women's basketball Yote notes - edition 14

COMING UP: vs. Evergreen, Friday, 5:30 p.m.; vs. Northwest, Saturday, 5:30 p.m.

LAST WEEK: at Southern Oregon (W 55-47), at Oregon Tech (W 63-54)

LIVE STATS/LIVE VIDEO: Both weekend games will feature Live Stats and Live Video via the internet for fans not in attendance.  Live Stats can be found online at http://www.collegeofidaho.edu/athlete/livestats/xlive.htm, with the Live Video feed available at http://www.uppersports.com/broadcast_iframe/4415 - with Mike Safford calling the play-by-play.

BANNERS TO BE RAISED ON SATURDAY: The Lady Yotes will honor a pair of championship teams on Saturday night, as the 2008-09 and 2009-10 Cascade Conference championship banners will be unveiled and hoisted to the rafters of the J.A. Albertson Activities Center.  It marks the first women’s basketball banner to be raised since the 2000-01 squad advanced to the title game of the NAIA National Tournament.

JONES WINS RED LION CCC AWARD: For the second time this season, a Lady Yote was named Red Lion Cascade Conference Player of the Week, as Felicity Jones (Tremonton, Utah / Coll. of Southern Idaho) earned the honor on Monday afternoon.  The junior was instrumental in C of I’s weekend sweep at Southern Oregon and Oregon Tech, averaging 16 points and adding seven rebounds per game.  Jones had a game-high 18 points in the win over SOU, adding 14 points and four steals in the win at OIT.

SWEEPING LONG TRIP FOR FOURTH-STRAIGHT YEAR: After dropping two straight road tilts, the Lady Yotes had to make the nearly 500-mile trek to the southern reaches of Oregon to face a pair of quality opponents – and came away with two eight-point wins.  The C of I hit 8-of-20 three-point attempts on the road swing – coming at the heels of a stretch of 14-of-77 makes from long range in their previous six games, while winning the battle on the boards against two of the top rebounding teams in the CCC, and logging a plus-12 edge in turnovers.  It was the fourth-straight season that The C of I has swept SOU and OIT on the road.

CLOSING IN ON THE POSTSEASON: With a victory this weekend, the Lady Yotes can clinch their 13th-straight berth in the CCC Postseason Tournament – the 16th playoff berth in the 17-year history of the program.  The C of I currently sits a game back of Eastern Oregon and Corban in the league race, holding a one-game lead in the win column over Warner Pacific and OIT – with the Yotes winning all tiebreakers with Tech, thanks to a season sweep.  The Lady Yotes have had success in the postseason, making three-straight NAIA Tournaments, while advancing to the past four CCC Tournament title games.

FAKAHAFUA PLAYS BIG: A key to the Yotes success last weekend was the play of forward Tina Fakahafua (Salt Lake City, Utah / Coll. of Southern Idaho), who averaged 12 points in the two wins.  The junior had five steals in Friday’s win at Southern, while adding a game-high 16 points in the victory at OIT.

DEFENSE CONTINUES TO SHINE: Defense has carried the Lady Yotes throughout the CCC season, as The C of I has held their last 13 opponents to 63 points or less, with their last 11 foes shooting at a 35-percent clip or less.  In league play, the Yotes lead the CCC in four defensive categories – scoring defense (52.5), defensive field goal percentage (.317), defensive three-point percentage (.241), and steals per game (12.1).

UNDER 50 EQUALS WINS: With their win at SOU, the Lady Yotes held an opponent under 50 points for the fifth time this season.  It marked the 31st-straight win by the squad when holding a team to 49-or-fewer points –dating back to a 40-38 loss to Corban on Jan. 26, 2006.

CLOSING IN ON A MILESTONE: Head coach Reagan Rossi holds an all-time record of 197-130, needing just three victories to reach the 200-win milestone in her career. The 11th-year head coach is already the all-time leader in C of I women’s basketball victories and is No. 25 on the active NAIA Division II coaching victories list. Volleyball head coach, Liz Mendiola, is the only other women’s coach to amass more than 200 wins in a career, having won 263 games in her 11 seasons.

