The City College women’s basketball team is on the verge of making the playoffs and Francesca DeAngelis has taken her game to another level.

The 19-year-old forward from Laguna Niguel has emerged as a prolific scorer and has carried the team on her shoulder by averaging 20.3 PPG this season, which leads the conference.

DeAngelis poured in a season high 34 points in a game versus Mt. San Jacinto College last December. But if you ask her or the team, those personal accolades are almost miniscule compared to its common goal of winning the Western Conference finals.

“That’s the beauty of our team,” Sandrine Krul, the women’s head basketball coach said when asked about the success of her star forward. “We are very humble. We rarely run plays for any one player.”

Despite the selfless tendency of the team, DeAngelis has separated herself as an elite player in the conference.

What makes Francesca unique from any other players that Krul has coached in her 18-year basketball coaching tenure?

“She is the most athletic player I have ever come across,” Krul said enthusiastically. “Her work ethic is what makes her such a smart player.”

Coach Krul is not the only one to have taken notice of the sensational sophomore. DeAngelis is currently being recruited by the University of Alaska and Jacksonville State University among a plethora of California colleges.

“I wasn’t even the one who recruited her,” Krul said. “Brittany (Stephenson, a teammate of DeAngelis) was actually the one who introduced me to ‘Frannie’ during the school’s assessment testing a year ago.”

DeAngelis has been playing basketball since her freshman year of High School and is listed as a guard and a forward, which makes her a great all-around player on the court.

“She can play the one through four spot which makes her very versatile on the defensive end.” said Krul.

DeAngelis is quick up and down the court making her a huge threat during the fastbreak-a style of play that the team frequently uses.

After one of the team’s practice sessions when asked who she models her game after, DeAngelis replied, “I think my game most resembles LeBron James. He’s a beast.” Which reflects DeAngelis’ assertiveness on either side of the floor.

“I would say a mix of LeBron James and Paul Pierce from the Celtics. She’s a beast on the court, but she also has a lot of leadership qualities,” Krul said about the demeanor of her young player. “Frannie has a lot of potential to play on the professional level.”

Off the court DeAngelis is studying to attain a degree in Liberal Arts.

“I’d like to major in Business and transfer to a 4-year school out of state.”

Between all the basketball and school number 33 spends her time outdoors, relaxing at the beach, hiking, longboarding, surfing, and skimboarding.

A small known fact about Francesca is that she was sponsored for six months by the skimboarding company, “Exile.” She performed at venues in New Port and Laguna Beach before her competing got in the way of basketball.

“I started to get distracted from basketball, so I had to quit,” DeAngelis said. “It was definitely a fun thing to experience and I got to be at the beach all the time.”

Popular Santa Barbara activities are what DeAngelis likes to do in her free time to take her mind off of the looming playoff race that is inevitably approaching.

DeAngelis and her team will be gearing up for the finish line, which is comprised of four must win games.

The first crucial game is against tough Western State Conference North rival Ventura College at 5 p.m. Wednesday in the Sports Pavilion.

For more information on the women’s basketball team go to