‘Yote Notes –
Dec. 30, 2003
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Mike Safford Jr.
– Sports Info. Director
msafford@albertson.edu
GENERAL ATHLETIC NEWS:
SKI SEASON JUST AROUND THE CORNER:
The Albertson College
ski team will open up defense of their Northwest Conference titles during the
third weekend of January. With the recent snowfall, training conditions
for the Coyotes have rapidly improved - as Bogus Basin now has a 53 inch base
and 56 inches of powder at the top, with Brundage Mountain reporting nearly two
feet of white stuff in the last three days, bringing the base to 58 inches,
with 75 inches at the top.
NEXT C.A.A. DINNER: The next Coyote Athletic Association booster dinner will be January 12 in the Simplot Dining Hall. More information to follow at a later date.
MEN’S BASKETBALL (9-4): Coyotes begin key
four-game road swing with games at Warner Pacific and Cascade
LAST WEEK: Idle
COMING UP: at Warner Pacific, Friday, 7:30 p.m. (PST); at Cascade,
Saturday, 7:30 p.m. (PST)
RADIO: All 29 regular-season contests will be broadcast
live on radio (1490 KCID-AM) and internet (via the Albertson Athletic Website)
during the 2003-04 season with Mike Safford Jr. calling the action for the
third-consecutive year. Join him this
week as the Coyotes open up 2004 with games at Warner Pacific and Cascade. Catch all of play-by-play on the “Home of
the Coyotes”, 1490 KCID-AM.
COYOTES SIT ATOP LEAGUE
STANDINGS: Two games down, 16 to go –
that is what the Albertson men’s basketball team has in front of them as 2003
turns into 2004 this week. The Coyotes
sit in a three-way tie atop the Cascade Conference standings with a 2-0 mark,
joining rivals Concordia and Eastern Oregon.
Concordia is seemingly in the early driver’s seat, having swept a road
series at Oregon Tech and Southern Oregon – becoming only the third team in the
last six years to accomplish the feat (Albertson has done it twice, Western
Baptist once). Warner Pacific is a half
game back after opening up CCC play with a win over Cascade, Southern Oregon
and OIT are both 1-1, with Northwest, Evergreen, and Western Baptist all
winless at 0-2.
IT WASN’T PRETTY, BUT TWO WINS
ARE TWO WINS: Head coach Mark Owen knows
that his team will not be sharp for 40 minutes every night. That was definitely the case in the Coyotes
games against Evergreen and Northwest, where Albertson showed lackluster form
at times – but picked up two wins. “The
key is the fact that at the end of the night, we made plays when we needed to,”
said Owen, who picked up his 80th
career win on Dec. 19. The 83-73 win
over Evergreen saw the Coyotes lead the entire game – albeit a four-to-ten
point margin throughout the second half.
The Northwest game was a nailbiter after the Coyotes blew a double-digit
second half lead, only to have clutch overtime jumpers by E.J. Costello (Pleasanton,
Calif. / Chabot CC) and Tom Perkes (Spokane, Wash. / Big Bend CC)
complete the 77-76 win. Costello
erased a Northwest 74-72 lead in OT with a trey with a minute left, and Perkes
won it for the ‘Yotes with a 15-footer with ten seconds left.
ELEVEN QUICK POINTS: Evergreen scored the first bucket of the game, but
the Coyotes turned to Derek Brown (Las Vegas, Nev. / Desert Pines HS)
to give them the lead for good. The
sophomore used the first three minutes to outscore the Geoducks 11-4,
propelling him to a 19-point, seven rebound, and five assist night. Brown recorded a three-point play on the
Coyotes first possession, hit back-to-back three-balls, and dropped a ten-foot
jumper in the run.
PERKES REGAINING FORM: With the NCAA Division I games long gone, forward
Tom Perkes continues to be one of the most dominating forces in the Cascade
Conference. In the ten games Albertson
has played against NAIA competition (seven against NAIA I teams), the senior is
averaging 19 points and six rebounds a game – including five games with
20-or-more points. He has also made
50-or-more percent of his shots in seven of the ten games.
McCARTHY HAS BIG WEEKEND: Being one of two healthy posts, Justin McCarthy
(Boise, Idaho / Boise HS) was asked to produce in the home twinbill,
and did he ever. The senior made
13-of-18 shots, averaging 16 points and five boards in the two wins. McCarthy had season-highs of 18 points and
eight rebounds in the overtime win against Northwest.
