February 7, 2008

Big basketball doubleheader is Saturday; baseball to open season

 WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

As part of Breast Cancer Awareness, Lewis-Clark State College will join several institutions across to the country with a “Think Pink” night. Anyone wearing pink to Saturday’s doubleheader will receive a $1 off admission and LCSC will donate $1 for every ticket sold that night to Breast Cancer research.

The Warrior women begin the second half of Frontier Conference play rested and with a two-game lead. The conference took a break from its schedule last week and the Warriors didn’t have a game. It will be a full two weeks since the Warriors have played when they tipoff Saturday night.

“I would like to say that the week off has been a good thing, although my opinion may be completely different if the Carroll game had had a different outcome,” said LCSC coach Brian Orr, whose club defeated Carroll 90-87 in its last outing to finish the first half of conference play at 7-0, while Carroll stands second at 5-2.

“As it has turned out we have used the time to make a few offensive adjustments and to improve our overall defensive scheme,” Orr said. “We have also taken a few scattered days off to try to stay fresh for the final few weeks of the season.  Every game is big and the fact that Westminster is next up makes it the most important game of the season.  We need to guard against an emotional let down coming off the Carroll win and we hope to come out with renewed energy and focus.  With that in mind, one could say that this Saturday will be the best determinant as to whether an off-week in the middle of conference season is a good thing or not.”

The Warrior stand 18-3 overall and are ranked No. 10 in the NAIA. They bring a nine-game win streak into Saturday, which includes a dominating 80-52 win over Westminster in Salt Lake City to open conference play. In that game, the Warriors were 11-of-22 from the 3-point line and held Westminster to just 31 percent shooting from the field.

Westminster enters the contest third in the conference standings at 4-3 and is 17-6 overall.

Senior post Mandy Troutt continues to lead the Warriors in scoring (12.8 points per game) and in rebounding (7.4 boards per game). Senior guard Jade Fulbright, who ranks 11th in the NAIA in steals per game at 3.1, leads LCSC in scoring in conference games only at better than 13 points per game.

Fulbright currently stands third on the LCSC all-time steals list with 312, just two behind Julie Stringer’s total of 314. Amanda Campbell holds the all-time mark with 346. Senior point guard Katie Hart is eighth on the list with 229 and needs 13 more to catch Jodi Benson, who is seventh with 242.

Hart also is second on the LCSC career assists list with 555, trailing only Brianne Kottwitz’s total of 607. Hart is 17th nationally in assists, averaging 4.5 per game. Teammate Kim Preston is 17th in assist/turnover ratio at 2.0.

As a team, LCSC ranks in the NAIA’s top 10 in 12 categories. LCSC is second in scoring margin, outscoring opponents by an average of 25.8 points per game. The Warriors are third in total rebounding margin (10.8) and scoring defense per game (53.7), stand fourth in steals per game (14.4) and turnover margin (9.2), and are fifth in assist/turnover ratio (1.1).

Also, LCSC is sixth in both total rebounds (43.4) and assists (18.8) per game, stand seventh in offensive rebounds (17.3), eight in field goal percentage defense (36.5), ninth in total rebounds defense (32.6), and is 10th in scoring offense (79.5).

FC standings – LCSC 7-0, 18-3; Carroll 5-2, 17-3; Westminster 4-3, 17-6; Montana Western 3-4, 15-7; Montana State-Northern 3-4, 13-8; Great Falls 2-5, 11-12; Montana Tech 2-5, 9-12; Rocky Mountain 2-5, 9-14. 

MEN’S BASKETBALL

The Warriors start out the second half of conference play with a big one because Westminster and LCSC are tied for first place in the conference standings with 6-1 records. Rocky Mountain and Montana State-Northern are a game back at 5-2.

Overall, Westminster is 16-3 overall and ranked No. 9 in the NAIA poll, while the Warriors are 15-6 and ranked No. 19. Earlier this season, the Warriors defeated Westminster 85-84 in overtime. In that game, both teams missed free throws in the final few seconds of overtime, including two by Westminster with less than one second left.

Because the conference put in an off week between the finish of the first half of the league schedule and the start of the second half, both Westminster and LCSC were off last week. Warrior coach Tim Walker said the rest was welcomed.

“We gave our team some days off over the last 10 days,” Walker said.  “I think we’re rested and healthy for the most part, aside from the usual bumps and bruises this time year. 

“The big key for us this weekend will be guarding Westminster effectively.  We need to limit them to one shot, challenge every shot, and try to make it harder on them to score.  They’re averaging about 90 points per game in their last 3 outings, so disrupting their offense will be a key.”

The Warriors are allowing 66 points per game this season, which ranks 20th in the NAIA. The Warriors, however, lead the nation in turnover margin, forcing 8.5 more turnovers than they commit. LCSC also is fifth in steals per game at nearly 12 an outing, and is 10th in 3-point shooting at 39.3 percent.

