‘Yote Notes –
Jan. 15, 2004
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Mike Safford Jr.
– Sports Info. Director
msafford@albertson.edu
GENERAL ATHLETIC NEWS:
NEXT C.A.A. DINNER: The next Coyote Athletic
Association booster dinner will be at 6:30 p.m., this Monday, in the Simplot
Dining Hall. The date was moved a week later due to conflicts with the
Albertson basketball teams. Cost is $8.00 at the door and RSVP's are
being taken by Dave Hahn at 459-5835.
TAILGATE PARTY ON SATURDAY: The Albertson Dance Team is
hosting a pregame tailgate party in Blatchley Hall this Saturday, prior to the
men's and women's basketball games vs. Southern Oregon. From 4:30-7:30
p.m., fans are invited to have hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, dessert, and
beverages for just $5.00. Contact Lila Fladwood at 459-5300 for more
information.
SKIING:
SKI TEAM TO OPEN IN OREGON: The 2004 Albertson College ski
team opens up defense of their men's and women's Northwest Conference titles
this Saturday and Sunday at the Willamette Pass Open. It is the first of
four tune-ups to the Western Regional, to be held in Montana.
SIZING UP THE SQUAD: Head coach Ron Bonneau is excited
about the upcoming season. The women, ranked No. 7 in the preseason USCSA
national poll, return All-American Cassie Marcial (Whitefish, Mont.), who won
the Northwest Conference and Western Region combined title. She is joined
by senior captain Logan Thurber (Bennington, Vt.), along with sophomores Lesley
Marcacci (Homewood, Calif.) and Kelli Farmin (Newport, Wash.), who each scored
at last season's nationals. The men's team is paced by senior captain Sam
Elias (Bloomfield, Mich.), along with junior Vince Ferracuti (Toronto, Canada).
A trio of sophomores look to improve this season - Matt Slyvester (Missoula,
Mont.), Justin Rackley (Lake Oswego, Ore.), and Ben Henke (Iron Mountain,
Mich.).
SNOW REPORT: The inversion in the Treasure
Valley means no new snow to report in the hills - however, it also means no
melt off either. At Bogus Basin, the hill reports a 52 inch base, with 61
inches at the top. At Brundage Mountain, site of the 2005 USCSA National
Championships, they report a 54 inch base, with 74 inches at the top.
Both report great groomed runs.
MEN’S BASKETBALL (13-4, 6-0 CCC): No. 3
Coyotes take six-game win streak into home games with OIT and Southern Oregon
LAST WEEK: won at No. 19 Eastern Oregon, 74-64; won at No.
18 Concordia, 78-72.
COMING UP: vs. Oregon Tech, Friday, 7:30 p.m.; vs. Southern
Oregon, Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
RADIO: All 29 regular-season contests will be broadcast
live on radio during the 2003-04 season with Mike Safford Jr. calling the
action for the third-consecutive year. Join him this week as the Coyotes return home to face Oregon Tech
and Southern Oregon. Catch all of
play-by-play on the “Home of the Coyotes”, 1490 KCID-AM.
INTERNET BROADCASTS: This weekend’s games will be simulcast on the
Albertson Athletic Website (www.collegeofidaho.edu/athlete/mbasketball/profiles/0203/radio.htm). The Friday game will also be heard live on
the internet via the Oregon Tech radio network (http://sports2.oit.edu/kago.ram) with
Bobby Thompson calling the action, while the Saturday game can be heard live on
the internet via the Southern radio network (http://www.soctoday.com/Page.asp?NavID=32)
with Dave Hahn calling the action.
COYOTES RISE TO NO. 3 IN NAIA:
Thanks to a pair of road victories over a
pair of nationally ranked teams, along with losses by the No. 2 and 4 teams,
the Albertson men’s basketball team jumped two spots to No. 3 in the latest
NAIA Division II national poll. The Coyotes
have not been ranked this high since February of 2000, when the ‘Yotes were at
a similar No. 3 spot. Albertson was
also No. 3 in the nation heading into the 1996 NAIA Tournament, and ranked No.
1 in the initial NAIA Division II poll, back in 1991. Jamestown (N.D.) is the unanimous No. 1 team in the nation, followed
by Siena Heights (Mich.). Following
Albertson is No. 4 St. Vincent (Pa.) and No. 5 Northwestern (Iowa).
PASSING THE RANKED TEST ON THE
ROAD: True road warriors are the ‘Yotes,
having played 21 of their past 25 games away from the J.A. Albertson Activities
Center. During the last 342 days,
Albertson has a 3-1 record at home, while running off a staggering 16-5 mark on
the road (losses to three NCAA Division I teams, current No. 1 Jamestown at the
NAIA Tournament, and at Eastern Oregon to close the 2003 regular-season). In that stretch, the Coyotes have played a
total of ten nationally ranked opponents, going 10-2 against them – all either
on the road or on a neutral court.