ABOUT EVERGREEN: The Lady Yotes put a perfect 4-0 home record in league play on the line Friday vs. Evergreen, a squad that handed C of I a 63-60 loss last month in Olympia, Wash.  The Geoducks (4-16, 2-9 CCC) have been in nearly every CCC contest, as 10-of-11 games have been decided by 11-points or less, but offensive woes – a 56 points per game scoring average, 26-percent shooting from three-point land, and a 61-percent foul shooting clip, have doomed ESC.  A small roster (eight players) is paced by posts Danielle Swain (14.9 ppg, 10.1 rpg) and Jessica Edge (13.6 ppg, 6.4 rpg), along with guard Sami Clark (11.9 ppg, 5.2 rpg).  It is the 31st all-time meeting between the teams, with the Lady Yotes holding a 26-4 series edge.

ABOUT NORTHWEST: Saturday night, a quality Northwest team will head to Caldwell – playing their fourth game in seven days.  The Eagles (9-10, 5-6) nearly upset nationally-ranked Corban on Sunday, before routing Northwest Christian, 81-54.  NU likes to push the tempo, averaging 71 points a game – but The C of I held the Eagles to their lowest scoring output of the season in a 54-48 win in December.  Head coach Lori Napier likes to use an eight-player rotation – led by CCC Player of the Year candidate Jessalyn Jackson (20.6 ppg, 12.0 rpg), who leads the NAIA with 89 blocked shots, along with Emily Drivstuen (14.7 ppg, 3.9 rpg) and Carol Howard (11.4 ppg, 5.7 rpg).  It is the 35th meeting between the teams, with the Lady Yotes holding a 26-8 series lead.

CCC/NAIA POLLS: The third CCC poll of 2012 saw a bit of a shift – though Eastern Oregon and Corban remained in the top-two positions.  The Lady Yotes climbed to No. 3 in the poll for the first time this season, followed by Oregon Tech, Warner Pacific, and Northwest.  In the NAIA Top-25, The C of I nearly cracked the ranking for the first time this season, earning 53 voter points – just 19 points away from the No. 25 slot.  Indiana Wesleyan was the unanimous No. 1 team, followed by Briar Cliff (Iowa), Davenport (Mich.), College of the Ozarks (Mo.), and Concordia (Neb.).  Eastern climbed to No. 8 and Corban slid up to No. 14, with both OIT and Warner Pacific receiving votes.  Both polls will be released each Monday for the remainder of the season.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS: As a team, the Lady Yotes are second in the CCC in steals per game (11.0), ranking third in the loop in scoring defense (59.0), defensive field goal percentage (.345), rebound margin (+4.9), and blocked shots per game (3.8).  The squad is No. 4 in rebounds per game (44.0) and turnover margin (+1.3), No. 5 in scoring margin (+7.3) and field goal percentage (.398), No. 6 in scoring average (66.3) and assists per game (12.8), No. 7 in free throw percentage (.682), and No. 9 in three-point percentage (.275) and three-pointers made per game (3.7).

LEAGUE LEADERS: Scoring Average –Katie Steigleman (CRB) 21.1, Jessalyn Jackson (NU) 20.6, Danielle Swain (ESC) 14.9, Emily Drivstuen (NU) 14.7, Chelsey Christensen (WP) 14.6; Rebound Average – Jackson 12.0, Tara Vanweerdhuizen (CRB) 11.7, Swain 10.1, Lindsey Shearer (NCU) 9.1, Korrie Bourn (EOU) 7.4; Assist Average – Emily Tsugawa (CRB) 6.7, Nichole Jackson (WPC) 5.8,Domi Mendezona (NU) 5.4, Cameryn Calhoun 4.1, Shearer 4.0.

RECORD BOOK: Three C of I players are currently in the Top-15 all time record book –as Katelin Shannon (Caldwell, Idaho / Vallivue HS) ranks No. 4 in career steals (181) and No. 8 in both free throws made (231) and attempted (302).  Meghan Hughes (Eagle, Idaho / Bishop Kelly HS) is No. 9 in field goals made (309) and No. 10 in  games played (107) and field goal attempts (773), while Laura Geis (Frenchtown, Mont. / U. of Montana Western) is No. 8 in blocked shots (48).  Geis has already cracked the single-season blocked shot list, ranking eighth with seven league games remaining.

