Ganado alumna uses scoring skills at 3 colleges

By Barbara Boxleitner
Special to the Times

GANADO

Jaelynn Curley is completing her college basketball career by playing for a third school.

The Ganado High alumna entered the week leading University of La Verne with a 15.3 scoring average, which ranked seventh in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

In her lone season for the Leopards, she leads the team with 2.5 assists per game, 12th in the conference.

The senior guard played her freshman and sophomore years for East Los Angeles College, where she twice was an all-South Coast Conference North first-team selection, and played for Cal State LA as a junior.

“I’m really open to new things, new coaches, new teammates,” she said. “I wanted to try a different area of California.”

During her time at East LA, the 5-foot-5 Curley said she transitioned to an all-around guard. She averaged 14.2 points as a sophomore and 11.2 as a freshman.

She has received ample playing time – and an opportunity to be a scorer – for La Verne after playing just six games for Cal State LA as a junior.

She had at least 12 points in 15 of the 20 games she played, including a season-high six consecutive from late November to December.

“The area I have improved the most is being able to get my shot off faster,” she said. “The competition is a lot faster. They pretty much know my game. They close out faster and basically stick on me like glue.”

Much of her offensive production has come from 3-point range, anywhere along the arc. She led the conference with 10.8 3-point attempts per game, including 10 or more in at least 11 games.

Curley converted a season-high nine 3-pointers while attempting a season-high 22 from that range in a loss to Whittier, when she led players from both teams with her season best of 31 points.

She had seven 3-pointers in scoring 31 during a win over Cal Lutheran, again leading all players.

Though she typically is guarded closely, she was able to create space from defenders because her teammates move the ball quickly in the fast-paced offense.

“They were not able to locate me,” she said. “I pushed off. I came off on a screen. When I’m in the game, I don’t realize I’ve hit that many threes.”

When she isn’t scoring herself, Curley is distributing the ball. She shared the team lead with 2.5 assists per game, tying her career high of 10 at East LA during a win over Bethesda, when she had 13 points.

“Over the years I’ve had to adapt to the taller girls, get used to the bounce pass,” she said.

Defensively, she said she usually covers the best offensive player or shooter.

She averaged 4.3 rebounds, tied for fifth on the team, and had a season high of nine.

Her 1.1 steals per game ranked second on the squad.

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