Merced College women’s basketball has three moving on

Mele Tupouata firmly believed her basketball career was over with the conclusion of high school.

It wasn’t that the Patterson High School graduate lost her fire for the game; the 6-foot post player simply didn’t believe she had what it took to play at the next level. Allen Huddleston begged to differ.

The Merced College women’s basketball coach made his opinions on the subject well known and eventually convinced Tupouata to give the Lady Devils a try. Two years later, that decision seems to have worked out well for both. Tupouata helped lead Merced back to the postseason and earned a first-team all-Central Valley Conference honor after averaging 12.9 points and 9.8 rebounds. She signed with Division II New Mexico Highlands .

All three of Huddleston’s sophomores will continue playing at four-year schools with Jovanah Arrington (Texas A&M International, Division II) and Jazlyn Simon (Antelope Valley, NAIA) also moving on.

“It’s kind of surreal, especially going out of state,” Tupouata said. “I always wanted to try going to school out of state. My original plan had just been to go to a four-year school.

“Coaches told me I had the potential to play basketball in college, but I didn’t really believe. Coach Huddleston just kept saying he wanted me. It wasn’t probably until the end of my freshman year that I actually believed I could keep playing at a four-year school. I’ve grown a lot in the last two years, and I’m grateful I came to Merced College.”

Huddleston and Tupouata credited Arrington for helping push Tupouata to her full potential. The pair had been teammates since middle school and were reunited when Arrington transferred from Point Loma to Merced. She quickly formed a one-two punch with Tupouata, finishing second on the team with 11 points per game.

Simon took over as the team’s ball distributor after Trinity Washington departed for nursing school. She averaged a team-best three assists per game to go with 5.9 points.

“I’m very proud of them,” Huddleston said. “I think all three kids worked really hard and had coaches that liked what they saw. Now, they get the opportunity to keep playing and to have their education paid for.”

All-Central Valley Conference baseball – Merced College never quite realized its full potential in 2016, finishing third in the CVC and missing out on the postseason.

Still, with four freshmen being named to the all-CVC first team, it appears coach Chris Pedretti and company have some pieces with which to rebuild. Second baseman Asuka Hashimoto (team-high .344 average, 36 runs), third baseman Ricky Mena (.312, 13 doubles, 24 RBIs), right fielder Victor Tiscareno (.305, tied with a team-high four home runs, 21 RBIs) and utility player Alex Pallios (.340, three home runs, 18 RBIs) earned first-team nods.

Four other Blue Devils received recognition with sophomores Ryan Sanchez (starting pitcher), Blake Cederlind (relief pitcher) and Dalton Beatty (left fielder) named to the all-CVC second team and reliever Brandon Adame receiving honorable mention.

Cederlind, a Turlock High alumnus, was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the fifth round of the Major League Baseball draft last weekend.

All-CVC softball – The She-Devils ended a run of down years with an unexpected second-place finish in the CVC and a return to the postseason for the first time since 2009.

The league took notice and rewarded the team with seven postseason awards. Four were first-teams nods, led by Jessica Arias (13-7, 1.97 ERA), Marta Mitchell (.409, four home runs, 41 RBIs), Arisa Nishibe (.312, 38 runs, 13 stolen bases) and Brianna Lopez (.353, three home runs, 36 RBIs, team-high 101 strikeouts in 129 1/3 innings pitched).

Shelbee Ward was named to the all-CVC second team, while Elizabeth Cuevas and Jennifer Moreno received honorable mention.

This story was originally published June 14, 2016 at 5:24 PM with the headline "Merced College women’s basketball has three moving on."