This Week In Warrior Athletics

February 12, 2007

EVENTS: 

Women’s and men’s basketball doubleheaders: vs. Montana Tech, Friday, Feb. 16, women at 5 p.m., men at 7 p.m., Butte, Mont.; vs. Montana-Western, Saturday, Feb. 17, women at 5 p.m., men at 7 p.m., Dillon, Mont.

Men’s tennis – vs. Linfield College, Friday, Feb. 16, 9 a.m., Walla Walla, Wash.; vs. Colorado College, Friday, Feb. 16, 1 p.m., Walla Walla, Wash.

Women’s tennis – vs. University of Idaho, Saturday, Feb. 17, 2 p.m., LCSC Tennis Center. 

Women’s basketball: 

The Warriors can claim no worse than a share of the Frontier Conference title with a pair of victories this week as LCSC concludes its road portion of the conference schedule.

LCSC takes on Montana Tech on Friday, and then faces rival Montana-Western on Saturday in a pair of 5 p.m. contests.

The Warriors, winners of 16 straight, stand 24-1 overall and 10-0 in conference play. The team is ranked No. 2 in the country.

Both Carroll (9-2) and Montana-Western (8-2) have two league losses. Both LCSC and Montana-Western have four conference games remaining, while Carroll has three. If the Warriors win three of their final four games, they will claim the conference regular-season title and will be the top seed in the conference tournament, which opens Feb. 28 in Butte, Mont.

Warrior coach Brian Orr says he likes the fact his team controls its own destiny. LCSC still has a home game with Carroll left in the season and victories over both Montana-Western and Carroll during the final two weeks also will clinch the regular-season title.

The Warriors are ranked in the NAIA’s Top 10 in eight team and four individual categories. LCSC is third in assists per game at nearly 20, third in assist/turnover ratio, and is fourth in scoring margin, outscoring opponents by 21.8 points per game.

LCSC also is seventh in rebounding margin, ninth in field goal percentage, offensive rebounds per game, and points scored per game. The team is 10th in turnover margin.

Among the individual statistics, senior post Ashley Baker is fifth in the country in offensive rebounds at nearly four a game, junior point guard Katie Hart is fifth in assists and eighth in assist/turnover ratio, and senior guard Janeen Nelson is ninth in assist/turnover ratio.

Baker leads the team in scoring and rebounding at 15.6 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. She’s shooting 50 percent from the field and also leads the team in blocked shots.

Nelson is at 11.8 points, followed by junior guard Jade Fulbright at 9.8 points. Fulbright leads the team in steals.

Montana Tech stands 3-7 in league and 15-9 overall, but despite its league record, it might just be the most improved team this season. Tech has lost three straight and four of its last six after its third-leading scorer Jessie DePell went down with a season-ending knee injury in a game at LCSC.

Sisters Rebecca Gimeno and Angela Gimeno lead the Orediggers in scoring at 15.5 and 14.3 points, respectively. Rebecca Gimeno also is seventh in the country in assists at 5.5 per game. Janessa Todd leads the team in rebounding at 5.6 per game.

Tech, which is 8-2 at home this season, ranks sixth in the NAIA in free-throw shooting and is 15th in 3-point shooting.

Montana-Western, like LCSC, is learning how to deal without one of its top players. Becky O’Neil, a 6-1 senior post, suffered a season-ending knee injury last week in a loss to Carroll. At the time, she was the team’s second-leading scorer and rebounder. LCSC lost its second-leading scorer and rebounder Aundrea Morrison two weeks ago, also to a knee injury.

Again like LCSC, Montana-Western still has a dominating player in the middle. Katherine Sunwall is averaging 16.0 points and 10.7 rebounds a game. Sunwall ranks first in the nation in blocked shots at 3.5 per game, is third in rebounding, fourth in defensive rebounds per game (7.3) and sixth in field goal percentage (60.8 percent). Sunwall was held to nine points on 1-of-8 shooting in a 64-56 setback to LCSC at Lewiston last month, but did grab 20 rebounds.

Guard Megan Schmitz also is in double figures scoring at 11.6 points per game.

Montana-Western brings a 23-3 record into the contest, including a 12-0 mark at home. The team was ranked No. 5 in the country last week before its loss to Carroll.

The Bulldogs rank No. 1 in the NAIA in blocked shots per game at 6.1. The team is fourth in field goal percentage, sixth in assist/turnover ratio, eighth in assists, ninth in 3-point shooting, and ninth in scoring defense.

After the two road games, LCSC closes out the regular season at home, playing host to Carroll on Thursday, Feb. 22, and then Rocky Mountain on Saturday, Feb. 24, which will be Senior Night.

Frontier Conference standings – LCSC 10-0, 24-1; Carroll 9-2, 25-2; Montana-Western 8-2, 23-3; Westminster 5-5, 17-9; Montana State-Northern 4-7, 15-10; Montana Tech 3-7, 15-9; Rocky Mountain 3-8, 9-18; Great Falls 0-11, 2-22. 

