In brief: Saint Mary’s receives commitment from CdA’s Rosenthal

Basketball: Coeur d’Alene 6-foot-3 post Carli Rosenthal has given Saint Mary’s College an oral commitment.

Rosenthal said she gave the California school the commitment on Monday. She will join Lewis and Clark forward Hayley Hendricksen, who signed with the Gaels earlier.

Rosenthal led CdA to three straight state titles before the Vikings took second last weekend. She averaged 13.6 points, nine rebounds and three assists per game this year.

“It will be fun to play with and against some of the best players in the West,” Rosenthal said.

She was recruited by several NCAA Division I schools.

Greg Lee

It’s revenge of the nerds

Basketball: The end of Caltech’s 310-game conference losing streak spanning 26 years was so big, even school president Jean-Lou Chameau rushed the court to celebrate.

A day later, the two old-time scoreboards in tiny Braun Gym in Pasadena, Calif., remained lit up with the result: Home 46, Visitor 45.

The Division III Beavers beat Occidental College in their season finale Tuesday night, giving Caltech its first Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory since Jan. 23, 1985, when the Beavers defeated LaVerne 48-47.

The hero of the game was Ryan Elmquist, who hit the first of two free throws with 3 seconds left. He missed the second and Occidental snagged the rebound, but a desperation shot from beyond half court missed.

Most of the players are majoring in computer science, chemistry, applied math and mechanical engineering.

Officially known as California Institute of Technology, the private university has 950 undergraduates and tuition costs nearly $35,000. Its alumni and faculty have won the Nobel Prize 31 times and Albert Einstein worked on his Theory of Relativity at Caltech in 1930.

“Everybody comes here for academics,” said Cramer, a freshman from Ambler, Pa. “If you come here for basketball, you’re going to get a rude awakening on the first exam.”

Associated Press