistent player and leading scorer, had 20 points, three rebounds and three steals for COC (15-6, 2-0).

--Double century: Herrick won his 200th game as the Cougars' head coach with a 78-53 victory over Glendale College.

COC, 12-0 in WSC Southern Division play last season, takes a 14-game divisional winning streak into tonight's game against Santa Monica.

--Free-throw woes: It's starting to become an all too familiar story for the Cougars' men's team, who wasted another solid defensive effort Saturday in a 59-51 loss to Glendale.

The Cougars, who earlier in the season held Santa Barbara City College to 56 points and Mira Costa to 59 in losses, are 0-3 when holding opponents to fewer than 60 points.

COC lost its most recent game at the free throw line, where the Cougars were 15 of 33.

Free throw shooting has been a problem for COC much of the season, but coach Howard Fisher thought the Cougars had turned the corner after a hitting 13 of 15 in a 98-82 loss to L.A. Valley College earlier in the week.

Dax Grooms scored a team-high 14 points for COC, the second consecutive game he's led the team in scoring. He and teammate Nana Gbewonyo each had 20 points against Valley.

Other bright spots for the Cougars were Jerome Edwards, who had a double-double (10 points, 16 rebounds) against Glendale. Ricardo Suazo and Krishna Evans made solid contributions defensively for the Cougars off the bench.