‘Yote Notes – Dec. 27, 2005

Mike Safford Jr. – Sports Info. Director

msafford@collegeofidaho.edu

 

 

 

 

 

ATHLETIC NEWS:

SKI TEAMS RANKED IN PRESEASON POLLS: The Albertson College men’s and women’s alpine ski teams were both ranked in the Top-10 by College Snow Sports Magazine in its 2006 USCSA national poll.  The women’s squad opens the season with a No. 4 ranking (trailing Sierra Nevada (Calif.), U. of Massachusetts, and Colby-Sawyer (Mass.)), while the men’s squad begins the new year ranked No. 9.  Albertson opens up the Northwest Conference ski season on January 21 at the Mount Hood Ski Bowl.

SWIMMERS CRACK NAIA TOP-TIME LIST: For the first time in school history, the Albertson College swim teams have cracked the NAIA’s Top-12 list for the fastest times in the nation.  On the women’s side, the Lady ‘Yotes 200-freestyle relay has the 12th-fastest time in the nation, while on the men’s side, the ‘Yotes are ranked No. 9 in the 200-free relay, No. 11 in the 400-free relay, and No. 12 in the 200-medley relay.  Albertson returns to the pool in mid-January for a pair of road duals at Seattle University and Pacific Lutheran University.

BEST OF 2005: Here is a sampling of excitement from the 2005 athletic season at Albertson College – a Top-10 list of the exciting endeavors by the ‘Yotes -

10.        Baseball begins home schedule with 11-straight wins

  9.       Men’s Basketball defeats Northwest Nazarene before 4,500 fans at Idaho Center

  8.       Women’s Tennis places second at NAIA regionals

  7.       Al Mendiola named new softball coach

  6.       Women’s Soccer begins season 5-0-1, Aisha Reed named CCC Coach of the Year

  5.       Women’s Basketball plays for CCC title

  4.       Cross Country ranked No. 8 in NAIA poll, advances to NAIA Championships

  3.       Men’s Basketball advances to NAIA Championships for third-straight year

  2.       Evan Williams and Men’s Snowboard team win USCSA national championships (27th and 28th all-time titles for Coyotes)

  1.       Volleyball team wins first-ever Cascade Conference and NAIA Region I championships, advance to NAIA Championships for first time since 2000.

 

MEN’S BASKETBALL (4-7, 1-1 CCC): Concordia game now Jan. 30, ‘Yotes head for games at Evergreen State and Northwest

 

LAST WEEK: vs. Montana-Western (W 89-78), vs. Concordia-Portland (postponed to Jan. 30), vs. Corban (L 93-90)

 

COMING UP: at Evergreen State, Thursday, 7:30 p.m. (PST); at Northwest, Friday, 7:30 p.m. (PST)

 

RADIO: All 27 regular-season men’s basketball games will be broadcast live in the Treasure Valley on 1490 KCID-AM, the “Home of the Coyotes.”  Mike Safford Jr. begins his fifth season as the play-by-play man for Albertson basketball, with the pregame show beginning 20 minutes prior to every game.  This week’s broadcasts will be women-men doubleheaders – with the women’s pregame show beginning at 6:15 p.m. (MST) – with the men’s pregame immediately following the women’s action.  All games can also be heard live on the Albertson Athletic Website at www.collegeofidaho.edu/media/audio/YoteSports.asx.

 

LIVE STATS: Live stats for the Coyotes game Friday at Northwest are available via the Northwest University athletic website - http://www.northwestu.edu/athletics/livestats/xlive.htm.

 

CCC AND NATIONAL POLL: The Cascade Conference men’s basketball coaches’ poll was released last Monday and was very similar to the first week of balloting.  Southern Oregon was the unanimous No. 1 squad, followed by Warner Pacific and Oregon Tech.  Concordia jumped to the No. 4 spot, followed by the Coyotes and Eastern Oregon.  In the second NAIA Division II national poll of the regular-season, Southern Oregon maintained their No. 1 ranking for the second-straight week, while Warner Pacific dropped one slot to No. 6.  Oregon Tech held pat at No. 17, while Concordia, Albertson, and Eastern Oregon all were listed in the “others receiving votes” category.

 

CONCORDIA A NO-SHOW LAST WEEK: For the schools out of Seattle-Portland corridor, traveling in the snow and ice is commonplace during the winter sports season – as the Coyotes and other teams regularly face snow, ice, and white-out conditions during their travels.  For Concordia University, they did not want to experience the travel woes of what many of the other schools see on a weekly basis.  Following a mandate from their bus company that prohibited them from traveling on snow and ice covered roads, the Cavaliers were unable to make it East for their scheduled games with Albertson last Tuesday and Eastern Oregon last Wednesday.  It is the first time since the 2003-04 season that games were postponed (three games that weekend were postponed, all in the Portland-metro area, while games between ACI-Eastern Oregon at Oregon Tech-Southern Oregon were played).

