Women's Basketball Yote Notes - Edition 3

11.17.2009

LAST WEEK: at Westminster Fall Classic – vs. No. 23 Carroll (W 79-64), vs. Westminster (L 93-91), vs. Montana Western (L 78-67), exhibition at Utah Valley (L 72-56)

COMING UP: vs. Willamette (at EOU), Friday, 7 p.m. (PT)

LIVE STATS/VIDEO: Friday’s game vs. Willamette at Quinn Coliseum in La Grande, Ore., will have both Live Stats and Live Video available.  Access the Live Video online via Penn Atlantic at www.pennatlantic.com, with Live Stats at http://www.sidearmstats.com/eou/wbball/index.htm.

WHEW…THE WEEKEND IS OVER: Talk about a whirlwind weekend for the Lady Yotes – four games in five nights, all in Utah.  The C of I played games Thursday through Saturday at the Westminster Fall Classic, going 1-2, before putting up a game effort on Monday in an exhibition loss at Utah Valley.  The Coyotes have just three more tune-ups before the opening of Cascade Conference play on Dec. 4.

RETURNERS HAVE BIG TRIP: For the Coyote returners, it was a great opportunity to get rid of the rust after the off-season.  Nicole Gall (Boise, Idaho / Santa Clara U.) showed why she was the CCC’s Preseason Player of the Year, averaging 20 points and six rebounds a game – while leading the club with ten assists in the three counting games.  Also off to a good start is post Nicole Bruce (Boise, Idaho / Bishop Kelly HS), who averaged 12 points and three rebounds, while converting 57-percent of her field goal opportunities.  A pleasant surprise were the play of seniors Katee Brewer (Arco, Idaho / Butte County HS) and Katie Strunk (Shoshone, Idaho / Walla Walla CC).  Brewer averaged eight points a game – going 5-of-10 from outside the arc, while Strunk averaged six points and a team-high six rebounds per game, while scoring 13 in the exhibition game at Utah Valley.

RICKMAN, HANSEN HAVE BREAKOUT GAMES: For the Yotes to be successful this season, they will need production off the bench – which is what they received from juniors Tyra Rickman (Burns, Ore. / Burns HS) and Brianna Hansen (Kuna, Idaho / Kuna HS).  Rickman provided big minutes against Westminster, scoring a career-high nine points and grabbing six rebounds, while Hansen averaged eight points a game – including a career-high ten points vs. Montana Western.

NEWCOMERS SHOW FLASHES OF EXCELLENCE: Three newcomers to the program saw extended minutes on the trip – with each having their ups and downs.  Freshmen guards Katelin Shannon (Caldwell, Idaho / Vallivue HS) and Brette Rubie (Missoula, Mont. / Sentinel HS) both averaged four points and two rebounds per game – with Rubie recording eight steals in the loss to Montana Western.  However, the duo combined for 18 turnovers over the weekend as they learn the speed of the collegiate game.  Transfer Marquina Gilliam-Hicks (Wichita Falls, Texas / Salt Lake CC) played well off the bench for the Yotes, averaging ten points and three rebounds per game, while connecting on 52-percent of her field goal attempts.

TURNOVERS A CONCERN: Though the Lady Yotes forced 29 turnovers a game through their high-pressure defense, the team must shore up handling the ball in the offensive end.  The C of I turned the ball over 27 times a game themselves, including 30 miscues in the two-point loss to Westminster.

FIRST LOSS WHEN SCORING OVER 90: Coming into the season, the Lady Yotes were a perfect 27-0 all-time when scoring 90 points or more.  Make that 27-1, as Westminster toppled the Coyotes, 93-91 during the weekend.  Previously, the most points The C of I had scored in a loss was 88, in a 101-88 loss to Corban in 2006-07.

A CONDENSED HOLIDAY CLASSIC:  For the first time since 2006, the Lady Yotes will head to La Grande, Ore., for the Aramark Holiday Classic, hosted by Eastern Oregon.  However, the Coyotes will play just one game – as the fourth team in the tournament (Linfield College), pulled out of the event this summer and EOU was unable to find a replacement team.  The C of I competed in the event each year from 2004-06, compiling a 1-1 record each year.

