This Week In Warrior Athletics

November 13, 2006

EVENTS: 

WAA Luncheon: noon, Wednesday, Nov. 15, Williams Conference Center.

Cross country: NAIA national meet, Saturday, Nov. 18, Louisville, Kent.

Women’s basketball: Staples Classic at LCSC Activity Center – Friday: Westminster vs. Eastern Oregon, 4 p.m.; LCSC vs. Evergreen State, 6 p.m.; Saturday: Westminster vs. Evergreen State, 2 p.m.; LCSC vs. Eastern Oregon, 4 p.m.

Men’s basketball: At Eastern Washington, Saturday, Nov. 18, 7 p.m., Cheney. 

WAA Luncheon: 

The Warrior Athletic Association’s Winter Sports Luncheon, featuring previews of the Lewis-Clark State College men’s and women’s basketball teams, will be held on Wednesday, Nov. 15, at noon in the LCSC Williams Conference Center.

The lunch, sponsored by Scott Baldwin of D A Davidson & Co., will have women’s coach Brian Orr and men’s coach Tim Walker introduce members of their respective teams and discuss their season. Players on both teams who do not have class at that time are scheduled to attend.

The cost of the lunch is $12 per person and is open to the public. Those interested in attending are asked to RSVP to Cindi Durgan in the LCSC Athletic Development Office at 792-2692 or at cfdurgan@lcsc.edu so the caterer will have an approximate head count.

Cross Country: 

The Lewis-Clark State College men’s and cross country teams will be in Louisville, Kent., on Saturday, Nov. 18, to take part in the NAIA national meets.

Both teams received at-large berths into the field, which features 28 men’s teams and 29 women’s squads. The race will be held at Tom Sawyer Park, a fairly flat course that will aid faster teams, according to LCSC coach Mike Collins.

The Warrior women are making their sixth straight appearance at nationals and have finished in the Top 20 each time, including a program-best ninth in 2003.

 “I want to say it’s exciting to go, but we are used to it so the thought of just going isn’t quite as prevalent,” Collins says. “The kids on the team are pretty excited about going and they have some resolve to do well at nationals and show they belong there. My view, as a coach, that’s pretty exciting to see because it’s a different mentality than what we’ve had in a while.”

On the men’s side, it’s the second trip to nationals as a team. Collins believes the men are capable of returning to their early-season form when they were ranked in the Top 10 at the NAIA.

 “I still think we have a team with Top 10 talent, but we do have to put it together Saturday,” Collins says.

Calin Hantau, a junior, is one of the top runners in Region I and Collins expects him to also do well at nationals.

Collins says the key to success for both LCSC teams is to get off to a good start.

 “The real key in the race for us is we have to stay close together somewhere toward the front,” he says. “We need to have small gaps between our runners and stay relatively close. For the women, we don’t need anyone in the Top 40, but if all were in the Top 100, that would do.” 

Women’s basketball: 

Fresh off a three-game sweep in the Westminster Tournament in Salt Lake City, the Warrior women look to keep rolling as they make their 2006-07 home debut this weekend in the Staples Classic.

LCSC, 3-0 overall, faces Evergreen State College of Olympia, Wash., at 6 p.m. on Friday in the opening round. The Geoducks are 1-1 on the season. In the other first-round game, Eastern Oregon University and Westminster at 4 p.m. Eastern Oregon tips off its season at home Tuesday night against Walla Walla College, while Westminster is 4-1.

On Saturday, Westminster and Evergreen State meet at 2 p.m., followed by LCSC and Eastern Oregon at 4 p.m.

The Warriors, ranked No. 10 in the NAIA preseason poll, defeated Berry College of Georgia 91-65, Concordia of Irvine 72-57 and Albertson College 110-68 last weekend. In Saturday’s contest, the Warriors put up big numbers as the 110 points allowed by Albertson was the most in program history.

The tournament contests are the lone two home games in the month of November for the L-C women as they play nine of their first 11 games on the road. 

Men’s basketball: 

The Warrior men will play their final exhibition game of the season on Saturday when they travel to Cheney to take on Eastern Washington of the Big Sky Conference at 7 p.m. Because the game involves an NCAA school against an NAIA school, the contest is an exhibition game.

Eastern Washington stands 0-1 on the season heading into a Tuesday night contest at UNLV. The Eagles fell to Gonzaga in their season opener.

LCSC stands 2-2 overall after falling to Seattle University, an NCAA Division II school last week.

The Warriors are led by Mike Gordy, who is averaging 19.3 points and 5.5 rebounds a game, while Teran Lee is averaging 11 points a contest.

LCSC will be back at home on Nov. 24-25 for the Cannon’s Building Material Tournament. LCSC will take on Corban College at 8 p.m., on Nov. 24, following the contest between Montana State-Northern at Oklahoma City at 6 p.m. On Nov. 25, MSU-Northern and Corban meet at 6 p.m., followed by Oklahoma City and LCSC at 8 p.m.