 

GAME MOVED TO JANUARY 30: After a conference call between all institutions involved, the game between Albertson and Concordia was moved to Monday night, January 30, at the J.A. Albertson Activities Center (Eastern and Concordia will play the following night).  All tickets for the Dec. 20 contest (Game 7 in the season ticket package) will be honored.

 

‘YOTES SET TO PLAY AT A CLAMS PACE: The Coyotes return to Cascade Conference play on Thursday night, traveling to Evergreen State, who are amongst the nations best in slowing the tempo of a game to a crawl.  The Geoducks (5-9, 1-3 CCC) first-year head coach Tom Kenna has installed a pressure defensive scheme and a slow-down offense that has limited teams to just 55 points a game (61.5 points per game minus 71-16 and 70-28 wins over first-year Trinity Lutheran), third-best in the NAIA.  On the flip-side, the Evergreen offense has been sluggish at times, failing to score 50-points on four occasions (including a 51-29 loss at Seattle University).  Only two players return from last season’s playoff squad that was knocked out by the ‘Yotes – wing Doug Dietz (7.5 ppg, .500 3FG%) and point-guard Wes Newton (3.6 ppg, 2.7 apg), while junior transfer Pat Mattson (9.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg) leads the club in scoring.  Albertson won all three meetings with the Greeners last season, including the playoff 64-59 victory in Caldwell.  The Coyotes hold a 10-3 all-time series edge, including the past seven in a row.

 

OVERTIME IN OLY?: The history between Albertson and Evergreen State in Olympia has been a tight affair, despite the Coyotes winning four of five meetings in the Clams’ Recreation Center.  Two of the past three games have went to overtime, including the ‘Yotes 69-62 victory last year.  All five games have been decided by eight points or less.

 

INTO THE BANDBOX WE GO: Friday night, the ‘Yotes head into one of the smaller, yet louder gyms in the league, as Albertson meets Northwest in the 2005 finale.  The Eagles (9-5, 1-3) had an 8-2 non-conference campaign and have played the three nationally-ranked CCC teams tough in the first two weeks of conference play.  Led by two-time All-CCC post Aaron Sawyer (15.1 ppg, 7.3 rpg), John Van Dyke’s club looks to defeat Albertson for the second-straight year on their home court (topped the ‘Yotes 79-72 last season).  Newcomers Chris Keller (14.0 ppg, .440 3FG%) and Kendrick Holley (10.6 ppg, 3.9 rpg), along with 2004-05 CCC Freshman of the Year Stephen Ishmael (12.6 ppg, 6.8 rpg) round out a potent attack.  Albertson owns a 13-5 all-time series edge with Northwest.

 

CORBAN WINS SEE-SAW AFFAIR: NAIA All-America post Eric Fiegi scored 36 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, as Corban College won for the first time at Albertson College since the 2000-01 season, topping the Coyotes, 93-90, Wednesday at the J.A. Albertson Activities Center. The visitors, who ended a four-game losing streak, took their biggest lead of the night at 42-34, early in the second half, only to watch the 'Yotes run off 14-straight to take a 48-44 edge with 15:00 left.  The game would then see 11 ties, before Chris Lynn buried a trey with 1:14 left to give the Warriors an 87-84 edge.  Joel Worcester, who went 12-for-12 at the line, hit six-straight freebies in the final minute to keep Corban ahead, and won when a Josh Owen (Caldwell, Idaho / Vallivue HS) three at the buzzer drew iron.  ACI was led by the 26 points and 11 rebounds from Ike Stafford (Auburn, Wash. / Salt Lake CC), while Dan McFaul (Moses Lake, Wash. / Big Bend CC) came off the bench to score 15 points.  The Coyotes held a 37-31 edge on the glass, but saw Corban outscore them 20-11 at the line.  For the game, the Warriors converted on 20-of-21 free throws.

 

‘YOTES TOP MONTANA-WESTERN: Josh Owen tied a career-high with 23 points and hit a pair of key three-pointers late, as the Albertson College men's basketball team ended a two-game losing streak with an 89-78 victory over Montana-Western at the J.A. Albertson Activities Center on Dec. 17.  The visiting Bulldogs used a late run to cut a 15-point Albertson lead to 76-72 on a Tyler Palmer trey with 3:45 remaining.  However Owen canned back-to-back three's sandwiched around an Ike Stafford triple to balloon the margin to 87-74, and the 'Yotes were not threatened again.  The Coyotes never trailed, using an 8-0 first half run to build a 43-34 edge at the break.  Nine of the ten players who took the court for the host got in the scoring column.  Stafford had 13 points, ten rebounds, six assists, and five steals in the win, with Brandon Nielson (Twin Falls, Idaho / Big Bend CC) and Dan McFaul each scoring ten.  Derek Brown (Las Vegas, Nev. / Desert Pines HS) had eight points, seven boards, and six assists for the victors, who have won seven straight over the Bulldogs.