HUMPHREYS UPDATE: Things are looking better for the return of post Steve
Humphreys (Reno, Nev. / Lassen CC), who has been out of the line-up
since late November with a knee injury.
The junior has received a brace for the injured knee and has begun
practicing with the club. His status
continues to be day-to-day, as is his availability for games this weekend in
Portland. “Steve is a key part of the
Coyotes and we want to make sure that he healthy when he is ready to go,” said
Owen.
CONFERENCE STATISTICS: As 2003 comes to a close, the Coyotes are among
the league leaders in five team categories.
Albertson leads the Cascade Conference in blocked shots per game (3.85),
while ranking second in four categories – scoring defense (75.1 ppg), free
throw percentage (.778), steals per game (9.62), and turnover margin
(+3.3). On an individual level, a total
of seven different ‘Yotes are among the league’s top-ten in stats. Joe Green (Pocatello, Idaho /
BYU-Idaho) ranks second in the league in steals per game (3.62), third in
assist-to-turnover ratio (2.70), and is eighth in assists per game (4.15). Tom Perkes is also in the top-ten in three
groupings – eighth in both scoring average (15.5) and blocks per game (0.92),
and tenth in free throw percentage (.793).
Andy Harper (Idaho Falls, Idaho / Columbia Basin CC) is
fourth in free throw percentage (.861) and tenth in scoring (14.9), while Derek
Brown is second in three-point percentage (.727) and seventh in free throw
percentage (.825). Rounding out the
group are E.J. Costello (fifth in three-pointers made per game), Steve
Humphreys (fourth in blocked shots per game), and Justin McCarthy (ninth in
field goal percentage).
CAREER RECORD WATCH: Four current Albertson players have cracked the
career record list during the 2003-04 season.
Highest on the totem pole is Justin McCarthy, who by blocking nine shots
this year has vaulted him to No. 5 all-time with 46 blocked shots in his Coyote
career. With 47 steals this season, Joe
Green is now No. 7 on the career chart in swipes with 129, while Andy Harper
has attempted 292 treys in his career, good enough for tenth-place. Rounding out the quartet is Tom Perkes, who
is ninth all-time in free throws made.
Perkes is also nearing the 1,000 point mark for his career, currently
sitting with 895 points. No. 10 on the
all-time scoring list (since 1979) is Scott Kern with 1,005.
CAN THE COYOTES REKINDLE THE
ROSE CITY MAGIC?: Portland was a very familiar
place for the 2002-03 Albertson men’s basketball team, as the Coyotes spent
eight consecutive days in the Rose City during the Cascade Conference
Tournament – rolling to three upset wins and a berth in the NAIA Tournament. The ‘Yotes return to the scene of the crime
for the first time on Friday night, meeting Warner Pacific. Albertson dropped both regular-season tilts
with the Knights (5-8, 1-0 CCC) last season, but upended the squad 74-62 in the
opening round of the playoffs – ending a two-game losing streak in Perry
Gym. The new-look Knights are led by
NCCAA Player-of-the-Week Joe Hoover (19.6 ppg, 6.1 rpg), who averaged 28 points
a game in wins over Cascade and Simon Fraser, along with forward Wesley Powers
(11.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg). Warner will be
without the services of guard Nick Hudson (9.7 ppg – 16 ppg vs. Albertson last
year) for the remainder of the year with a knee injury. It is the 32nd meeting between the teams
since 1972, with Albertson holding a commanding 22-9 advantage. Day two in the Willamette Valley pits the
Coyotes against Cascade, a team Albertson went 3-0 against last
year. The T-Birds (4-9) are a far cry
from their 2002-03 form in which they shared the regular-season CCC crown and
earned a berth in the NAIA Tournament.
Only four players return from last season, and just two are starters –
outside gunner Matt Cokley (12.5 ppg) and point guard Danny Franz (5.5 ppg, 4.2
apg). Transfers Levi Westgaard (11.0
ppg, 6.6 rpg) and Jon Rylaarsdam (10.0 ppg) are solid, but the Thunderbirds may
be without forward Jered Alsup (18.7 ppg) due to a broken hand, which could
help the ‘Yotes out, considering the junior tied an all-time CCC mark with 49
points earlier in the season. Cascade,
which has not defeated an NCAA or NAIA team this year, is making their 35th
appearance against the ‘Yotes, with Albertson holding a commanding 32-2 series
lead. The Coyotes have won eight in a
row in the series – including a pair of forfeit wins handed over by Cascade during
the 2001-02 season.