IS PORTLAND “COYOTE COUNTRY”?:
The Coyotes home away from home over the
past year has been Portland, Ore., as Albertson has played more games in the
Rose City than in Caldwell. However,
being 400 miles from home has not hampered the ‘Yotes, as Albertson is 2-0 at
Warner Pacific, 2-0 at Cascade, and 2-0 at Concordia during the last 11 months.
BEST LEAGUE START SINCE?: Six games down, 12 to go – that is what the
Albertson men’s basketball team has in front of starting the fourth week of the
2003-04 season. The Coyotes sit alone
atop the Cascade Conference at 6-0, surpassing their 5-0 start during the
1999-2000 season. Only the national
championship team of 1996 started faster, winning their first 12 CCC encounters. A game and a half separates Oregon Tech and
Southern Oregon in the standings, while Western Baptist and Concordia are two
games back.
BIG WIN AT CONCORDIA: Defensive pressure and key buckets were the key on
Tuesday night, as Albertson passed another huge road test, winning their ninth
game in ten tries, defeating No. 18 ranked Concordia, 78-72. The high-flying Cavaliers, who were perfect
at home this season, led 39-34 at halftime, and by as many as eight in the
second half. However, the ‘Yotes
stifled the Concordia attack, holding the hosts to a 7-for-24 shooting period,
and making shots when they needed to. Derek
Brown (Las Vegas, Nev. / Desert Pines HS) converted a three-point
play with 1:46 left to put the Coyotes up 72-69, a lead they wouldn’t
relinquish. Steve Humphreys (Reno,
Nev. / Lassen CC) added a clutch jumper with a minute to go to ice the
game.
PERKES FINDS HIS GROOVE: Things are back to normal for Tom Perkes (Spokane,
Wash. / Big Bend CC), as the senior averaged 23 points and 12 rebounds in
the Coyotes two wins last week. For the
season, Perkes has his scoring average up to 16.9 per game, and has scored 16
or more points in each of the last nine contests. In his Coyote career, Perkes has scored in double figures 48
times in 53 ball games, with four of the five single-digit encounters against NCAA
Division I opponents.
CLOSING IN ON 1,000: Tom
Perkes is also closing in on a career milestone – the 1,000 point club. Having scored 980 points in his career, he
needs 20 points this weekend to become the 11th player to register 1,000 points
since the 1979 season.
‘YOTES FIGURE OUT LA GRANDE: Having dropped three of their last four games at
Quinn Coliseum, Albertson had to figure out their house of horrors at Eastern
Oregon. Before a capacity crowd at
Quinn Coliseum, Albertson ended an Eastern Oregon six-game home win streak with
a 74-64 victory. The Coyotes hit
9-of-10 free throws down the stretch to remain unbeaten in league play. Albertson did not trail in the second half,
but could not pull away. Eastern cut the lead to 56-54 with 8:34 left,
but managed just two field goals the rest of the way. The Coyotes also
dominated the glass in the second half, outboarding the Mountaineers 28-15 in
the period. Tom Perkes had 24 points
and 14 rebounds, while Justin McCarthy (Boise, Idaho / Boise HS) added
nine points and tied a career high with ten boards. Andy Harper (Idaho
Falls, Idaho / Columbia Basin CC) hit four treys en route to a 20 point
night. Steve Humphreys made a big
impression in his first game after partially tearing his left MCL on Nov.
29. The junior had five rebounds and three blocks in 11 minutes of
action, including a two-block defensive sequence that ended with a dunk after
trailing the transition down court.
TWO TOUGHIES IN A ROW: Although it is great for the Coyotes to return
home, the conference schedulers gave the squad a tough pair of welcome home
presents. Up first is Oregon Tech,
ranked No. 2 in the NAIA preseason poll, and defending co-champions. Dan Miles, the 33-year head coach of the
Owls (14-6, 5-2) has the squad hot after a two-game losing streak to start the
month dropped them from the national poll.
Forward Kevin Baker (17.8 ppg, 7.8 rpg), an NAIA All-American, is the
top scoring threat and the top defender, while Alex Carlson (11.9 ppg, 8.7 rpg)
has returned with a vengeance after a redshirt year. OIT and Albertson split two games last year, with the opposition
winning on the others’ home court. This
is the 54th meeting between the clubs, with Albertson holding a 33-20 edge,
while Miles holds a 4-3 edge against Mark Owen over the last three
seasons. The back half of the weekend
has Southern Oregon headed to town.
