OCC guard signs

Orange Coast College sophomore Valerie Katayama will continue her women’s basketball career at the University of Redlands, Pirates Coach Mike Thornton announced.

Katayama, a 5-foot-5 guard, averaged 6.1 points, 3.4 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game to help the Pirates finish 30-6 and advance to the semifinals of the state tournament in Fresno. She made 32 of 80 three-point attempts (40%).

Katayama, a co-captain and two-year starter for the Pirates, played both point guard and shooting guard and was the team’s most valuable defensive player, Thornton said.

“Val was always assigned to guard the opponent’s best player, no matter what position they played,” Thornton said.

Thornton said Katayama’s work ethic was as strong as any player he has coached in 17 seasons at OCC.

An Edison High product, Katayama has a 3.5 grade-point average.

She joins a Redlands program coming off a 14-11 season, 8-6 in the NCAA Division III Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Coach Jim Ducey’s team shared the SCIAC title in the 2003-04 season.

The Bulldogs lost seven seniors, including both of their all-conference selections. Six of the seniors are guards.

Redlands returns five guards , including senior Rachae Bell, who started 18 games and averaged 2.5 points per game.

Katayama becomes the fourth player from the 2005-06 Orange Coast women’s basketball team to continue her career at a four-year program. Forward Jillian Ricks and center Madison Parks have both signed to attend the UC San Diego, while guard Crystal McCormick is bound for BYU-Hawaii.