LCSC has won nine of its last 10 games thanks to its defense. During that streak, LCSC has allowed more than 60 points only three times. LCSC is 13-2 in games where is has allowed 70 or less points this season.

Mike Gordy leads LCSC in scoring at 20.3 points per game, which ranks No. 9 in the NAIA. He’s also second in the country in field goal percentage at 62.8 percent, and is No. 36 in free-throw percentage at 78.1 percent.

Jonathan Daly tops the Warriors in rebounding at 5.4 per game and is 40th nationally in blocked shots with 20. Napoleon Gordon is sixth nationally in steals per game at 2.8, while Brian Duckworth is 12th at 2.5. Duckworth also leads the team in assists at 3.8 per outing and is seventh in 3-point shooting percentage nationally at 46.5 percent. Rob Comer is 25th in the same statistic at 44.1 percent.

After this contest, the Warriors will play four of their final six games on the road, making two trips to Montana.

LCSC’s final two home games are Feb. 21 against Montana Tech and Feb. 23 against Montana Western. 

FC standings – Westminster 6-1, 16-3; LCSC 6-1, 15-6; Rocky Mountain 5-2, 17-5; Montana State-Northern 5-2, 15-6; Carroll 3-4, 15-7; Montana Western 1-6, 8-13; Great Falls 1-6, 7-12; Montana Tech 1-6, 5-16. 

BASEBALL

The Warriors begin the quest for their third straight Avista NAIA World Series title a little earlier than expected when they kick off the season a week early with a round-robin tournament against College of Idaho and Whitworth at LCSC’s Harris Field.

Originally, College of Idaho and Whitworth were scheduled to play a four-game series this weekend in Caldwell, but bad weather and poor field conditions caused it to be called off. LCSC, which wasn’t scheduled to open its season until next week, stepped in and now each team will play four games over two days.

 On Saturday, the Warriors open their season at 10 a.m. against the College of Idaho, followed by LCSC and Whitworth at 12:30 p.m.  College of Idaho and Whitworth then play at 3:30 p.m.

 On Sunday, College of Idaho and Whitworth open play at 10 a.m., followed by LCSC at Whitworth at 12:30 p.m. The final game has LCSC and the College of Idaho at 3 p.m.

LCSC has four returning position starters, two key returning starting pitchers, and a strong nucleus of newcomers as the team shoots for the program’s 16th national championship in coach Ed Cheff’s 32nd season.

The Warriors return first basemen Kyle Greene and Ikaika Lester, along with second baseman Kyle Melton. Lester is moving to third base this season to replace Mills, which will free up the designated hitter spot. For most of last season, when Lester was healthy, either Greene or Lester would play first while the other was the DH.

Returning in the outfield are senior Brent Wyatt and junior Paul Martin. Wyatt could remain in center field, move to shortstop, or even play catcher this season. He was named to the NAIA Preseason All-America team, along with pitcher Matt Fitts.

If Wyatt is not in center field, Martin would likely move from left to center.

Josh Ashenbrenner, a transfer from Washington State, is the leading candidate at shorstop, while Mickey Pingree and Chris Valencia could fill the corner spots in the outfield. Travis Georgius, the team’s backup catcher last year, is expected to be behind the plate.

Fitts and Brad Schwarzenbach are the top returning pitchers from last year and one of the keys this season will be some of the newcomers stepping in both in starting and closing roles.

“I think, overall, the key thing is having guys like Wyatt, Martin, Lester and Greene back gives you a nucleus of players who know how to play and influence the other guys,” Cheff said. 

INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD

The Warriors will send both male and female athletes to the 33rd Vandal Indoor on Friday and the McDonald’s Open meet on Saturday, both in the University of Idaho Kibbie Dome.

Friday’s meet is a seeded event and the only LCSC runner will be Calin Hantau in the men’s mile run.

Saturday’s meet is an open meet, which will give the Warrior women’s track program a chance to show its stuff.

Saturday’s meet is expected to draw more than 10 teams and will kick off at 9 a.m.

In last week’s meet at Moscow, Hantau was fourth in the mile run in 4:29:39, while Eric Tuwei was ninth in 4:37:58. Hassan Khalif was 11th in 4:41.93. Khalif also was sixth in the 3,000 meters in 9:17:32.  

TENNIS

The Warriors men’s tennis team faces an interesting challenge this week in a tournament at Walla Walla, which opens Friday.

LCSC, 3-2 overall, takes on Linfield on Friday at 4 p.m., and then Pacific Lutheran on Saturday at 4 p.m. On Sunday, the Warriors will face University of California Santa Cruz. The Banana Slugs won the men’s singles, doubles, and team titles at the NCAA Division III meet last season.

Ali Faris stands at 5-0 for the men’s team.

On the women’s side, the Warriors, 1-1 overall, will play host to Whitworth on Saturday at 1 p.m. at the LCSC Tennis Center.