 

MAGGARD ON THE DL: The ‘Yotes will be without the services of post J.R. Maggard (Caldwell, Idaho / Vallivue HS) for at least the next month with an ankle injury sustained during practice last week. 

 

COYOTES AMONG THE CCC LEADERS: As a team, the Coyotes rank No. 1in the CCC in three-pointers made per game (9.2) and third in free throw percentage (.723).  However, the squad ranks last in the league in two categories –defensive field goal percentage and defensive three-point percentage.  Individually, three players rank among the top-ten in CCC stat categories.  Josh Owen leads the league and is No. 2 in the NAIA Division II in free throw percentage (.962), while tied for the league-lead in three-pointers made per game (2.7).  Brandon Neilson ranks No. 1 in the loop in three-pointers made per game (2.7), while sitting at No. 7 in the league in free throw percentage (.827).  Rounding out the group is Ike Stafford, who ranks No. 5 in the league in scoring average (17.3) and three’s made per game (2.4), ranks No. 7 in three-point percentage (.473), and is No. 10 in field goal percentage (.540).

 

LEAGUE LEADERS: Scoring Average – Eric Fiegi (COR) 28.6, Joshua Garrett (CAS) 19.9, Michael Lay (CU) 19.5, Shea Washington (SOU) 18.0, Ike Stafford (ACI) 17.3; Rebound Average – Fiegi 12.1, Jeff Williams (SOU) 9.3, Washington 7.9, Andre Lawrence (OIT) 7.7, Donny Woods (WPC) 7.6; Field Goal Percentage – Thomas Cook (ESC) .689, Tanner McIntosh (EOU) .651, Bobby Lester (CU) .629, Lay .628, Washington .614; Assist Average – Lay 6.8, Woods 6.1, Levell Hesia (OIT) 5.6, Lawrence 4.9, Garrett 4.8.

 
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 (6-7, 0-2 CCC): Lady ‘Yotes round out 2005 with games at Evergreen State and Northwest

 

LAST WEEK: vs. Concordia (postponed to Jan. 30), vs. Corban (L 74-65)

 

COMING UP: at Evergreen State, Thursday, 5:30 p.m. (PST); at Northwest, Friday, 5:30 p.m. (PST)

 

RADIO AND INTERNET: All nine women’s CCC road games will be broadcast live this season on 1490 KCID-AM with Mike Safford Jr. calling the action.  The games Thursday and Friday night will also be carried on the internet, via the Albertson Athletic Website at www.collegeofidaho.edu/media/audio/YoteSports.asx.

 

LIVE STATS: Live stats for the Lady ‘Yotes game Friday at Northwest are available via the Northwest University athletic website - http://www.northwestu.edu/athletics/livestats/xlive.htm.

 

CONCORDIA A NO-SHOW LAST WEEK: For the schools out of Seattle-Portland corridor, traveling in the snow and ice is commonplace during the winter sports season – as the Coyotes and other teams regularly face snow, ice, and white-out conditions during their travels.  For Concordia University, they did not want to experience the travel woes of what many of the other schools see on a weekly basis.  Following a mandate from their bus company that prohibited them from traveling on snow and ice covered roads, the Cavaliers were unable to make it East for their scheduled games with Albertson last Tuesday and Eastern Oregon last Wednesday.  It is the first time since the 2003-04 season that games were postponed (three games that weekend were postponed, all in the Portland-metro area, while games between ACI-Eastern Oregon at Oregon Tech-Southern Oregon were played).

 

GAME MOVED TO JANUARY 30: After a conference call between all institutions involved, the game between Albertson and Concordia was moved to Monday night, January 30, at the J.A. Albertson Activities Center (Eastern and Concordia will play the following night).  All tickets for the Dec. 20 contest (Game 7 in the season ticket package) will be honored.

 

LADY ‘YOTES THIRD IN CCC POLL: The Lady ‘Yotes sit in the No. 3 spot in the second week of voting in the Cascade Conference coaches poll.  Leading the way was Corban, ranked No. 17 in the latest NAIA Division II poll, followed by Eastern Oregon, which received votes in the national poll.  Following Albertson were Evergreen State, Warner Pacific, and Southern Oregon.

