Leigh Marshall, in her 11th season with the Comets, reaches a new milestone at the helm of a powerhouse team.<\/p>\n
SAN MARCOS \u2014 Four games into her 11th season with Palomar College\u2014the post-COVID comeback season\u2014Leigh Marshall\u2019s basketball team handed her the 200th win in her already celebrated career as a Comets coach.<\/p>\n
The 86-76 win at home versus Allan Hancock College came on Friday, November 19, 2021, advancing the team\u2019s record this season to 4-0.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew it was coming but I didn\u2019t know which game it was,\u201d Marshall said of the 200-win milestone. \u201cWe had some alumni there, and my team all knew. My parents were there. It\u2019s personal, obviously, but it\u2019s a milestone for the whole team, the whole program\u2014I have a really great staff that has stayed the same for nine years, which is rare at this level. And, obviously, we\u2019ve had some really good players.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marshall has been named Pacific Coast Athletic Conference \u2013 North (PCAC) Coach of the Year five times, and California State Coach of the Year twice, in 2015 and 2017. She was with the team at the state \u201cElite 8\u201d tournament in March 2020 when her 10th season was cut short by the onset of the COVID-19 crisis.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat Coach Marshall preaches is the culture of her program\u2014doing things the right way, the Palomar way,\u201d said Palomar\u2019s Athletic Director, Daniel Lynds. \u201cShe\u2019s proven in a short amount of time that you can have tremendous success with the right team culture. Her work with the team is reflected in an incredible win-loss record\u2014and I think the best is yet to come. This is win number 200, on her way to an even bigger number.\u201d<\/p>\n
What would have been her 11th season was cancelled, along with all other collegiate sports in California, in late 2020 and early 2021. Now the Comets are back on the court\u2014and back to their dominant style of play.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve had a good start. We\u2019re really young, and we have a long way to go, but we\u2019re coming along,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Conference play begins for the Comets in January, with 14 games against other PCAC teams in the San Diego area, and regional playoffs begin in late February.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur goal is to get that state title,\u201d said Marshall. \u201cWe have a big month coming up in December, because we play the other top-five programs in Southern California. It\u2019s definitely going to be a battle.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m really glad to be back,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"