ROAD TRIP CONTINUES: Albertson will not return home until midway
through the month of January, as the Coyotes continue their four-game road trip
on Jan. 10 at Eastern Oregon and Jan. 13 at Concordia. The next home game will be Friday, Jan. 16,
against No. 5 ranked Oregon Tech.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
T O T A L 3-POINTERS R E B O U N D SP L A Y E R GP-GS MIN--AVG FG-FGA PCT FG-FGA PCT FT-FTA PCT OFF-DEF TOT--AVG PF-FO A TO BLK ST PTS - AVG---------------------- ----- --------- ------------- ------------- ------------ ----------------- ----- -------------- ---------32 Tom Perkes 13 13 393 30.2 75 152 .493 6 26 .231 46 58 .793 22 48 70 5.4 40 2 12 27 12 12 202 15.514 Andy Harper 13 13 434 33.4 69 151 .457 25 71 .352 31 36 .861 9 36 45 3.5 25 1 38 20 2 14 194 14.924 E.J. Costello 13 13 410 31.5 54 135 .400 34 81 .420 25 27 .926 8 22 30 2.3 18 0 27 19 0 12 167 12.834 Steve Humphreys 9 3 190 21.1 35 75 .467 0 0 .000 15 22 .682 14 32 46 5.1 24 1 3 20 9 3 85 9.410 Derek Brown 13 2 303 23.3 35 60 .583 16 22 .727 33 40 .825 8 33 41 3.2 37 1 36 30 3 17 119 9.242 Justin McCarthy 13 8 349 26.8 41 77 .532 1 2 .500 24 33 .727 15 36 51 3.9 39 1 26 21 9 12 107 8.220 Joe Green 13 13 455 35.0 21 66 .318 14 36 .389 11 15 .733 6 34 40 3.1 28 1 54 20 5 47 67 5.205 Eric Howard 11 0 71 6.5 7 26 .269 1 8 .125 10 18 .556 6 12 18 1.6 12 0 7 14 6 3 25 2.312 Lance Hansen 6 0 27 4.5 3 8 .375 3 7 .429 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0.0 1 0 1 2 0 2 9 1.522 Zach Rasmussen 9 0 37 4.1 2 9 .222 1 6 .167 4 6 .667 1 6 7 0.8 7 0 2 5 2 2 9 1.030 Matt Barclay 5 0 12 2.4 2 2 1.00 0 0 .000 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 4 0.840 Mark Black 4 0 9 2.3 0 3 .000 0 2 .000 1 2 .500 3 0 3 0.8 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 0.350 Neil Stutzman 3 0 6 2.0 0 0 .000 0 0 .000 0 0 .000 1 0 1 0.3 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.044 Drew Visser 2 0 4 2.0 0 1 .000 0 1 .000 0 0 .000 1 0 1 0.5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0TEAM REBOUNDS.................................................................... 12 27 39 6------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Albertson 13 2700 344 765 .450 101 262 .385 200 257 .778 106 286 392 30.2 234 7 206 184 50 125 989 76.1------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Opponents 13 2700 364 786 .463 76 241 .315 172 240 .717 158 345 503 38.7 241 199 228 28 71 976 75.1------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 (3-5): Albertson splits opening pair of CCC
games, begins five-game road trip at NNU
LAST WEEK: Idle
COMING UP: at
Northwest Nazarene, Monday, 7 p.m.; at Warner Pacific, Friday, 5:30 p.m. (PST);
at Cascade, Saturday, 5:30 p.m. (PST)
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 www.collegeofidaho.edu/webcam/athletics.asx
- the internet home of Lady ‘Yote Basketball.
The next scheduled internet game will be Jan. 16 vs. Oregon Tech.
LADY ‘YOTES IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PACK: Prior to the Christmas break, the Cascade
Conference women’s basketball season kicked off – with the Lady ‘Yotes
splitting a pair of loop tilts in Caldwell, just their second and third home
games of the season. Three teams –
Oregon Tech, Southern Oregon, and Northwest, completed the opening weekend 2-0,
Warner Pacific went 1-0, with Albertson and Eastern Oregon each defeating
Evergreen, but losing to Northwest.
Cascade, Concordia, Evergreen, and Western Baptist each go into 2004
without a conference win.
