By Jesse Muñoz/COC Sports Information Director

College of the Canyons freshman forward LuLu Salloom has been named the Western State Conference, South Division Player of the Year in addition to being selected a California Community College Women’s Basketball Coaches Association All-State First-Team honoree.

Salloom finished the regular season averaging 16.2 points and 14.7 rebounds on the season. That rebounding total ranked fourth in the state and second in the Western State Conference. Her scoring mark was fifth in the conference and 40th in the state.

She shot nearly 45 percent from the floor and 70 percent from the free-throw line while playing in all 26 games. Across the final five regular season contests Salloom, who attended Saugus High School, averaged a stat line of 16.4 points, 14 rebounds, four assists and 1.4 blocks each night out.

In the regular season finale Salloom poured in 22 points, dished out five assists and pulled down seven rebounds to help COC get a crucial win against conference rival Bakersfield and enhance its postseason position.

Salloom is the 12th Western State, South Player of the Year in program history and the first since the 2015-16 season when sophomore forward Hannah Green won the same accolade.

Her selection to the CCCWBCA All-State team is the first for a Cougar since Alexis Orellena’s bid during the 2018-19 campaign.

Canyons (19-7, 8-4) finished tied for second in the WSC, South standings after winning its final three regular season games. COC then earned the No. 7 seed in the California Community College Athletic Association SoCal Regional Playoffs. The Cougars are set to host No. 10 Orange Coast College at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 3.

Joining Salloom on the All-WSC. South team are guards Monique Febles, Justice Walters and Malia Semana.

Monique Febles / All-Western State, South Division
Febles started all 26 games for the Cougars and finished the year averaging 14 points on a nearly 44 percent shooting percentage. The freshman helped pace the Canyons offense with 3.4 assists each contest to go with 3.2 rebounds and 2.1 steals. Febles, also a Saugus High grad, upped her scoring to 16.9 points per game vs. WSC, South opponents as she reached double digits in all but two of those contests.

Justice Walters / All-Western State, South Division
Walters finished second on the team in scoring at 15.5 points per game despite recording just 16 starts on the season. As the first substitute off the bench throughout the early portion of the year, Walters played an important role on a team that won its first eight games out of the gate. She reached double-digit points in all but four games and could also be a force on the boards. In the Cougars’ regular season finale vs. Bakersfield, Walters ended the night with 23 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists.

Malia Semana / All-Western State, South Division
Semana made her biggest contributions distributing the ball to her teammates at a rate of 4.8 assists per game. That mark came along with an average of 7.7 points per game across 23 contests. Her assist rank was third in the WSC and 17th in the state. She recorded a season-high nine assists in the Cougars’ win over Long Beach City College on Nov. 20. Her season-high scoring total of 21 came two days later in an important tournament win over Mt. SAC. The Bishop Alemany graduate was a two-year player for the Cougars who also recorded 16 starts as a freshman in 2019-20.

Stay up to date on all this season’s action by following the College of the Canyons Athletic department on social media at @COCathletics on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube or visit COC Athletics.