This Week In Warrior Athletics

February 20, 2007

EVENTS: 

Spring Sports Luncheon – noon, Wednesday, Feb. 21, Williams Conference Center.

Women’s and men’s basketball doubleheaders: vs. Carroll College, Thursday, Feb. 22, women at 6 p.m., men at 8 p.m., LCSC Activity Center (Whiteout Night); vs. Rocky Mountain College, Saturday, Feb. 24, women at 6 p.m., men at 8 p.m., LCSC Activity Center (Senior Night).

Baseball – Guardian Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning Tournament at Lewiston’s Harris Field. Thursday, Feb. 22 – St. Martin’s vs. Missouri Western, 11 a.m.; LCSC vs. Missouri Western, 2 p.m. Friday, Feb. 23 – Western Oregon vs. Missouri Western, 10 a.m.; LCSC vs. Western Oregon, 1 p.m.; LCSC vs. St. Martin’s, 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 24 – St. Martin’s vs. Western Oregon, 11 a.m.; LCSC vs. St. Martin’s, 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 25 – LCSC vs. Western Oregon, 11 a.m.;

Men’s tennis – at University of Montana, Saturday, Feb. 24, noon, Missoula, Mont.; vs. Montana State University, Sunday, Feb. 25, 2 p.m., Missoula, Mont.

Men’s and women’s golf – Inland Intercollegiate Cup, Monday, Feb. 26, at Clarkston Golf & Country Club, and Tuesday, Feb. 27, at Quail Ridge Golf Course, Clarkston. 
 

Spring Sports Luncheon: 

The Lewis-Clark State College Spring Sports Lunch, which costs $12 per person, will highlight the spring sports of men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s tennis, and baseball at LCSC. Golf coach Paul Thompson, tennis coach Kai Fong and baseball coach Ed Cheff will provide insight into their teams and seasons.

Reservations for the luncheon are preferred and can be made by calling the LCSC Athletic Department at 792-2692 to provide a head count for the caterer.

The Warrior Athletic Association is the host for the luncheon and the sponsors are Syringa Bank and Cable One. 

Basketball promotions: 

The Carroll-LCSC doubleheader on Thursday night is being promoted as “Whiteout Night.” All Warrior fans are encouraged to wear white to the game to support the Warriors. The first 250 fans through the door will receive free Warrior shirts. Fans can also purchase white Warrior T-shirts for $5 at the game.

On Saturday night, LCSC will hold Senior Night during its final home game of the season. The seniors for both LCSC teams will be honored prior to the games. The seniors for the LCSC women include Ashley Baker, Aundrea Morrison, Katya Yancheva, Terri Wittmer, and Janeen Nelson. For the LCSC men, the seniors are Chris Pitts, Jared Tikker, Keith Scarbrough, Steve Thompson, Teran Lee and Steve Ward. 

Women’s basketball: 

Already assured at least a share of the Frontier Conference regular season title as well as the top seed in next week’s conference tournament at Butte, Mont., the Warrior women go for the title outright this week against second-place Carroll on Thursday and sixth-place Rocky Mountain on Saturday.

LCSC stands 12-0 in conference play and 26-1 overall, and is ranked No. 2 in the NAIA. Carroll, at 10-2 in league and 26-2 overall, is ranked No. 10, although it should move up in this week’s ratings, which will be announced Wednesday.

If Carroll can defeat both LCSC and Westminster on the road this week and LCSC should lose both of its games, the two teams can tie for the conference title. However, because LCSC swept third-place Montana-Western while Carroll split its season series with the Bulldogs, the Warriors earn the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament.

The Warriors, however, are looking to win the title outright and finish Frontier Conference play unbeaten for the first time since the 1999-2000 season when the Warriors went 12-0 in the then-seven team conference.

LCSC has won 18 straight games and is enjoying its second-highest rating ever, only surpassed by the 2000-01 squad that was ranked No. 1 and set a school record for wins with 33, a mark that is within the Warriors’ reach this season.

