‘Yote Notes –
Jan. 15, 2003
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Mike Safford Jr.
– Sports Info. Director
msafford@albertson.edu
GENERAL
ATHLETICS NEWS:
PACK THE HOUSE WEEKEND: This is the weekend to bring
friends to see the 'Yote basketball teams. It's "Pack the
House" weekend, as the athletic department would love to have a full house
when Southern Oregon and No. 1 ranked Oregon Tech come to town. A
tailgate party will take place from 5:30 to 6:30 in Blatchley Hall prior to the
Friday game. Cost is 5.00 and RSVP's must be made to the Alumni office at
459-5300.
C.A.A. BOOSTER CLUB DINNERS SET
FOR NEXT TWO MONTHS: The
first Coyote Athletic Association booster club dinners have been set for the
next two months. The first dinner is
set for Thursday, January 23 – with men’s and women’s basketball as the theme,
with the February dinner set for Thursday, Feb. 20 – with playoff basketball,
along with skiing and spring sports the focus.
Both dinners will take place in the Simplot Dining Hall on the Albertson
campus at 7 p.m.
PRICE AMONG NAIA ELITE: Volleyball standout Kristyn
Price ranked among the Top-20 in the NAIA in three different statistical
categories during the 2002 season. The senior was No. 2 in the nation in
kills per game with 5.16 (trailing only Shelly Stanton of Madonna, Mich.),
ranked No. 18 in attack percentage (.347), and No. 19 in total kills (542).
ALPINE
SKIING:
COMING UP: Northwest Conference Qualifier #2,
Mount Hood Meadows, Jan. 24-26.
'YOTES DOMINATE THE SLOPES: For the
first time in recent memory, both the Albertson men's and women's alpine
program swept weekend team events at the Northwest Conference qualifier at
Brundage Mountain. The Coyote men topped Seattle and Central Oregon CC in
the event, while the Coyote women stopped Puget Sound. On the men's side,
Tyler Maxwell won the Saturday event, with Sam Elias placing
second and Matthew Slyvester fourth. Sunday had Elias finishing in
second-place and Maxwell in fifth - racing in ultra-foggy conditions. On
the women's side, Cassie Marcial will be a force on the slopes this
season - as the Whitefish, Mont. native scored second and third-place finishes
on the weekend. Also having good runs were captain Logan Thurber and
Kelly Farmin.
SNOW
REPORT: Bogus Basin – 39 inch base, 41 inches at the summit;
Brundage Mountain – 56 inch base, 81 inches at the summit.
MEN’S BASKETBALL (2-4, 9-10): No. 1
ranked OIT coming to town as ‘Yotes begin five-game homestand
LAST WEEK: Won at
No. 24 ranked Cascade, 65-60; lost at Warner Pacific, 69-68.
COMING UP: vs. Southern Oregon, Friday, 8 p.m.; vs. No. 1
ranked Oregon Tech, Saturday, 8 p.m.
“PACK THE HOUSE” AS FIVE-GAME
HOMESTAND BEGINS: In their longest
Cascade Conference homestand in recent memory, the Albertson men’s basketball
team will play five consecutive games in the J.A. Albertson Activities Center,
beginning Friday night against Southern Oregon. With Caldwell Transportation/Sacajawea Grade School Night set for
Friday, and U.S. Bank/Curt & Hall Night set for Saturday, the ‘Yotes hope
to “Pack the House” this weekend.
HERE COMES THE NO. 1 TEAM IN
THE NATION: Outside of the Coyotes earning
the No. 1 ranking in the inaugural NAIA Division II poll, no top ranked team
has played the ‘Yotes in Caldwell – until now.
Legendary head coach Dan Miles (32nd year) brings unbeaten Oregon
Tech to town on Saturday night, along with the No. 1 ranking in the NAIA
Division II. The Owls (6-0 CCC, 18-0),
who have just one senior on the squad, have outscored their opponents by 19
points a game this season, and play tenacious defense, as evident by their CCC
leading .378 opponent field goal percentage.
Post Alassane Bakayoko (14.6 ppg, 6.7 rpg) leads the Owls in scoring,
while Kevin Baker (13.7 ppg, 7.6 rpg) is the defensive stopper and leads the
team in rebounding. Point-guard Todd
Matthews (11.8 ppg, 7.8 rpg) is by far the best point-guard in the conference,
maybe the nation. The two teams split
meetings last season, with Albertson winning 97-77 in Caldwell, losing 102-95
in Klamath Falls. The Coyotes hold a
32-19 all-time advantage over the Owls.