ABOUT WILLAMETTE: The C of I will tangle Friday with NCAA Division III member Willamette University, the third time in the last four years that the Bearcats (4-18 in 2008-09) will meet the Yotes.  After a difficult season last year that saw their head coach Bruce Henderson pass away in December, the Bearcats look to honor his memory under first-year skipper Anne Lapray – returning a pair of starters in Alex Zennan (12.7 ppg), and Nicki Clowdsley (4.7 ppg, 5.9 rpg).  Handling the basketball will be the concern for WU, as the ‘Cats have averaged 41 turnovers against the Yotes in the previous two meetings – a C of I 75-61 win in 2006 and an 84-53 C of I win last year.

RECORD BOOK: Five members of the Lady Yotes are currently listed in The C of I career Top-10 in various statistical categories.  Leading the way as senior Kayla Isham (Arco, Idaho / Butte County HS), who ranks in four different categories – No. 6 in games started (86), No. 8 in games played (96), No. 9 in steals (128), and No. 10 in three-pointers made (59).  Whitney Owen (Caldwell, Idaho / Vallivue HS) ranks eighth in both free throws made (190) and attempted (274), while tied with Isham with 59 career three-pointers.  Nicole Gall ranks sixth in both three-pointers made (106) and attempted (270), Nicole Bruce is third all-time in blocked shots (62), and Katee Brewer is tenth all-time in games played (93).

EARLY CCC STATISTICS: Scoring Average – Jacki Speer (SOU) 28.0, Nicole Gall (C of I) 19.7, Jessica Wilkerson (NU) 17.5, Lori Renner (NCU) 15.0, Kristina Schumacher (WP) 15.0; Rebound Average – Speer 16.8, Krystal Smith (SOU) 9.5, Sarah Eischen (CU) 8.0, Emily Brookins (SOU) 7.3, Ashlee Michelson (EOU) 7.2; Assists Average – Latrina Woods (ESC) 4.0, Cameryn Calhoun (WP) 4.0, Rachel Scarpelli (CU) 3.5, Nicole Morgan (OIT) 3.3, Gall 3.3.

CCC PRESEASON POLL: For the first time in program history, the Lady Yotes were picked to win the 2009-10 CCC championship, as the league’s preseason poll was released on Oct. 19.  The past two seasons, The C of I was picked second by the coaches in the loop (after four-consecutive years of being picked either fifth or sixth in the league), but the new crew received 93 voter points and four first-place votes to claim the top slot in the ten-team league.  Southern Oregon received four first-place votes and finished two points behind the Coyotes, while Concordia, who shared last season’s title with the Yotes, received the remaining two first-place votes and 81 total points.  Warner Pacific finished fourth in the polling, followed by Eastern Oregon.

NAIA TOP-25 PRESEASON POLL: A year after elevating to No. 8 in the NAIA Top-25 Coaches Poll, the Lady Yotes will begin the new season among the nation’s elite, earning a No. 12 ranking in the initial national poll, released Oct. 26 by the NAIA.  It is the 12th-straight time that the Lady Yotes have been ranked in the Top-25, dating back to last December.  It marks the first time that The C of I has begun the season in the Top-25 since 2001 and is the highest preseason ranking for the Lady Yotes since they were No. 6 to start the 2000-01 season – when they advanced to the NAIA Division II national title game.  Two other teams from the CCC are in the poll – No. 18 Southern Oregon and No. 21 Concordia, while two non-conference opponents, No. 23 Carroll and receiving votes Westminster, are in the NAIA Division I poll.

GAME RECAP – C OF I 79, CARROLL 64: Nicole Gall scored a game-high 20 points and The C of I forced 27 turnovers, as the Lady Yotes upset Carroll College, 79-64, on Thursday night.  The Lady Yotes defeated the Fighting Saints, ranked No. 23 in the NAIA Division I preseason poll, for the first time in eight meetings and the first time this decade.  After trailing 36-27 at the break, Carroll closed the gap to 41-36 five minutes into the second half on a trey by Alysha Green, but the Yotes responded, as Gall connected on a long trey to spark an 11-1 run - pushing the margin to 52-37.  The Saints would get no closer than eight points the rest of the way.  Gall added five assists and four steals, but committed ten turnovers in the win.  Post Nicole Bruce scored 13, with Marquina Gilliam-Hicks adding 12 points, five rebounds, and three assists in her C of I debut.  Green led the Frontier Conference school with 17 points, with Elly Bruursema adding 11.  The Lady Yotes shot a scorching 53-percent from the field, while holding a 40-36 edge on the glass.  The Saints shot just 5-of-20 from long range, well below their season average of 60-percent through their first two games.