The Raiders (9-11, 5-2) had a five-game win streak snapped in a 55-45
home loss to OIT on Tuesday, but feature one of the CCC’s most exciting players
in Shea Washington (17.9 ppg, 8.2 rpg), a transfer from Montana State. Southern played an extremely difficult
preseason schedule, but has been playing its best basketball away from
Ashland. Albertson won all three
meetings with the Raiders last season (one of the wins was forfeited back to
SOU, however), and holds a 32-10 mark against Southern.
TECH’S ALL-AMERICAN OUT FOR
THE SEASON: Late word out of Klamath Falls
was not good news for the Oregon Tech men’s team. First-team All-America point-guard Todd Matthews is out for the
remainder of the 2003-04 season with a broken wrist, sustained in the victory
Tuesday over Southern Oregon. Matthews,
the 2003 Cascade Conference Player-of-the-Year, was leading the NAIA Division
II in steals per game and ranked second in the nation in assists per game.
MORE INFORMATION ON THE COYOTES: For game stories, statistics, and information
regarding the Albertson men’s basketball program, head to the official site
Coyote Basketball: www.collegeofidaho.edu/athlete/mensbasketball.htm.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL (5-8, 3-3 CCC): Lady ‘Yotes
return home to meet No. 24 OIT and Southern after five-game road trip
LAST WEEK: lost at Eastern Oregon, 65-56; won at Concordia,
62-61.
COMING UP: vs. No. 24 Oregon Tech, Friday, 5:30 p.m.; vs.
Southern Oregon, Saturday, 5:30 p.m.
INTERNET BROADCASTS: Eleven Albertson women’s basketball games will be
broadcast live via the Albertson athletic website this winter. Join Jordan Komoto and Jake McClean for all
of the play-by-play at this weekend at www.collegeofidaho.edu/athlete/wbasketball/2003RADIO.htm
- the internet home of Lady ‘Yote
Basketball. The games will also be
carried on the internet via the Oregon Tech radio network (http://sports2.oit.edu/kago.ram) with
Bobby Thompson calling the action, and on the SOU radio network (http://www.soctoday.com/Page.asp?NavID=32)
with Albertson SID Mike Safford calling the action.
EVEN AFTER SIX CONFERENCE
GAMES: Six games into the Cascade
Conference season and the Lady ‘Yotes are right where they were when the fracas
started – at .500. Albertson is the
lone team in the loop at 3-3, as five teams sit above them in the league, and
four behind them in the standings.
However, all is not lost for the Coyotes, considering they are just two
games out of first place – and the fact that two teams above them in the
standings come to Caldwell this weekend.
LONG ROAD TRIP OVER: Considering the Lady ‘Yotes have played just three
home games during the last 342 days, the completed five-game road trip doesn’t
seem like much. Albertson went 2-3 on
the trip – wins over Concordia and Cascade, losses to Warner Pacific, Eastern
Oregon, and Northwest Nazarene. During
that stretch, the Coyotes averaged seven rebounds a game more than their
opponents – but allowed their opposition to shoot nearly 41-percent from
outside the three-point arc.
PERSERVERANCE PAYS OFF AT
CONCORDIA: It is never easy to play on
the road in the Cascade Conference, even if your opponent has not won a league
game. That was the case on Tuesday at
Concordia, as the Lady ‘Yotes eked out a 62-61 win. It was not a pretty game, considering the Coyotes shot just
36-percent from the floor and made 5-of-21 three-pointers – but a win is a
win. Albertson made 15-of-17 free
throws in the second half, including two clutch freebies from both Alyssa
Latham (Walla Walla, Wash. / Walla Walla CC) and Kim Strunk (Twin
Falls, Idaho / Twin Falls HS). A
last-second shot by the Cavs was snuffed out by the Albertson defense, ending
the road trip on a happy note.
FREE THROWS THE KEY: As mentioned, free throws were the key in the
victory over Concordia. Kim Strunk led
the way with a season-high 14 points, but more importantly, hit 8-of-10 from
the line. A big lift came from center Michelle
Dyreng (Fruit Heights, Utah / Snow CC), who came into the game
shooting just 35-percent from the stripe – but knocked down all four free
throws in the final five minutes of the game.
As a team, Albertson is shooting 71-percent from the stripe over the
past five games, well above their season average of 65-percent.