WILD WILD CASCADE CONFERENCE: With Oregon Tech on a record-setting roll, the
remaining nine teams are in a dogfight for positioning in the league. After Tuesday’s four loop encounters, seven
teams are separated by two games – second-place (Concordia, Western Baptist) to
seventh-place (Southern Oregon, Albertson).
The key to the Coyotes success this season will be linked to the next
five games at home – get wins at home, try to split on the road.
‘YOTES UPSET NO. 24 CASCADE ON
ROAD: Defense was the key on Friday
night, as Albertson rallied from a six-point halftime deficit to defeat No. 24
ranked Cascade College, 65-60. Andy
Harper (Idaho Falls, Idaho / Columbia Basin CC) nailed three
straight three-pointers as part of a 13-2 second half run for the ‘Yotes. Derek Brown (Las Vegas, Nev. /
Desert Pines HS) hit two three’s before Harper’s barrage, as Albertson led
53-43 with 7:15 remaining. Cascade
closed to within four late, but could not get closer. Harper finished with 18 points for Albertson, as the team won for
the first time all year when scoring 65 or less points.
ZONE, ZONE, AND MORE ZONE: Fans had to pay close attention on Friday to the
various defenses Mark Owen and Garry Matlock threw at
Cascade. The ‘Yotes did not play man
defense the entire night against the athletic T-Birds – a 2-3 zone, a 1-2-2
zone, and a half court trap wreaked havoc on the host school for the entire 40
minutes, as Albertson won for the 30th time in 32 meetings with Cascade.
NEW LINE-UP WORKS: After 17 games with the same line-up, Mark Owen
looked for a change. The Coyotes went
to a more traditional line-up, with two guards, two forwards, and a post – and
out popped a win. Joe Green (Pocatello,
Idaho / BYU-Idaho) remained at the point-guard, with Andy Harper moving to
the two-guard. Justin McCarthy (Boise,
Idaho / Boise HS) entered the starting line-up for the first time this
season at one of the forwards, along with Tom Perkes (Spokane, Wash.
/ Big Bend CC). Eric Hare (San
Miguel de Allende, Mexico / West Valley CC), broken index finger on his
non-shooting hand an all, stayed in the post.
JUST SHORT AT WARNER: A five-minute lapse is all it took for the Coyotes
to dig themselves a hole they could not escape in a 69-68 loss at Warner
Pacific on Saturday. Albertson led
36-22 late in the first half and by five at the break, but did not score their
first field goal until five minutes into the second half, as Warner broke
away. The ‘Yotes would go on their own
10-0 run late, taking a 68-67 lead with a minute to go, but a Warner lay-up and
two missed game-winning shots for Albertson spelled defeat. Andy Harper, Joe Green, and Jon Thomas (Nampa,
Idaho / Gem State Academy) each hit three three-pointers in the loss.
THE VIDEO MAN: How’s this for a full schedule – full-time college
student, a husband with a wife expecting their first child, a full-time employee
at a local video store, and one of the top-ten scorers in the Cascade
Conference. That’s Coyote Tom Perkes,
who juggled his schedule just enough to average 21 points in the two ‘Yote
games last weekend. Perkes went
8-for-11 against Cascade, scoring 25 points, and followed it up with a 6-for-9
night and 17 points vs. Warner Pacific.
He hit 13-of-14 free throws, improving his standing in the NAIA – now
ranked ninth in the nation at .872 percent.
CASCADE CONFERENCE NUMBERS: The ‘Yotes continue to lead the Cascade Conference
in both field goal (.480 percent) and free throw shooting (.773 percent),
ranking No. 20 and No. 2 in the NAIA in the respective categories. The team, however, ranks last in both
blocked shots and offensive rebounds.
Individually, Tom Perkes is ranked in the CCC top-ten in four categories
(No. 1 in foul shooting, No. 4 in field goal percentage, No. 7 in scoring, and
No. 9 in rebounding), with Joe Green ranking in three categories (No. 4 in
steals, No. 5 in three-point percentage, and No. 8 in assists). A trio of players – Eric Hare (No. 6 in
rebounding), Jon Thomas (No. 5 in three-pointers made), and Andy Harper (No. 8
in three-pointers made), also rank in the top-ten in one category.