Senior post Ashley Baker continues to lead the team in both scoring (16.2 points) and rebounding (8.6) per game. Senior guard Janeen Nelson is at 11.6 points, while junior guard Jade Fulbright is at 9.9 points. Fulbright leads the team in steals at 2.3 per game, while junior guard Katie Hart is averaging 5.5 assists per contest.

As a team, the Warriors are ranked in the NAIA’s Top 10 in eight categories. LCSC is outscoring opponents by better than 21 points a game, which ranks third in the country. LCSC is fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio, fifth in assists, and ninth in rebounding margin and field goal percentage.

Carroll has won five straight entering this week and is one of the top shooting teams in the country. The Saints lead the NAIA in 3-point shooting at 45.5 percent and are second in field goal percentage overall at 48.3 percent. Carroll also is sixth in the country in scoring margin, outscoring opponents by an average of 18 points a game.

Jolene Fuzesy, who leads the Saints in scoring at 15.6 points per game, is tops in the NAIA in both 3-pointers made per game (4.1) and 3-point shooting percentage (56.3 percent). Amy Brooks leads the team in rebounding (7.4 per game), steals, and blocked shots.

Rocky Mountain has lost its last two games by an average of 21 points and is battling Montana Tech for sixth place in the conference standings.

Gretchen Wall, a 5-9 forward, leads the Bears in scoring at 11.8 points per game, while Jenna Sawyer is the team’s leading rebounder at 7.7 per game.

Rocky Mountain ranks 18th in the country in 3-point shooting percentage, led by guard Keri Siewert, who ranks third in the country at 47.6 percent accuracy from behind the arc.

LCSC will open the conference tournament on Wednesday, Feb. 28, against eighth-place Great Falls. 

Frontier Conference standings – Lewis-Clark State 12-0, 26-1; Carroll 10-2, 26-2; Montana-Western 9-3, 24-4; Westminster 6-6, 18-10; Montana State-Northern 5-7, 16-10; Montana Tech 3-9, 15-11; Rocky Mountain 3-9, 9-19, Great Falls 0-12, 2-23. 

Men’s basketball: 

The Warrior men look to wrap up the Frontier Conference regular-season title with a pair of victories this week, but unlike the women’s title race, the men’s race is up for grabs between three teams.

LCSC leads the conference at 10-2 and is 21-6 overall, but both Carroll and Westminster are a game behind at 9-3. Carroll also plays at Westminster on Saturday night.

Meanwhile, one of the hottest teams in the league, Rocky Mountain, is battling Montana-State Northern for fourth place in the conference at 7-5 and still has an outside chance of finishing third.

While the race is open, LCSC coach Tim Walker says he likes the fact the Warriors control their destiny.

“What a big week for Warrior Basketball!” Walker says.  “We’ve got two of the best teams coming to town this weekend and there’s a lot at stake for everyone.  We must prepare as well this week as we have all year.  We also have to be rested so that our effort is unbelievable come Thursday night.  Carroll is talented, well coached, and has a great tradition of winning.  We’ll have to play our best to make an impact on the outcome of the game.”

The Warriors, who can finish anywhere from first to third in the standings, were ranked No. 20 in last week’s NAIA poll, while Carroll was at No. 15.

LCSC is led in scoring by junior forward Mike Gordy, who is averaging 16.6 points per game. Senior guard Teran Lee is at 14.6 points. Gordy is ninth in the country in field goal percentage, while Lee is ninth in free-throw percentage. Chris Pitts, who leads the team in rebounding at 5.9 per game, is third in scoring at 9.1 points per game.

The Warriors have relied on defense this season for their success. The team is third in the NAIA in fewest points allowed at 59.7 per game and is fifth in scoring margin, outscoring opponents by an average of 18.2 points per game. LCSC is sixth in turnover margin, forcing an average of six more a game than its commits. The team is also 10th in 3-point shooting (39.3 percent) and in defensive field goal percentage (40.8 percent).

Carroll, which lost to Rocky Mountain by 23 points last week to fall to 19-8 overall, is led by Dallas Leslie’s 15.2 points per game. Leslie is second in the NAIA in 3-pointers made, averaging 3.4 per game. Guard Eric Henkel is averaging 5.5 assists per outing, while Gage Brumwell is the team’s top rebounder at 5.0 per game.

