January 14, 2008

Tennis and women’s track will kick off seasons this week

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Riding a five-game win streak, the Warriors look to remain as the only undefeated team in Frontier Conference play this week when they hit the road for games at Montana Western and Montana Tech.

LCSC is 14-3 overall and 3-0 in league play as it heads to Dillon to meet Montana Western at 5 p.m. on Friday, and then to Butte on Saturday to face Montana Tech, also at 5 p.m.

Montana Western is regularly among the title contends in the conference, but lost some key performers from a year ago and is a darkhorse this season. The conference coaches picked the Bulldogs to finish seventh in the preseason poll. Despite being 12-5 overall, the Bulldogs are 1-2 in conference play, losing to do both Montana Tech and Carroll.

Tech also is 1-2 in conference play after being swept on the road by Carroll and Rocky Mountain last week. Overall, Tech is 7-9.

Warrior senior guard Jade Fulbright and Katie Hart moved up the career steals list at LCSC last week. Fulbright, who has a team-high 50 steals this season, is at 296 in her career, which places her third on the all-time career list, behind Amanda Campbell (346) and Julie Stringer (314). Hart, who has 45 steals this season, has 224 in her career, which ties her forth eighth with Debbie Roueche. Hart also leads the team in assists at 4.59 per game.

Senior post Mandy Troutt leads a balanced Warrior scoring attack by averaging 13.8 points per game. She also is the team’s top rebounder at 7.6 per outing. Breianna Gaines is averaging 10.9 points, Fulbright is at 10.8 points, and Sadie Short is at 10.4 points and second in rebounding at 6.3.

Kim Preston is 10th in the NAIA in assist/turnover ratio while Fulbright’s average of 2.9 steals per game is 13th. Troutt is 15th in the NAIA at 3.8 offensive rebounds per game, while Hart is 17th in assists and 23rd in steals.

The Warriors continue to put up impressive numbers this season and lead the NAIA in three categories – scoring defense at 52.3 points per game, scoring margin at 27.9 points per contest, and rebounding margin at 11.2 boards per game.

LCSC is second in steals and assists per game, while standing third in offensive rebounds and turnover margin. LCSC is forcing nearly 11 more turnovers a game with its pressure defense than it commits. The Warriors also are fifth in assist/turnover ratio, ninth in field goal percentage defense and total rebounds on defense, and are 10th in total rebounds per game.

In conference play, LCSC has won its three games by an average of 23.7 points.  LCSC also has forced an average of nearly 25 turnovers in those three games. 

Frontier Conference standings – Lewis-Clark State 3-0, 14-3; Carroll 3-1, 15-2; Westminster 2-1, 15-4; Rocky Mountain 1-2, 9-11; Montana Western 1-2, 12-5; Montana Tech 1-2, 7-9; Montana State-Northern 1-3, 11-7; Great Falls 1-3, 8-10. 

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Despite several distractions this season, the LCSC men caught fire at the right time and bring a six-game win streak and a first-place standing in the Frontier Conference to Montana this weekend for a pair of contests.

LCSC, the only undefeated team left in conference play at 3-0, is 12-5 overall, and will face Montana Western (0-3, 7-10) on Friday at 7 p.m., and then takes on Montana Tech (1-2, 5-12) on Saturday, also at 7 p.m.

Although the Warriors have been playing well as of late, especially on the defensive end, coach Tim Walker says the club can’t jump on the emotional rollercoaster and let the highs be too high.

“Well, as the saying goes, you’re only as good as your next game,” Walker said. “We have a lot of work to do to get ready for Western and Tech.  Both teams do some things we have yet to encounter this year, so our preparation is very important.  It’s always hard to win on the road, and this trip is no different.  We will need to be very focused and prepared for this trip.”

Senior post Mike Gordy leads the conference in scoring at 21.9 points per game, while Napoleon Gordon is the leader in steals at 3.20 per outing, which also is No. 2 in the NAIA.

Gordy also leads LCSC in rebounds at 5.8 per contest, while Brian Duckworth is second on the team in scoring at 11.3 points per game. Duckworth also tops the team in assists at 3.5 per outing, while Jonathan Daly has a team-high 15 blocks this season.

As a team, the Warriors rank third in turnover margin, forcing 9.3 more than they committee. They are also fourth in steals per game at 13.2, and are ninth in both scoring margin and field goal percentage. LCSC is outscoring opponents by an average of 17.3 points per game and shooting 51 percent from the field.

Duckworth ranks second in the country in 3-point shooting at 52.1 percent, while Gordy is third in both scoring and field goal percentage at 65.3 percent. Gordon is 15th in assist to turnover ratio, while Duckworth is 15th in steals at 2.5 per game.

In its three conference games, LCSC is holding opponents to 42 percent field goal accuracy, including a 33.3 percent mark from the 3-point line. On the other side, LCSC is shooting 51.3 percent in league outings and is forcing nearly 18 turnovers a contest. 

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

WOMEN’S TRACK

The Warrior women’s track team makes its debut as an official school-sponsored sport on Saturday when it takes part in the Washington State University Indoor meet at the WSU indoor track and field facility.

It’s a non-scoring meet with both running and field events.

LCSC cross country coach Mike Collins also will coach the women’s track team, which is mainly composed of runners in the cross country program. The Warriors will take part in several indoor and outdoor meets in the area. LCSC will run in two indoor meets in Pullman, two in Moscow, and one in Boise before starting the outdoor season on March 22 in Salem, Ore.

The Warriors have competed in track in an unofficial capacity and have sent a handful of athletes to the NAIA national meet. LCSC’s Tausha Kuzmic won the marathon race at the 2005 national meet for LCSC’s lone national track champion. 

TENNIS

The Warrior women’s and men’s tennis kick off play this holiday weekend with home matches against NCAA Division I foes. The Warrior women will play host to the University of Idaho Saturday at 10 a.m., while the men open the season on Monday against Gonzaga at 1 p.m. Both matches will be at the LCSC Tennis Center.

The Warriors are coached by Kai Fong, who is in his 19th year at the college and has done a remarkable job in turning the tennis program into a regional power. The LCSC men’s team has qualified for the NAIA national tournament eight straight years, while the women have qualified 11 straight seasons.