Sports Briefs : Purry Stable After Crash

Andre Purry, 23, a former Cal State Long Beach basketball player who was seriously injured in an auto crash Sunday, was in stable condition Wednesday morning at Ontario Community Hospital.

Purry, who had averaged 20 points in four games this season with the University of La Verne, has a displaced spinal vertebra, a concussion and a kidney bruise. He is not paralyzed.

The accident occurred about 5:20 Sunday morning on the Pomona Freeway in Ontario as Purry was driving back from a basketball tournament in San Diego. The California Highway Patrol said he was driving 80 to 90 m.p.h. in a downpour when the car crashed into a guardrail.

A passenger in Purry’s car, Jeff Schroeder, 21, a La Verne guard, is in critical condition with head injuries at San Antonio Community Hospital in Upland.

The 6-5 Purry was a starting forward for three seasons at Long Beach but sat out last year with a knee injury. He was released from the team in August for violating team rules.

49ers Play San Diego

The Cal State Long Beach women’s volleyball team will play host to San Diego State in the first round of the NCAA Northwest Region playoffs tonight at 7:30 in the university gym. The 49ers are 27-5 and ranked fourth in the nation. They are led by Tara Cross, the all-time NCAA leader in kills, with 2,641. She is averaging 5.94 kills per game this season. San Diego State is 19-17.

Women’s Pro Basketball

Tryouts will be held at noon Saturday at Jack Robinson Park, 1081 N. Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena, for the Women’s Sports Assn. Professional Basketball League. Louis Dias, the league director, has announced. There will be 12 teams in the league, including one from Montebello and one from the Lynwood-Compton area. Games will begin in late January. For information, call 604-4789.