IS THIS THE SAME TEAM?: To open up the homestand, Albertson meets Southern
Oregon, a team that looks nothing like the one Albertson topped 87-76 back
in November (game later forfeited). The
Raiders (2-4, 6-12) had won four consecutive games at home, but dropped an
88-80 loss to Western Baptist last night in McNeal Pavilion. A quartet of players from the early squad
are no longer with the team due to various injuries or academic reasons, while
four newcomers are making a difference.
Nonetheless, the one-two punch of Lewis-Clark State transfer Zac Olson
(20.1 ppg) and Coyote-killer T.J. Caughell (14.6 ppg, made game-winning half
court shot in last season’s playoff game vs. Albertson) have been
successful. The key problem has been on
the defensive end, where Southern gives up an average of nearly 85 points a
game. Southern has won four of the last
five meetings between the clubs, but trails 30-10 in the all-time series.
ON THE AIR: Listen to both weekend games (Friday vs. Southern
Oregon, Saturday vs. Oregon Tech) live on 1490 KCID-AM with Mike Safford Jr.
calling the action, with the pregame show beginning around 7:50 p.m. each
night. For those outside the Treasure
Valley, the games can also be heard via the Albertson athletic website at the
following address: www.collegeofidaho.edu/webcam/Athletics.asx.
MORE INFORMATION ON THE
COYOTES: For game stories, statistics,
and information regarding the Albertson men’s basketball program, head to the
official site of Coyote basketball: www.collegeofidaho.edu/athlete/mensbasketball.htm.
CASCADE CONFERENCE HOTLINE: For up-to-date scores from the Cascade Conference,
call the Cascade Conference Hotline at (208) 459-5135. Each night, scores and updated standings are
posted on the Conference Standings page within the Albertson men’s basketball
website at www.collegeofidaho.edu/athlete/mbasketball/stats/standings.htm.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL (4-2, 10-10): Lady ‘Yotes take two-game losing streak into five-game
homestand
LAST
WEEK: Lost at Cascade, 68-67, lost at Warner
Pacific, 71-67 (OT).
COMING
UP: vs. Southern Oregon, Friday, 6 p.m.; vs.
Oregon Tech, Saturday, 6 p.m.
WEEKEND
WOES PLAGUE COYOTES: The Albertson women’s
basketball five-game win streak came to an abrupt halt last weekend, as the
Coyotes dropped road games at Cascade and Warner Pacific. With the losses, the Lady ‘Yotes dropped
from a first-place tie down to a three-way tie for third-place. “What is tough is the fact that we did not
play anywhere close to our best and yet we led most of the Cascade game and
took Warner Pacific to overtime,” said head coach Reagan Rossi.
CASCADE
RALLIES FOR WIN: Leading 60-51 with seven
minutes left, the Coyotes could not hold the lead down the stretch, as a
Cascade 11-1 run led to a 68-67 T-Bird win in Portland. Ruby Buckley gave Cascade their first lead
of the second half on a floater in the paint with 1:17 left, and Albertson could
not answer. The game was a
free-for-all, as just 22 fouls were called, with the Lady ‘Yotes getting just
12 free throw attempts, making nine.
GAUDY NUMBERS IN GAME: All-around gaudy numbers plagued the Cascade game
for both teams. Albertson won the
battle on the boards, 53-50, thanks in part to a monster game by Kristen Bailey (Fountain Green, Utah
/ Snow CC). The senior scored a
career-high 29 points to go along with 13 rebounds on the night. As big as Bailey’s heroics were, she was upstaged
by Nicole Brown (31 points) and Marquetta Pruitt (23 rebounds) for the victors.
OVERTIME BLUES: It’s
dangerous playing a team who had lost six in-a-row one night after dropping a
heartbreaker. The Coyotes found that
out first hand, as Warner Pacific took Albertson to overtime, defeating the
Lady ‘Yotes, 71-67. Joy Best buried a
three-pointer with 16 seconds remaining in overtime, giving the Knights the
win. Warner never trailed in the extra
session. Leading 66-65, Best hoisted a three with one-second left on the shot
clock for the backbreaker. After
Albertson got to within two on a Krystal Thacker (Elko, Nev. /
BYU-Idaho) lay-in, Best hit two free throws with four seconds left to ice
the win. Albertson used a 17-2 run
early in the game to lead 19-9 with 13 minutes in the first half.
