Success is nothing new to Palomar College women’s basketball coach Leigh Marshall.

Her 2022-2023 Comets went 31-1 and were ranked No. 1 in California before losing by one to Butte College in the semifinals of the state tournament.

A season earlier, Palomar went 29-2 and reached the state quarterfinals.

Last season, the Comets were 24-6, champions of the Pacific Coast Athletic Association for a third straight season and reached the third round of the state playoffs.

Over 14 ½ seasons as the head coach at Palomar, Marshall has 290 wins, eight PCAC titles, five California Elite Eight appearances and two trips to the state semifinals.

But despite already having more losses than any Palomar College team since the 2018-2019 edition, this season’s edition of the Comets is earning a “special place” in the resume of Marshall, a three-time 3C2A Coach of the Year.

Not that Palomar is struggling at the moment. The Comets are 13-6 overall and ranked 16th in the state. And they are 5-0 in conference play while seeking a fourth straight conference title.

The Comets play at Mesa College (14-6, 4-2) Friday night.

“I really enjoy this team off the court,” Marshall said earlier this week. “We’re not where we have been in the past. We have a lot of growing to do. We’re not yet as tough mentally as some of my past teams have been and we’ve been through a lot more than some of my teams.

“But we’re coming around. The players are seeing the potential and working toward a strong finish. I’m excited about what’s ahead.”

The 2024-2025 Comets are short on height and overall depth with a 10-player roster. But they overcome that by applying persistent full-court pressure on defense — regularly playing with four guards and sometimes deploying an all-guard lineup.

“Heart over height,” is the motto of 5-foot-2 sophomore guard Angeline Valdivia — a description of her play as well as the team’s.

“We have a lot of smaller players,” Valdivia continued. “We embrace that. We’re going to work harder and force the pace defensively and offensively. We want to speed the game up and make the other team uncomfortable.”

Said sophomore guard Teanna Alaman: “Our defense turns into offense. That’s the tradition here.”

The fast pace of the Palomar pressure defense is what sets the Comets apart. It’s also a demanding physical exercise.

“When you are on the court, you’re going full speed,” said Alaman. “When you come off, you know the player in for you is going to go 100% until you’re ready to return.”

Seven players average more than 22 minutes a game; no one in the rotation averages less than 7 ½ minutes.

Freshman forward Kailani Flournoy is the tallest starter at 5-foot-10, but that might be a stretch, according to Marshall. The other four starters average 5-foot-6. And 5-foot-2 sparkplug Valdivia is usually one of the first off the bench.

“Valdivia is as tough as it comes,” said Marshall. “She flies around on both ends.”

Freshman guard Kylee Trujillo (Mission Hills High School) leads the Comets with 13.9 points per game. Nevaeh Mageo (Oceanside High School) averages 10.9 points per game, while a pair of Mater Dei Catholic High School grads — Alaman and Flournoy — average 10.5 and 7.8 points per game, respectively. Fallbrook High school product Brooke Quintana puts up an average of 9.5 points per game, while Angelina De Leon (Monte Vista High School) is averaging 7.6.

Palomar gained sole possession of first in the PCAC last Wednesday with a 90-38 win over Imperial Valley College (5-1). Five Comets scored in double figures, with De Leon and Trujillo scoring 15 and 13 points, respectively. Flournoy had 16 rebounds and 10 points, while Valdivia had five steals.

While Marshall has had great success at Palomar, she hasn’t forgotten her first days in San Marcos in September of 2010. She had become the Comets’ third head coach in a span of four months, inheriting a program with no returning or recruited players. She found players in gym classes, including several who had never played basketball before.

Marshall’s first team failed to win a game.

Two seasons later, she earned the first of her five PCAC Coach of the Year awards. She was the 3C2A coach of the Year in 2015, 2017 and 2018.

Every week, U-T contributor Bill Center highlights one San Diego college team that’s making strides on and off the court. To nominate a team, email wcenter27@gmail.com. 

Originally Published: January 28, 2025 at 9:43 AM PST