GAME RECAP – C OF I 55, SOUTHERN OREGON 47: Felicity Jones scored 12 of her game-high 18 points in the second half, helping The C of I end a two-game road losing streak, stopping Southern Oregon, 55-47, inside Bob Riehm Arena in Ashland, Ore.  A Tina Fakahafua lay-up jumpstarted a key 10-0 run early in the second half, as the Lady Yotes broke a 29-29 - taking the lead for good. SOU cut the margin to 49-47 on an Angelica Cahee basket inside the final three minutes, but The C of I forced the Raiders  into 0-of-8 shooting the rest of the way. The Coyotes broke out of a nearly month-long shooting slump in the final 20 minutes, making 52-percent of their field goal attempts.  Southern jumped out to a quick 14-6 lead eight minutes into the game - but the Yotes limited SOU to just three made field goals the rest of the half, closing within 21-19 at halftime.  Jones had a team-high seven rebounds and added three of the Yotes 17 steals in the win. Kylie Hardison (Chubbuck, Idaho / Coll. of Southern Idaho) had 12 points off the bench for The C of I, including a key three-point play late in the contest. Kiara Moore had 13 points and seven rebounds, with Nalani Hernandez adding 10 points and nine rebounds in the loss for Southern.

GAME RECAP – C OF I 63, OREGON TECH 54: Tina Fakahafua scored 16 points and had six rebounds, as The C of I went wire-to-wire, knocking off league-leading Oregon Tech, 63-54, in Klamath Falls, Ore.  The Lady Yotes forced 27 turnovers on the night, extending a win streak over the Owls to 12-straight games, hitting 7-of-15 three-pointers in the win.  A Dayna Drager (Hayden, Idaho / Coeur d’Alene HS) three-pointer fueled an 8-0 run midway through the first half, as the Yotes took a 27-14 lead, with another trey by Felicity Jones giving the visitors a 33-23 lead at the half. The lead would swell to 47-32 on a Jones basket, before OIT would rattle off eight-straight points, including back-to-back three’s from Karissa Dixon, to pull within 49-43. A Kaitlin Nielson jumper got Tech within 55-51, but the Yotes hit 8-of-8 free throws in the final minute to seal the win.  Jones had 14 points and seven rebounds, while Katelin Shannon went a perfect 8-for-8 at the foul line for the Yotes. Dixon had 17 points in the loss for OIT.

ABOUT THE COACH: Reagan Rossi is in her 11th season as head coach of the Lady Yotes. The native of Mukwonago, Wis. has compiled a 197-130 overall record, with 10 consecutive appearances in the CCC Tournament, two CCC regular-season titles, and three-consecutive NAIA Division II National Tournament appearances. In 2008-09, she led the Coyotes to a school record 29-5 season, sharing their first CCC title since 2001 - earning a berth to the NAIA Division II National Tournament. The team set a new school record with 21 consecutive wins, highest scoring average, and defeated Weber State for their first-ever NCAA Division I victory, climbing as high as No. 8 in the NAIA Top-25 poll. In 2009-10, her squad went 21-8, winning the CCC title outright, along with claiming their first-ever CCC Tournament championship, while last season, the Yotes advanced to the CCC Tournament title game and earned an automatic berth to the National Tournament.  She has coached a pair of second-team All-Americans and two third-team All-Americans, while 16 of her recruits have earned NAIA All-America Scholar-Athlete honors.   Rossi was no stranger to The C of I, as she was a member of Todd Corman's inaugural coaching staff for two seasons, and was on the bench when the Lady Yotes took to the floor for the first time on Nov. 4, 1995 against Carroll College, ending an 18-year hiatus of women's basketball at the school.   Rossi has an extensive background in coaching - having been an assistant coach at Georgetown (Ky.), a fellow NAIA institution, along with Morehead State (Ky.), an NCAA Division I program. Before coming to The C of I in 1995, Rossi was an assistant coach with the Skagway High School boys' varsity team in Skagway, Alaska.   A 1994 graduate of Saint Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa, Rossi played four years of basketball for the Queen Bees. Two of her teams qualified for the NAIA National Tournament, including the 1993-94 squad which advanced into the "Sweet Sixteen." She was the starting point-guard for two seasons, averaging ten points and six assists per game during her senior season. In 2006, she was inducted into the Mukwonago High School Hall of Fame.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: For more information on The C of I women’s basketball program, head to the official homepage of the Coyotes, http://www.collegeofidaho.edu/womensbasketball.