NAMPA HIGH DUO EXCELL: The home cooking was evident in the play of two
former Nampa Bulldogs – guard Dani Cotterell (Nampa, Idaho / Nampa
HS) and post Kasey Hooter (Nampa, Idaho / Walla Walla CC). The sophomore Cotterell had two solid games
last week, averaging 12.5 points per game against Evergreen and Northwest, and
drained 7-of-12 three-point attempts.
She is among the top three-point shooters in the league with a .417
percent average. Hooter, playing in her
first two home games of her career (after spending the fall with the Coyote
volleyballers), averaged nine points and 11.5 rebounds a game. The junior had a Coyote season-high 15
boards in the win over Evergreen and has made 12-of-18 shots this season – tops
on the team.
IRON WOMAN: Senior
post Michelle Dyreng (Fruit Heights, Utah / Snow CC) recorded the
first double-double of her career against Northwest, scoring 13 points and
grabbing a career-high 11 rebounds.
What was even more impressive is the fact that she played all 40 minutes
against the much-improved Eagle club.
INJURY UPDATE: Injuries
continue to heal for the Lady ‘Yotes as 2004 approaches. Senior forward Lindsey Karren (Brigham
City, Utah / Salt Lake CC), who sprained an ankle on Dec. 6 against
Northwest Christian, will be in uniform this week, as will freshman guard Libby
Baker (Dillon, Mont. / Beaverhead County HS), who has missed the
first two months of the season with compartment syndrome in her left leg. The same aliment has sidelined another
freshman, guard Elizabeth Mortensen (San Diego, Calif. / Horizon HS). To round out the update, senior guard Krystal
Thacker (Elko, Nev. / BYU-Idaho) received four stitches above her
left eye following the game against Northwest after a nasty collision during
the first half.
RECORD WATCH: A
trio of Lady ‘Yotes find themselves in the career top-ten list – each in
multiple categories. Dani Cotterell
ranks fourth all-time in three-pointers made (61) – No. 6 in steals (103) and
three-point attempts (203), No. 7 in three’s made (55), No. 8 in assists (163),
and No. 9 in free throws made (124). Heidi
Goicoechea (Burley, Idaho / Burley HS) is the record-breaker of the
group, already owning two career marks – most three’s attempted (567) and most
field goals attempted (1,123). The next
record to fall would be the three-point shots made mark (182), where the senior
needs to can 16 to move past Cecilie Bates.
She ranks third on the all-time scoring list (1,113), needing 183 points
to take over the top spot, and ranks fourth in field goals made (384). Goicoechea is No. 5 in free throws made
(164), assists (222), steals (122), and games played (106), seventh in boards
(493) and free throw attempts (208), and eighth in blocked shots (25).
LADY ‘YOTES TO MEET NORTHWEST NAZARENE: The final non-conference battle of the season is
also the capper on the 2003 portion of the schedule as Albertson makes the
seven-mile jaunt to face Northwest Nazarene. The Crusaders (2-5), who reached the second-round of the NCAA
Division II national tournament last season, are 2-0 against NAIA competition
(including an 80-68 win over Albertson in November), but 0-5 against NCAA
foes. Defense has been the killer for
NNU – ranking last in the Great Northwest Conference in scoring defense (75
points a game), opponents field goal percentage and opponents three-point
percentage. On the opposite end of the
spectrum, guard Heidi Buehler leads the GNAC in scoring (17.6 ppg), with her
backcourt running mate Jenny Binford ranking No. 6 (14.2 ppg). NNU will be without the services of starting
post Whitney VanBrocklin (11.2 ppg, 7.0 rpg), who has back spasms. The Crusaders hold a commanding 15-2 edge in
the all-time series, including seven in a row.
OFF TO PORTLAND: For Albertson to make a serious run at the Cascade
Conference title, the Lady ‘Yotes must improve on their 3-6 road mark from the
2002-03 campaign. Four consecutive road
battles look the squad in the face, beginning Friday night at Warner Pacific. The Knights (6-5, 1-0 CCC) continue to
improve each year under former WNBA star Katy Steding – including wins over
NCAA Division II foe Western Oregon and Division III national quarterfinalist,
Pacific Lutheran. Guard play is the key
to Warner, as Joy Best (11.3 ppg) and Angie Sun (10.4 ppg) are among the top
one-two punches in the backcourt in the CCC.