However, the Lady 'Yotes managed just one field goal the rest of the half,
leading 26-23 at the break. Leading
52-47 with three minutes left in regulation, Albertson would see Warner Pacific
score seven straight points – capped by a trey with 1:15 left to give the
Knights a 56-54 lead. Coyote post Kristen Bailey would convert two free
throws to tie the score, and neither team could make a game winning shot, sending
the game to the extra session.
IN
OVERTIME: Albertson has played
just four overtime games since the women’s program was reinstated in 1995. Of those four games, the Lady ‘Yotes have
won only once – a 99-94 win over Concordia on Jan. 30, 1997.
BAILEY CONTINUES TO
DOMINATE: In Cascade Conference play, Kristen Bailey has been
manhandling loop opponents. In the six
contests, the senior is averaging 17.3 points and 11.3 rebounds, while making
over 50-percent of her field goals and 70-percent of her free throws. Bailey is also averaging five blocked shots
and over three assists per game. She
has now scored 635 points in her career, good enough for eighth all-time, and
has pulled down 479 rebounds, sixth all-time.
KARREN
CONSISTENT: Once again, forward Lindsey Karren (Brigham City, Utah / Salt Lake CC) has quietly put up big numbers for the Lady
‘Yotes. She averaged 11 points and six
rebounds last week, going 10-of-15 from the floor. Over her last four games, Karren is averaging 12 points, nine
rebounds, and two steals per game.
GOICOECHEA
RECORD WATCH: Leading scorer Heidi Goicoechea (Burley, Idaho / Burley HS) is nearing the 900 point plateau in her junior
season. “Goic” has scored 881 points in
her career, the sixth-highest tally in school history. She is 29 points behind Lynne Overly and
fifth-place, and just 119 points away from the coveted 1,000 point club. At her current pace, Goicoechea would break
1,000 on the Oregon Tech-Southern Oregon trip in February. She also currently leads the Cascade
Conference in free throw percentage (.879 percent) and ranks No. 10 in the NAIA
in the category.
TWO
TOUGHIES TO START HOMESTAND: Having
five games at home is a nice thing, having to end a two-game conference losing
streak against two of the top teams in the league isn’t. Albertson begins is string of games in the
J.A. Albertson Activities Center against loop-leading Southern Oregon on Friday.
The Raiders (6-0, 9-7) have won ten consecutive Cascade Conference games
dating back to last season, and were the league’s representative at the NAIA
Division II national tournament last season.
Southern has won four games in-a-row coming into this weekend, including
a 88-76 win over Western Baptist on Tuesday night. The Raiders are led by All-Conference guard Sara Marks (15.6 ppg)
and Kara Magee-Arick (14.6 ppg, 6.7 rpg), but start five seniors each
night. Last season, Southern won both
meetings in Ashland, but lost 66-44 in Caldwell, as the Coyotes held the
Raiders to just 16-of-75 shooting from the field (22-percent). SOU holds the all-time edge in the series,
10-7. Saturday night is the first-ever
meeting between Albertson and Oregon
Tech. The
Owls (4-2, 9-7) are in their first season of basketball since the early 1990s
and Tom Loney has the crew playing well.
OIT routed Concordia, 74-55, on Tuesday to pull even with the Lady
‘Yotes and Eastern Oregon in the CCC standings. Frontcourt play has been the key for the Owls, as the tandem of
Jaime Stanford (15.9 ppg, 7.2 rpg) and Pam Frei (11.4 ppg, 8.4 rpg), both over
six-foot tall, are tough to handle.
Turnovers have been the problem for the young club – OIT is averaging 23
miscues a game. Nonetheless, the Owls
lead the CCC in rebounding, averaging nearly 13 rebounds more than their
opponent each game.
INTERNET BROADCAST INFORMATION: Both weekend games (Friday vs. Southern Oregon and Saturday vs. Oregon Tech) will be broadcast live on the internet at www.collegeofidaho.edu/webcam/Athletics.asx with Jordan Komoto and Jake McClean calling the play-by-play. Tip-off on both evenings begin at 6 p.m.
MORE INFORMATION ON THE LADY
‘YOTES: For game stories, statistics,
and information regarding the Albertson women’s basketball program, head to the
official site of Lady ‘Yote basketball: www.collegeofidaho.edu/athlete/wmensbasketball.htm.
- ALBERTSON -