Men’s basketball: 

The Warriors look to keep their new win streak and regular-season conference title hopes alive this week when they take on two teams that have struggled of recent.

LCSC, 8-2 in conference play and 19-6 overall, snapped a two-game losing streak with a pair of victories and look to keep that momentum going as they face Montana Tech (5-5, 10-13) and Montana-Western (1-9, 7-16) on the road this week. Tech has lost two straight to fall out of the conference title chase, while Western has lost four straight and is trying to stay out of the cellar.

The Warriors are battling Carroll for the top spot in the conference. The two teams are even in the loss column, but Carroll has played one more game to stand 9-2 in league play. Westminster also is in the title chase at 7-3 in league play. Carroll must play at both LCSC and Westminster during the final week of the season.

LCSC, however, is focused on this week and its final two road games. Like the LCSC women, the Warrior men control their own destiny in the conference race.

Junior post Mike Gordy continues to lead the Warriors in scoring at 16.3 points per game. He ranks eighth in the country in field goal percentage at 62.2 percent. He also leads the team in blocked shots and is second on the team in rebounds. Senior forward Chris Pitts leads the team in rebounding at 5.8 per game.

Senior guard Teran Lee is second on the team in scoring at 14.7 points per game and is ninth in the country in free throw shooting at 85.3 percent. Lee also leads the team in assists, while freshman point guard Napoleon Gordon is tops in assists.

As a team, LCSC ranks second in the country in scoring defense, allowing just 59 points a game. The team also ranks fifth in scoring margin, outscoring opponents by an average of 18.4 points per game, and in turnover margin. LCSC is sixth in 3-point field goal percentage defense, ninth in field goal percentage defense and 10th in free-throw shooting.

Tech, which is 8-3 at home this season, will challenge LCSC’s defense from the 3-point area. The Orediggers average nearly eight 3-pointers a game and guard Shea Bradshaw is 10th in the country in 3-point shooting at 46.5 percent.

Bradshaw is one of three Tech players averaging in double figures. He leads the team at 11.7 points per game, while Jake Williams is at 11.5 and Sam Conley is at 10.2. Williams leads the team in rebounding at 5.7 per game, also is tops in steals, assists and blocked shots.

Problems area lately for Tech has been defense and rebounding. The team has held only two of its last seven opponents to less than 70 points and has allowed 62 more offensive rebounds than it has collected this season.

Montana-Western, which is 5-8 at home this season, has lost nine of its last 10, including its last two games in overtime.

Even that, however, is a bit misleading to how dangerous the Bulldogs can be. Twice they fell to conference leader Carroll in overtime, falling in the first meeting in double overtime. Also, the team can score points in bunches and is averaging nearly 10 3-pointers made a game.

The Bulldogs are one of the highest scoring teams in the conference at 85 points per game, which ranks 13th in the country.

Tyler Palmer leads the team in scoring at 16.6 points per game and is one of four Bulldogs averaging in double figures. Wes Morales is at 13.9 points, while Gus McDonald is at 11.3 points. Morales leads the team in rebounding (5.8 per game) and steals (1.5), while Palmer is tops in assists (2.8).

The Warriors conclude the regular season the following week by playing host to Carroll and Rocky Mountain. LCSC will honor its seniors prior to the Rocky Mountain contest.

Frontier Conference standings – Carroll 9-2, 19-7; LCSC 8-2, 19-6; Westminster 7-3, 15-10; Montana State-Northern 6-5, 16-10; Rocky Mountain 6-5, 16-11; Montana Tech 5-5, 10-13; Montana-Western 1-9, 7-16; Great Falls 0-11, 11-16.

Tennis: 

Both Warrior tennis teams will look to keep the ball rolling early in the season with matches this week.

The LCSC men are 3-0 on the season and will play two matches in Walla Walla on Friday, facing Linfield College and Colorado College.

Despite being a bit banged up, the Warriors rolled past both Montana State-Billings and Whitworth last week without dropping a match.

“I guess that is a mark of a senior-laden team,” LCSC coach Kai Fong says. “Having that Warrior pride helps.”

Fong says it’s possible for the team to be at full strength for Friday’s two matches.

On the women’s side, the Warriors are 2-1 after opening the season last weekend. LCSC defeated both MSU-Billings and Whitman, but then fell to NCAA Division I foe Gonzaga.

“Gonzaga did not like losing to us in Spokane last April, so they were fired up to play,” Fong says. “We lost a crucial doubles points, and they used that going into singles and never looked back.”

Fong says he’s happy with the improvement of the women’s team, which features a good balance of youth and returning players.

“The players have had a lot thrown at them since the start of the semester,” Fong says. “They are hitting the marks where I feel they should be.”

The Warriors venture back into the Division I ranks on Saturday when they play host to the University of Idaho.

“They are a talented bunch so we will have to work even harder to keep up with them for a few points,” Fong says.