This Week In Warrior Athletics

January 8, 2007

EVENTS: 

Women’s and men’s basketball doubleheaders: at University of Great Falls, Friday, Jan. 12, women at 5 p.m., men at 7 p.m., Pacific time, Great Falls, Mont.; at Montana State University-Northern, Saturday, Jan. 13, women at 5 p.m., men at 7 p.m., Pacific time, Havre. Mont. 

Women’s basketball: 

Coming off an impressive 32-point win over Westminster to open the Frontier Conference season, the Warriors will likely climb one spot in this week’s NAIA poll to No. 3.

The Warriors, No. 4 in last week’s poll, should climb a spot after defending national champion Union, ranked No. 3, lost twice last week. The new rankings will come out Wednesday.

More important for coach Brian Orr, however, is playing well on the road this weekend when the team plays its first two conference road games on back-to-back nights.

On Friday, the Warriors, 15-1 overall, take on the University of Great Falls, which is 0-2 in league and 2-13 overall. LCSC then travels to one of the toughest places to play in the conference in Havre, Mont., to face Montana State University-Northern on Saturday. MSU-Northern is 1-1 in league and 13-4 overall.

The Warriors bring a seven-game win streak into the week despite not being able to field its full team for almost the entire season. Last week, starting guard Janeen Nelson saw limited playing time because of a knee injury, and reserve Kim Preston sat out because of a flu bug that seems to be making its way through the team.

LCSC has six players averaging nearly 8.0 points per game or better. Senior post Ashley Baker leads the team at 15.8 points and 7.8 rebounds a game. Senior Aundrea Morrison is at 15.6 points and 5.6 rebounds, while Nelson is at 11.6 points. Point guard Katie Hart, a 5-foot-4 junior, leads the conference and is third in the NAIA in assists at 6.2 per game and is fourth on the team in rebounding. Morrison is fifth in the NAIA in field goal percentage at 62 percent, while Nelson is 8^th in 3-point field goal percentage at 50 percent.

As a team, the Warriors are now fourth in the NAIA in scoring at 82.6 points per game, scoring margin at 25.5 points per game, and rebounding margin at nearly 11 a game. They are fifth in assist-to-turnover ratio, and sixth in field goal percentage at 47.7 percent.

Great Falls is led by the conference’s leading scorer, 5-7 guard Laura Keaster, at 19.6 points per game. Keaster also is 10^th in the NAIA in 3-point field goal percentage at 49.3 percent.

MSU-Northern has put up impressive offensive numbers as well this season. The team ranks seventh in the NAIA in 3-point field goal percentage at 39.1 percent and is 10^th in overall field goal percentage at 46.9 percent. The team is 10^th in assists, 11^th in blocks, 12^th in free-throw percentage, and 17^th in scoring at 77.2 points per game.

DeLayne Johnston, a 6-0 post, is having a big year for MSU-Northern, leading the team in about every category, including scoring (16.4 points per game), rebounds (8.3), steals (1.4), and blocks (1.3). 

Frontier Conference standings – Carroll 2-0 in conference, 18-0 overall; Montana-Western 1-0, 16-1; LCSC 1-0, 15-1; Montana State-Northern 1-1, 13-4; Rocky Mountain 1-1, 7-11; Montana Tech 0-1, 12-3; Westminster 0-1, 12-5; Great Falls 0-2, 2-13. 

Men’s basketball: 

Winners in nine of their last 10 games, the Warriors look to keep it rolling on the road against the University of Great Falls and Montana State-Northern.

LCSC is 12-4 overall and 1-0 in conference play after defeating preseason favorite Westminster by 17 points to begin league action. Westminster was picked to win the conference in a preseason vote by the league’s coaches.

Great Falls lost a pair of heartbreakers on the road last week and stands 0-2 in league and 11-7 overall, while MSU-Northern is 1-1 and 11-6.

“We really have our work cut out for us this weekend,” LCSC coach Tim Walker says. “UGF was in a position to win both of their games this past weekend at Carroll and Rocky.  They are very talented and athletic, and will throw a lot of different things our way on both ends of the court. Northern is probably playing as well as anyone right now.  They won at Rocky and lost by only two at Carroll on Saturday night.

“Our message will continue to be playing great defense and playing with consistency on the offensive end.  We are trying to develop a more attack mentality on offense, and we think we’re getting better in that area.  We will have to work very hard this weekend and limit our mistakes to be successful.”

Defensively, the Warriors rank fourth in the country in points allowed at 58.6 per game and also are fourth in turnover margin, forcing 7.3 more than they commit. LCSC is sixth in field goal percentage defense at 39.0 percent and eighth in scoring margin at 21.1 points.

Individually, Mike Gordy leads LCSC in scoring at 15.8 points per game and is second in rebounding at 5.6 per outing. He’s also seventh in the country in field goal percentage at 62.9 percent.

Chris Pitts leads LCSC in rebounding at 5.9 per game and is third in scoring at 8.3 points. Teran Lee is second on the team in scoring at 13.5 points per game.

Great Falls’ Tyrone Witherspoon, a 6-4 forward, leads the conference in scoring at 19.4 points per game and also leads the Argos in rebounding (7.4), blocks (1.5), and steals (1.3). The Argos are ninth in the country in field goal percentage at 50.2 percent.

MSU-Northern is led by junior guard Delvaughn Tinned, who is averaging 16.5 points per game, while Durwin Williams is the team’s top rebounder at 7.4 per game.

The Warriors could break into the Top 25 this week. Last week, the team was ranked No. 28, but four teams ranked between No. 20 and 25 lost last week. The new poll comes out Wednesday. 

Frontier Conference standings – Carroll 2-0, 12-5; LCSC 1-0, 12-4; Montana Tech 1-0, 6-8; Montana State-Northern 1-1, 11-6; Rocky Mountain 1-1, 11-7; Westminster 0-1, 8-8; Montana-Western 0-1, 6-8, Great Falls 0-2, 11-7.