The Knights also use a balanced line-up – as 11 different players see at
least ten minutes of action per night.
The two teams split games last season – WPC winning in overtime in
Portland, with the Coyotes taking a 71-56 victory in Caldwell. Albertson leads the all-time series, 6-2. Saturday, the Lady ‘Yotes meet a completely
different Cascade team than the one that swept two games from them and
advanced to the NCCAA Tournament in 2002-03.
The T-Birds (0-9, 0-1) saw head coach John Phillips fired after the most
successful season in school history – and along with him went the top three
scorers, including CCC Player-of-the-Year Nicole Brown. Only three players from that squad remain –
and it is a newcomer, forward Tawanna Dial (11.2 ppg, 7.5 rpg) that leads the
team in scoring and rebounds. Cascade
averages a CCC low 48 points a game and has been outscored by 24 points a game
by their opponents. Albertson holds a
4-2 all-time series edge, sweeping the series from the Thunderbirds in 2001 and
2002.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
T O T A L 3-POINTERS R E B O U N D SP L A Y E R GP-GS MIN--AVG FG-FGA PCT FG-FGA PCT FT-FTA PCT OFF-DEF TOT--AVG PF-FO A TO BLK ST PTS - AVG---------------------- ----- --------- ------------- ------------- ------------ ----------------- ----- -------------- ---------24 Heidi Goicoechea 8 8 268 33.5 30 79 .380 14 38 .368 15 22 .682 14 26 40 5.0 17 2 27 26 2 10 89 11.134 Michelle Dyreng 7 7 233 33.3 28 74 .378 0 0 .000 13 27 .481 20 24 44 6.3 20 0 11 18 10 8 69 9.914 Dani Cotterell 8 2 170 21.3 28 60 .467 20 48 .417 2 4 .500 10 9 19 2.4 12 0 8 11 0 6 78 9.844 Kasey Hooter 3 2 63 21.0 12 18 .667 0 0 .000 3 5 .600 11 19 30 10.0 7 0 2 5 3 1 27 9.042 Tabatha Hyer 8 6 187 23.4 24 66 .364 10 27 .370 9 15 .600 11 22 33 4.1 17 0 9 26 2 2 67 8.412 Krystal Thacker 8 8 215 26.9 23 67 .343 8 32 .250 6 10 .600 4 25 29 3.6 21 0 20 37 1 16 60 7.513 Kim Strunk 8 0 94 11.8 9 16 .563 0 0 .000 15 20 .750 15 25 40 5.0 10 0 6 10 4 5 33 4.140 Sarah Wilkin 7 1 93 13.3 11 30 .367 0 0 .000 6 8 .750 6 16 22 3.1 15 1 5 16 4 0 28 4.023 Alyssa Latham 8 0 107 13.4 11 26 .423 5 9 .556 3 4 .750 4 10 14 1.8 10 0 23 21 0 7 30 3.833 Lindsey Karren 6 6 112 18.7 7 10 .700 0 0 .000 9 13 .692 11 19 30 5.0 20 1 9 7 1 6 23 3.810 Carley Williams 6 0 30 5.0 1 3 .333 1 2 .500 0 0 .000 0 1 1 0.2 3 0 1 4 0 0 3 0.511 Annie Roeser 2 0 4 2.0 0 2 .000 0 1 .000 1 3 .333 0 1 1 0.5 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 0.520 Tia Sinclair 4 0 15 3.8 0 3 .000 0 1 .000 0 1 .000 1 1 2 0.5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.021 Angie Gribble 2 0 9 4.5 0 0 .000 0 0 .000 0 0 .000 3 1 4 2.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0TEAM REBOUNDS.................................................................... 10 12 22 4------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Albertson 8 1600 184 454 .405 58 158 .367 82 132 .621 120 211 331 41.4 154 4 122 185 27 61 508 63.5------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Opponents 8 1600 188 474 .397 46 133 .346 106 157 .675 100 170 270 33.8 144 103 138 16 86 528 66.0------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTE CHANGES IN GAME TIME: Unlike last season, game time for the nine Cascade
Conference doubleheaders at the J.A. Albertson Activities Center have been
changed. Women’s games will begin at
5:30 p.m. this season (began at 6 p.m. last year), with the men’s contest to
begin at 7:30 p.m. (began at 8 p.m. last year)
Fans are to be reminded that their ticket for each night is good for
both the women’s and men’s games.
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 –