Chana Perry Says She Plans to Transfer to San Diego State for 1986-87 Season

SAN DIEGO —  Basketball player Chana Perry, a woman without a team, said Thursday she will attend San Diego State in the fall.

The 6-4 center will be eligible to play immediately because the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. prohibited her from competing most of last season--and also barred her from playing her junior and senior seasons--at Northeast Louisiana.

Ten games into the 1985-86 season, her sophomore year, Perry was ruled ineligible by the NCAA because Northeast was in violation of six regulations in its recruiting of Perry. She appealed to stay at Northeast, but the third and last of those appeals was denied Tuesday.

“A few weeks ago, when I considered dropping my appeal, I contacted Coach (Earnest) Riggins and expressed my interest in attending SDSU,” Perry said in a prepared statement Thursday. “They have a lot of talent coming back, I’ll be close to my father (who lives in Los Angeles), and it’s the best place to be right now.”

Perry began drawing the attention of colleges during her junior season at Brookhaven (Miss.) High School when she led her team to a 35-4 record. As a senior, she averaged 19 points and 12 rebounds.