GAME RECAP – WESTMINSTER 93, C OF I 91: McKenzie Jessop converted two free throws with seven seconds remaining, as Westminster College rallied late to top The College of Idaho, 93-91, Friday in Salt Lake City, Utah.  The NAIA Division I Griffins rallied from an eight-point deficit in the final three minutes to hand the Lady Yotes their first-ever loss when scoring 90-or-more points.   The Coyotes took a 90-82 lead with 3:07 left on Nicole Gall's seventh three-pointer of the night.  However, Westminster dialed up from long range as Keisha Catten, Dani Evans, and Jessop knocked down consecutive treys to tie the game at 91-91.  Marquina Gilliam-Hicks missed a pair of jumpers that would have given The C of I the lead, before Jessop was fouled - splashing both freebies to give the Griffins their first lead since the 18-minute mark of the second half.  The Yotes would have one final chance, as Gilliam-Hicks tried a 23-footer from the left wing at the horn, but it rimmed out.  Gall scored a game-high 27 points, with Nicole Bruce adding 13.  Tyra Rickman and Katie Strunk each had nine points and six rebounds, with Brianna Hansen and Katee Brewer coming off the bench to score eight.  The Lady Yotes hit 57-percent of their field goal attempts, including ten three-pointers, but were plagued by 30 turnovers.  Six Westminster players scored in double-figures, led by Jessop and Catten with 17.  Evans chipped in with 16 points, while Allie Eastman scored 12.

GAME RECAP – MONTANA WESTERN 78, C OF I 67: Montana Western forced eight turnovers in a 28-4 run to open the second half, as the Bulldogs defeated The C of I, 78-67, on Saturday afternoon.  The Bulldogs scored the first 18 points of the stanza, erasing a 32-30 halftime deficit, in salvaging their lone win in the Beehive State.  The lead would balloon to 58-36 with just under ten minutes remaining, allowing Western to cruise to the victory.  The Lady Yotes forced 41 UMW turnovers - including eight steals from Brette Rubie, but could only convert them into 33 points.  Five players scored in double-figures, as Nicole Gall and Marquina Gilliam-Hicks each scored 12, with Nicole Bruce, Katee Brewer, and Brianna Hansen each scoring ten - but The C of I finished just 35-percent from the field.  Western got 18 points from Laura Tams and rode a 55-29 edge on the glass to the victory.

EXHIBITION RECAP – UTAH VALLEY 72, C OF I 56: Preseason Great West Conference Player of the Year Julie Smith scored a game-high 16 points, as Utah Valley weathered a long first half drought to defeat The C of I, 72-56, Monday inside McKay Arena in Orem, Utah.  The NCAA Division I Wolverines forced four turnovers in a second half opening 12-3 run to build a 46-32 lead with 15:31 remaining in the game.  The Lady Yotes, playing the game as an exhibition, clawed within 54-48 on a Katie Strunk trey with just under eight minutes remaining - but could not get closer.  Early on, UVU used an 8-0 run to grab a 15-7 lead five minutes into the game, but went without a field goal for a six minute stretch, as the Lady Yotes rattled off 15-straight points, capped by a Nicole Gall triple, taking their biggest lead of the night at 22-15.   The Wolverines would counter, grabbing the lead for good as part of an 11-0 run to grab their second straight win of the season.  Smith was one of four players for UVU in double-figures, as Asumi Nakayama, Blake Reynolds, and Kyra Prause each scored ten.  Gall led The C of I, who were playing their fourth game in five nights, with 14 points, with Katie Strunk adding 13, and Nicole Bruce scoring eight along with a game-high nine rebounds.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: For more on The C of I women’s basketball team, head to the official homepage of the Lady Yotes, www.collegeofidaho.edu/athlete/wmensbasketball.htm.

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