As a team, Carroll is third in the country in 3-pointers made per game at nearly nine, and is seventh in 3-point shooting at 39.5 percent.

Rocky Mountain, which seems to be catching fire at the right time, is led by 6-6 forward Devin Uskoski, who is averaging a double-double at 16 points and 10 rebounds a game. The latter ranks him fourth in the NAIA in rebounding. He’s also the team leader in blocked shots at nearly one a game.

As a team, Rocky is averaging 38.9 percent from the 3-point line and 49.5 percent from the field, both of which rank No. 14 in the NAIA. The Bears are one of the top rebounding teams in the conference and are outrebounding opponents by an average of six per game.

The top two finishers in the regular season will open the conference tournament in Butte, Mont., next Wednesday, while the third-place team won’t play until Thursday. Wednesday’s winners will take a day off before resuming play on Friday. 

Frontier Conference standings – LCSC 10-2, 21-6; Carroll 9-3, 19-8; Westminster 9-3, 17-10; Montana State-Northern 7-5, 17-10; Rocky Mountain 7-5, 17-11; Montana Tech 5-7, 10-15; Montana-Western 1-11, 7-18; Great Falls 0-12, 11-17. 

Baseball: 

After a strong opening weekend, the Warrior baseball team looks to keep rolling in the four-team round-robin Guardian Plumbing Heating & Air Conditioning Tournament at LCSC’s Harris Field.

The Warriors, ranked No. 1 in the NAIA preseason poll, defeated both Albertson and Whitworth twice, outscoring the two 32-5 in the process.

This week, the Warriors will entertain St. Martin’s, 2-8 overall, Western Oregon, 3-3, and Missouri Western, which is opening its season at the tourney. Both St. Martin’s and Western Oregon are NCAA Division II members of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, while Missouri Western, coached by former Washington State University assistant Buzz Verduzco, qualified for the NCAA Division II national tournament a year ago.

Pitching led the way for the Warriors during the opening weekend as the staff produced an ERA of 1.25. The Warriors used 14 pitchers during the weekend, including eight in one game.

At the plate, first basemen Ikaika Lester and Kyle Green both had strong starts, as did shortstop Mark Thompson. Lester went 6-for-10 during the weekend with four RBI, while Green was 2-for-6 with two RBI. Thompson went 7-for-16 (.438) with six runs, two RBI and four stolen bases.

As a team, LCSC is a perfect 10-for-10 in the stolen base department and is hitting .272. Of the team’s 37 hits, 17 are for extra bases, including 14 doubles. LCSC also already has had nine batters hit by pitches this season. 

Men’s tennis: 

The Warrior men put their 5-0 start on the line this weekend when they tangle with a pair of NCAA Division I Big Sky Conference schools. On Saturday, the Warriors face the University of Montana in Missoula, and then take on Montana State University on Sunday, also in Missoula.

LCSC has won four of its five matches by perfect 9-0 scores and also defeated Pacific Lutheran 6-3 to start the season.

Montana bring a 1-1 record into the match, beating UC Davis, but falling to Gonzaga. Last year, the Grizzlies edged out a 4-3 win over the Warriors.

Montana State is the three-time defending Big Sky champion, but has played a rough early-season schedule and stands just 1-5 overall. The Bobcats defeated LCSC 7-0 last season.

The women’s team is off until March 2 when it plays host to both Southern Oregon and the University of Alberta. 

Men’s and women’s golf: 

The Warrior golf teams kick off the spring portion of their schedule next Monday and Tuesday in the Inland Intercollegiate Cup, which is being hosted by Washington State University.

The first 18 holes will be played on Monday at the Clarkston Golf & Country Club, followed by the final 18 holes at Quail Ridge Golf Course on Tuesday. The 36-hole format is all individual play and no team scoring will be kept.

Individuals from LCSC, WSU, Idaho, Idaho State, Portland, British Columbia, and Victoria are scheduled to take part in the tourney.