2002-03 Women's Basketball
Season Outlook

            For the Lewis-Clark State College women’s basketball team, the focus going into the 2002-2003 season is all about building - not rebuilding.  Second year head coach Brian Orr, hopes to build on the success of last year’s team which finished with an overall record of 23-11, while advancing to the round of sixteen at the NAIA National Tournament.             

            Gone from last year are guards, Brianne Kottwitz, Shannon Russel, and Vanessa Shelton.  Graduation also took away the 6’4” presence of Katarina Gabaniova.  And the Warriors will be without the services of sophomore, Leah McCauley, (Grangeville, ID) who suffered a season-ending knee injury while working out this past summer.

            But don’t let those losses fool you.  The 2002-03 Warriors have a talented cast of returning players led by senior standouts Shanta Coleman and Kyla Harris.  Both Coleman, a 5-10 guard from San Diego, and Harris, a 5-11 forward from Longmont, CO., were starters on last year’s club that finished second in the Frontier Conference.  Harris is a tough defender who can score inside and out.  “Kyla has really emerged as a team leader,” said Orr.  “And Shanta will be one of the best all-round players in the league.”  Coleman, a 1^st Team All-Conference selection was the team’s top rebounder and assist leader.  Another veteran back for her junior year is Jessica Foot (Karana Downs, Australia) a 5-8 guard who returns as the team’s leading scorer at 12.5 points per game.  “Jessica is so tough on both ends of the court,” said Orr.  “She came back this fall in tremendous physical condition, she’s really emerging as a team leader.”  Alicia Hazlett, (Superior, MT) a hard working and highly skilled guard is another junior who is expected to play a big role this season.  Once the L-C volleyball team has completed their season, the Warriors will again have the services of two-sport star, Amy Flaig (Missoula, MT) who proved to be a tenacious rebounder and defender.  Finally, the Warriors will be counting on their talented sophomore post player 6-1 Kendra West (Jerome, ID) who improved with every game and ended the season with the best field goal percentage on the team.

            A talented and athletic group of newcomers will give this year’s Warriors a new and exciting look.  With the decision to move Coleman to the off-guard, two JUCO point guards were added to the roster.  Elpidia Valle, who holds every assist record at Treasure Valley CC, and Briana Duerr, who brings some very impressive numbers from Highline Community College, will be competing for the starting spot.  Another junior college addition, Lyndsey Brandt, a 5-10 shooting guard who helped lead Big Bend CC to their first-ever NWAACC Championship, will add fire-power to an already explosive perimeter.  Providing some depth inside, 6’2” Amy Sim transferred in from Mount Royal College in Alberta, Canada where she helped lead her team to the CACC National Championship game.  The newcomers are rounded out by Cami Kalbfleish (Lewiston, ID) and Kristin Gunderson (Portland, OR) who both had stellar high school careers and are talented enough to make an immediate impact as freshmen.

            The 2002-03 schedule will certainly be filled with a number of challenges.  The Warriors open on the road against Northwest College and then travel to Spokane to take NCAA Division-I Gonzaga University.  “Whenever we play a team the caliber of Gonzaga, it can only make us better,” said Orr.  Non-conference tournaments could end with the Warriors playing two NCAA Division II schools; Central Washington University and Northwest Nazarine University both on their home courts and both teams should contend for the Great Northwest Conference title.  The pre-conference schedule also features two games with perennial power Seattle Pacific University, on the road and at home.  Lewis-Clark will also face a very tough Albertsons College team when they travel to play in the Whitman Tournament.  The US Bank Classic will feature veteran laden Biola University who is returning to Warrior Gymnasium to defend the championship they won last year.  The conference season tips off January 9th, on the road against Montana Tech followed by the University of Montana-Western.  “They (Montana-Western) are the defending Conference Champions and most agree that they are probably better this year,” said Orr.  “We had some great games with them last year and I expect the same intensity this season.”  “Overall, it’s a tough tough league,” said Orr.  “Both Carroll and Rocky are returning some good players and both had good recruiting classes.  MSU-Northern is a completely new team, but they have a great tradition and I really believe that everyone else will be improved from last season.  It’s going to be fun, and I think the new Conference Tournament format will make this season really exciting.”           

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