EASTERN USES FIRST HALF RUN TO
VICTORY: Eastern Oregon outscored
Albertson 25-4 over the final ten minutes of the first half and withstood a
late Lady 'Yote rally to post a 65-56 Cascade Conference victory Saturday night
in Quinn Colesium. Albertson took a
17-11 lead on a Michelle Dyreng lay-up at the ten minute mark, but would only
score two field goals the rest of the half. Trailing by 18 late in the
game, sophomore Dani Cotterell (Nampa, Idaho / Nampa HS) knocked home four of her six three-pointers
on the night, cutting the margin to 59-54. However, two crucial offensive
rebounds on missed free throws helped the Mountaineers to the win. Cotterell led the Coyotes (4-8, 2-3) with 18
points, with Dyreng adding 12 points and ten rebounds. Parma native
Tricia Haddock had 14 for the Mountaineers.
THREE-POINT FANATIC: The three-point shot is the best friend of Dani
Cotterell – the Coyotes top threat from outside. In 13 games this season, she is averaging nearly eight attempts
from outside the arc each game – draining 3.15 per game, which is sixth-best in
the NAIA Division II. Cotterell leads
the Lady ‘Yotes with a 11.9 points per game average, and already ranks fourth
all-time for three-pointers made and attempted.
SECOND IN THE NATION: Forward Kasey Hooter (Nampa, Idaho /
Walla Walla CC) has been a force in the paint for the Lady ‘Yotes since
joining the team in December after a successful volleyball campaign. The junior ranks second in the NAIA Division
II in field goal percentage, having made 32-of-48 shots from the field (.667
percent). Hooter is well above the mark
of .575 percent set by Alyson Pincock during the 2000-01 season, as the Lady ‘Yotes
finished as national runners-up.
LEAGUE STATS: The Lady ‘Yotes lead the Cascade Conference in
three team categories – blocked shots per game (3.31), opponents rebound
average (33.7), and rebound margin (+7.4).
In the latter category, Albertson ranks No. 12 in the NAIA Division
II. Individually, Michelle Dyreng leads
the league in blocked shots per game (1.8), while Kasey Hooter leads the loop
in field goal percentage (.667). Hooter
also ranks third in rebounds per game (9.6), while Heidi Goicoechea (Burley,
Idaho / Burley HS) is eighth in the CCC in free throw percentage (.767) and
ninth in assists per game (3.5). Rounding out the group is Krystal Thacker (Elko, Nev. /
BYU-Idaho), who is No. 6 in assists per game (3.5), and Kim Strunk, who is
No. 3 in free throw percentage (.800).
GOICOECHEA INCHING CLOSER TO
RECORDS: Senior Heidi Goicoechea
continues to move up the all-time record books for the Lady ‘Yotes. The guard has scored 1,173 points in her
career, needing 123 more to pass her assistant coach, Michelle Taylor,
for the all-time scoring crown. She
also needs just ten three-point baskets to take over the longball lead from
Cecilie Bates. Goicoechea already holds
school records for most field goal attempts and three-point attempts in a
career, along with most points scored in a single-game.
HERE COMES TECH AND SOUTHERN: The preseason CCC favorite and last season’s
conference winner each head to the J.A. Albertson Activities Center this weekend
to meet the Lady ‘Yotes. Up first is Oregon
Tech, ranked No. 24 in the latest NAIA Division II national poll. The Hustlin’ Owls (12-4, 6-1 CCC) were the
preseason No. 1 pick in the CCC coaches poll and have been the class of the
league thus far. Second-year head coach
Tom Loney has amassed a solid crew, including returning All-Conference
selections Katya Spiecker (11.2 ppg, 3.2 apg) and Jennie Kooch (6.1 ppg, 4.9
rpg). 6-1 transfer Nikki McElligott (16.1
ppg, 11.5 rpg) is a candidate for CCC Player-of-the-Year, while All-CCC post Pam
Frei is returning from a preseason injury.
OIT took all three meetings with the Coyotes last season, including a 60-54
win in the first-round of the conference tournament. The defending CCC champs, Southern Oregon, make their long
trek to Caldwell on Saturday. The
Raiders (5-8, 4-3) are a completely different squad from last year, having graduated
six players, three of whom were on the All-CCC team. Transfer guard Camille Porter (12.2 ppg) leads the team in scoring,
followed by returner Lindsey Hillaire (10.9 ppg). Southern has struggled hanging on to the ball (23 turnovers a
game), along with rebounding (a –7.2 rebound margin). SOU swept the season series with Albertson last year and holds a 12-7
all-time series lead.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE
LADY ‘YOTES: For up-to-date statistics,
stories, and information about the Albertson women’s basketball team, head to
the official website for the Lady ‘Yotes – www.collegeofidaho.edu/athlete/wmensbasketball.htm. For updated scores and standings from the
Cascade Conference women’s basketball season, head to www.collegeofidaho.edu/athlete/wbasketball/stats/standings.htm.
- ALBERTSON -