COC NOTES: CANYONS HAS YO-YO RESULTS; HARTOONIAN WILL SIT OUT TWO GAMES.

Byline: Rizza Yap Daily News Staff Writer

Last weekend's Sequoias Tournament in Visalia turned out to be a roller-coaster ride for the College of the Canyons women's basketball team, which won two of four games.

The Lady Cougars (6-3) opened the four-day tourney with an 80-35 thrashing of Santa Rosa, then suffered another 11-point loss to Fullerton in the second round. On Nov. 29, the Hornets handed Canyons a 77-66 defeat; last week it was an 84-73 loss.

``Fullerton - we just don't have the answer for that one,'' coach Greg Herrick said of the team they swept last season. ``They shoot tremendously well from the perimeter and we don't make the right decisions on the perimeter when we're defending. We're learning, but we're not very good at it right now. If we had an Achilles' heel, that's probably it.''

Canyons rebounded Saturday to earn a third-round 88-55 win over Ohlone - after starting off with a 21-2 lead - then closed out its tournament run with a 72-71 loss to highly regarded San Jose. Herrick said that game could very well be the turning point of the season. His team didn't get the victory, but it played with the kind of long-lasting intensity it lacked earlier this season. Forward Gohar Tumanian agreed.

``Coach told us after the game, `I never want to lose, but when you play your hardest and give it all you have and you lose, there's nothing we can do about that,' '' Tumanian said. ``That's what we did. We stayed as close to the game plan as we could. In the beginning, even at the Long Beach Tournament (Canyons won the championship game), we weren't playing with a lot of intensity. I think after this weekend, the team will really come together.''

Once again sophomore forward Zevette Mitchell came away with big numbers. Against San Jose alone she registered 20 points (including six of nine from the free-throw line, where she has struggled this season), 28 rebounds (which ties the school record), five blocks, two steals and two assists.

``What else could she do?'' Herrick said. ``Her effort against San Jose almost drove me to tears.''

This week, the Lady Cougars stay at home to host Irvine Valley on Saturday at 7 p.m. Herrick expects a good challenge from the Lazers, a perimeter team much like Fullerton.

Out to rest: Sophomore guard Narineh Hartoonian - who has been playing with a hairline fracture on her right wrist - will sit out the Lady Cougars' next two games to give her injury time to heal.

``The fracture is high on her wrist, so she has to tape round her thumb for support, (which means) she can't grip the ball very well,'' Herrick said.

Hartoonian will miss Canyons' home games against Irvine Valley this week and Saddleback the next but is expected to compete in the Fullerton Tournament on Dec. 27-30. Being sidelined from the next two games, however, doesn't mean missing practice.

``She's not totally out of it - we're going to make her run,'' Herrick said. ``I told her the other day, `Your feet aren't fractured.' ''

Another technical: Tumanian received her second technical foul of the season against Fullerton last Friday, nearly two weeks after she received the first, at Fullerton College. At the Sequoias Tourney, Tumanian said the referee issued the technical when he thought her comments to herself were directed at him. (She spent the second half of the game on the bench - coaches' orders.) Tumanian, however, admitted she was a little more deserving of the first call.

``At Fullerton College, I told the ref she was horrible,'' Tumanian said. ``I did promise the team and the coaches that that will never happen again. Zevette's watching out for me, too. Ever since then, I haven't said a single word to the refs.''

Season's greetings: Canyons men's basketball coach Lee Smelser thinks his team should check its calendars. After 32 turnovers led to a first-round loss in the Antelope Valley Tournament, Smelser said the Cougars (2-4) had given Mira Costa one too many presents.

``I think we thought it was Christmas,'' Smelser said of his team's 69-64 loss to the Spartans. ``We brought the season a little early for Mira Costa and turned the ball over to them 32 times.''

The Cougars' two sophomore guards - Bryan Finley and Woodley Polynice - led the Canyons men, with Finley recording 31 points, while Woodley collected 17. Their numbers, however, dropped the following day, in a 63-47 loss to L.A. Trade Tech. Finley scored 13 points and Woodley scored just four. Freshman guard Charles Madison did play his best game of the season with 12 points off the bench.

``We didn't turn the ball over as much that time, but we didn't shoot with any consistency,'' Smelser said.

Smelser added that the loss of freshman forward Shahann Greene - who left the team last week to concentrate on work and school - was a factor in the team's struggle.

``He was like instant points coming off the bench,'' Smelser said. ``He was an excellent floor man and he really hustled and brought a lot of energy. We'll miss that.''

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PHOTO Lupe Lopez has helped all kinds of people in need working as director of the Santa Clarita Valley Service Center in Newhall.

Shaun Dyer/Special to the Daily News