Lindsay Pritzker, Asst. Sports Information DIrector
ARCATA — After concluding its tournament portion of the 2008-09 season, the Humboldt State women’s basketball program returns to Arcata to open California Collegiate Athletic Association play against travel partner Sonoma State University on Wednesday in Lumberjack Arena. The Jacks then travel south to La Jolla to take on UC San Diego on Friday. Both games tip off at 5:30 p.m.
On-the-Air: All Lumberjack basketball games are broadcast live locally on KATA, 1340 AM, the North Coast's ESPN radio affiliate. Webcasts are also available for out-of-area listeners, accessed through the Humboldt State Athletics site at hsujacks.com. …Bicoastal Media Sports Director J.B. Mathers is back for another year of bring home the action from courtside for all home contests. He'll be joined by Humboldt State Athletics Hall-of-Famer Burt Nordstrom. On the road, Assistant Athletic Director Dan Pambianco provides play-by-play. All broadcasts begin 15 minutes prior to game time with the pregame show.
Lumberjacks Notes: After going 1-1 at the Hampton Inn & Suites Thanksgiving Classic, the Lumberjacks improved their overall record to 4-2. …HSU defeated Western Oregon for the second time this season, 97-66 for its tournament win, then lost, 84-82 to host Northwest Nazarene. “We didn’t defend as well as I though we could for the whole 40 minutes," HSU head coach Joddie Gleason said about the Jacks' loss. "There were times we defended well and shot the ball well but we need to be more consistent throughout the whole game. We need to not give the other teams so many easy looks.”…Junior post Brittney Taylor earned a spot on the all-tournament team for her second-straight tournament honor after leading the team with 35 points, five steals and four blocks. She was totaled 18 rebounds. “At the beginning of the season the main questions was ‘how would we defend/rebound in the paint’ and it was answered with very well,” said Gleason. “Brittney Taylor has progressed and has been a key success to our program. She’s been an unexpected contributor at this stage of the season.” …The Jacks saw three players posting double-digit points during each game this weekend in Taylor (17.5 ppg), Katie Franci (14.5 ppg) and Paige Peterson (13 ppg). …HSU tops the CCAA’s statistical charts in scoring offense (83.2 ppg), scoring margin (+15.3), field goal percentage (.470) and assists (17.2 per game), while grabbing the No. 2 and No. 3 slots in five categories. …Redshirt freshman post Sallye Alexander has left the team due to personal issues. Alexander was averaging 9.4 minutes played and 7.0 points per game…The CCAA women’s basketball teams begin league play with a combined 31-15 record. During last weekend’s games, the CCAA was 7-1.
Opponent’s Notes: Sonoma State comes off of a bye week and possesses a 3-0 overall record, with wins over Academy of Art, the University of Alaska and Dixie State. …SSU finished fourth in the CCAA last season after posting a 13-7 conference mark. The Seawolves ended the Jacks hopes of postseason with a 65-55 victory in the first round of the CCAA championship tournament. This season SSU was picked to finish fourth, just behind HSU, in the CCAA annual preseason coaches’ poll. …Two Seawolves scoring in double-digits are sophomore guard Olivia Larkin with 15.0 ppg, and freshman guard Jaclyn Bisordi with 11.0 ppg. Both players lead the team with a .500 percentage behind the arc. Senior forward Heidi Mertle and senior guard Lauren Redfield average 5.3 and 4.7 rebounds per game, respectively. …UC San Diego begins the week on a four-game winning streak and holds a 5-1 overall record. “We haven’t seen (UCSD) play this season yet but they have played some tough teams,” said Gleason. “They beat Western Washington and lost a close game to Seattle Pacific.” …The Tritons finished third in the CCAA last season with a 14-6 conference mark, and were picked to finish second in the CCAA coaches’ poll this year. …UCSD ranks second in the CCAA in steals with 10.7 per game,and defensive rebounds, with 28.8 per contest. …Returners Michelle Oiser, Alexis Gaskin and Annette Ilg have all been productive in pre-conference games. Oiser leads the team in steals with 17, while averaging 19 points and 8.3 rebounds per game with 8.3. Gaskin equals Oiser in rebounds and tops the team with seven blocks. Ilg averages 11.8 ppg and is second on the team with 14 steals.
Head-to-Head: The Lumberjacks trail 27-34 in the all-time series with the Seawolves after going 1-2 last season. …UC San Diego holds a 4-3 edge in the all-time series against HSU. The Jacks took both games during the 2007-08 season from the Tritons, 70-52 and 76-65 decisions.
Gleason’s Comments: “Our rotation could change at any time, game-to-game. It all depends on our match-ups and opponents." … “It’s always tough this early in the season, but with our schedule and our veteran group we’re ready for conference action. We’re excited to open up conference with at least one game at home. We’re glad to come back home and play after spending the last three weeks on the road.” …On the team’s strengths and weaknesses, “I think our depth and unselfish play are our main strengths. We move the ball well until we find the open shot. We’re not concerned with who is shooting as you can tell by our number of assists. We wait until we find the open player/shot.”… “We will need to defend and force (Sonoma State) to execute on offense." … "One of the keys to playing SSU is to defend without sending them to the free throw line. They attack the basket and draw a lot of fouls.” … “UCSD runs a half-court zone defense that is tough to figure out. They get in the lanes and steal. We need to make sure we take care of the ball.”