 

KEY MATCH-UP WITH THE MEAN GREEN: The Lady ‘Yotes head out on the road this week looking to notch their first Cascade Conference win in their belts.  Thursday night, Albertson takes on Evergreen State, the squad they defeated in the first-round of last year’s conference tournament.  The Geoducks (5-8, 3-1 CCC) saw a three-game conference win streak halted last Wednesday at Oregon Tech – and have lost four of their last five games in a row.  Evergreen wins games with defense, limiting opponents to a 35-percent field goal percentage, a 26-percent three-point percentage, and 58 points per game.  All-Conference wing Jenny Olson (14.3 ppg, 9.0 rpg) is a solid inside-outside threat, while 6-1 Central Washington transfer Rachel Ross (12.6 ppg, 8.4 rpg) is a load in the paint.  Albertson won 2-of-3 meetings last year, including a 60-45 victory over the Greeners in Olympia.  The Lady ‘Yotes hold a 14-2 all-time series edge, including a 5-1 record in the Geoducks’ Recreation Center.

 

TRYING TO BREAK THE PAVILION BLUES: Friday night, the Coyotes head up the I-5 corridor for a tussle with Northwest, and a chance to break a long losing streak in the Northwest Pavilion.  Albertson has dropped their past three games in the Eagles (6-9, 2-2) lair – by a combined 13 points (including one double-overtime game).  The ‘Yotes last won in Kirkland during the 2001-02 season, a 62-48 victory.  This year, Northwest brings the CCC’s leading scorer to the table in Emilee Eisinger (18.2 ppg, 7.4 rpg) – while freshman Sam McCracken (5.1 ppg, 4.6 rpg) is averaging 13 rebounds a game over her last four outings.  The Eagles played a very competitive non-conference schedule – including games against Division II opponents Seattle Pacific, Western Washington, St. Martin’s, and Seattle, along with Division III power, Pacific Lutheran.  Unfortunately for Northwest, that schedule affects the statistics, as the Eagles rank last in opponents scoring average (78.6).  It is the 22nd meeting between the teams, with Albertson holding a 16-5 edge.

 

GRADY’S SOLID START CONTINUES: Through 13 games this season, Jori Grady (Roseburg, Ore. / Umpqua CC) is averaging 18.1 points per contest, ranking her second in scoring average among all Cascade Conference players and No. 22 in the NAIA Division II.  More impressive is the fact that the junior transfer has the second-highest scoring average through 13 games in school-history, ranking behind only Alyson Pincock’s 22.7 point per game average during the start of the 2000-01 season.

 

HOT START CAN’T HELP VS. CORBAN: Jessi Schaumberg scored 15 of her 17 points in the second half, lifting No. 17 ranked Corban College to a 74-65 victory over Albertson College in the J.A. Albertson Activities Center last Wednesday night.  The sophomore scored nine points in a decisive 20-7 run late in the game, turning a 52-49 lead with 8:29 left into a 72-56 edge with just over two minutes to play.  Albertson converted their first five shots from the field, jumping out to an 11-0 lead in the first three minutes.  However, the Warriors battled back, taking their first lead at 19-18 - by forcing 18 Coyote first half turnovers. Jori Grady led the Lady 'Yotes with 23 points, with Kim Strunk (Twin Falls, Idaho / Twin Falls HS) adding 13 points and ten boards.

 

‘YOTES IN THE CCC: Five different Lady ‘Yotes are among the top-ten in Cascade Conference statistical categories.  Jori Grady ranks second in the league in scoring average (18.1) and three-pointers made per game (2.2), ranks fourth in three-point percentage (.460), and fifth in field goal percentage (.509).  Angie Gribble (Boise, Idaho /Bishop Kelly HS) leads the league in minutes played per game (37.9), while ranking ninth in both assists (3.2) and steals (2.2) per game.  Kim Strunk ranks No. 5 in the loop in blocks per game (0.8), No. 6 in free throw percentage (.786), and No. 9 in scoring average (12.9).  Desirae Smoot (Provo, Utah / Western Wyoming CC) leads the league in free throw percentage (.880), with Whitney Martin (Rupert, Idaho / Boise State U.) ranking fifth in the league in blocked shots per game (0.8) – tied with Strunk.

 

CONFERENCE LEADERS: Scoring Average – Emilee Eisinger (NW) 18.2, Jori Grady (ACI) 18.1, Heidi Horobiowski (EOU) 15.8, Angie Sun (WPC) 15.1, Darcy Madison (CU) 14.3; Rebound Average – Ashley DuBrey (OIT) 10.1, Joyce Oniah (CU) 9.1, Jenny Olson (ESC) 9.0, Becky VanTine (WPC) 8.6, Rachel Ross (ESC) 8.4; Field Goal Percentage – Eisinger .552, Brianne Carras (COR) .524, Adria Layne (EOU) .522, Sheena Henderson (EOU) .520, Grady .509; Assist Average – Tosha Wilson (COR) 5.9, Samantha Gilbert (OIT) 4.5, Chelsey Zimmerman (SOU) 4.2, Kelsey Haylett (OIT) 4.0, Jacque Barton (WPC) 3.4.

 

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. 

 

 

 

- ALBERTSON -