Winter Game Notes - Week 7
- January 6, 2011
HAYWARD, Calif. – The ÂãÁÄÖ±²¥ basketball teams will finish out their three-game week, traveling to Cal State Stanislaus and Chico State this weekend, while the Pioneer swimming team returns from a month-long break from competition to face Fresno State in Fresno on Saturday. Pioneer basketball will be in action on Friday in Turlock and Saturday in Chico, with the women set for a 5:30 p.m. tip and the men a 7:30 p.m. start both nights.
PDF: Winter Game Notes - Week 7
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL (0-10, 0-6 CCAA)
Cal State Stanislaus
Friday, Jan. 7 • 5:30 p.m.
Fitzpatrick Arena • Turlock
Live stats: warriorathletics.com
No. 20 Chico State
Saturday, Jan. 8 • 5:30 p.m.
Acker Gym • Chico
Live stats: chicowildcats.com
East Bay Set for Tough Road Tests at Stanislaus, Chico: The ÂãÁÄÖ±²¥ women’s basketball team will hit the road this weekend to take on Cal State Stanislaus and No. 20 Chico State in the first weekend pair of 2011. The Pioneers (0-10, 0-6 CCAA) are looking for their first win of the season as they take on the Warriors, who won a pair last week in Southern California, and the 20th-ranked Wildcats, who are tied for first in the CCAA. East Bay will meet CSUS on Friday at 5:30 p.m. at Fitzpatrick Arena before taking on Chico State at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday at Acker Gym.
Last Time Out: ÂãÁÄÖ±²¥ fell to Humboldt State and UC San Diego last week. The Pioneers notched their first halftime lead of the season against the Jacks, but could not hold on after a 24-6 HSU run in the second half of the 64-48 loss. Freshman guard Sarah Finlay scored 10 points off the bench to lead the Pioneers in scoring, while Lauren Lucchesi led East Bay on the glass with nine boards to help the team outrebound the Jacks, 34-28. The Pioneers dropped an 82-44 decision to UCSD on Monday to open 2011.
Looking Ahead: East Bay opens a four-game homestand on Jan. 13 against Cal State Dominguez Hills. The Pioneers will meet Cal State LA on Jan. 15, followed by meetings with Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State San Bernardino Jan. 20 and 22, respectively.
Scouting Stanislaus: The Warriors come into Friday’s matchup with a 6-4 overall record and a 4-2 mark in CCAA play. Cal State Stanislaus picked up a pair of wins last weekend against Cal State Dominguez Hills and Cal State LA and boast the CCAA Player of the Week in Christin Gowan, who averaged 17 points and four rebounds, 4.5 assists and 3.5 steals per game in the two victories. Katie Busi, Andreanna Marshall and Gowan are all averaging in double figures, led by Busi’s 16.6 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. Last season, the Warriors swept the season series over the Pioneers, including an eight-point win in Turlock.
Watching the Wildcats: Chico State has just one loss on the season and is undefeated in CCAA play entering this weekend’s games. The 20th-ranked Wildcats (9-1, 6-0 CCAA) lead the league in rebounding and three-point shooting, knocking down 38.3 percent of their long-range shots. Molly Collins is pacing Chico State with 9.2 points, followed closely by Pauline Ferrall’s nine points per game, while Kristin Marquardt leads the Wildcats on the boards with 5.7 per contest. The two teams last met on Feb. 12, 2010, when Chico completed the series sweep, topping the Pioneers by a combined total of 33 points in two victories.
Cleaning Up the Glass: Sophomore forward Marlene MacMillan has been a monster on the boards for the Pioneers so far this season, as she leads the team and ranks fifth in the CCAA with 8.5 rebounds per game. After a slow start to her career due to injury, MacMillan looks set to avoid the sophomore slump in 2010-11.
Picking Up Where She Left Off: After earning 2010 CCAA Freshman of the Year honors, Lauren Lucchesi has started the 2010-11 campaign on the right foot, earning a spot on the Lynda Goodrich Classic All-Tournament Team to open the season. The Modesto product averaged 10.5 points and 4.5 rebounds, while shooting 40 percent from the field over the two games. Host Western Washington and St. Martin’s shared the tournament title, while the Vikings’ Amanda Dunbar was named tournament MVP. WWU’s Gabby Wade, the Saints’ Dara Zack and Marelle Moehrle, and Montana State Northern’s Taylor Keller joined Lucchesi and Dunbar on the All-Tournament Team.
MEN’S BASKETBALL (2-8, 0-6 CCAA)
Cal State Stanislaus
Friday, Jan. 7 • 7:30 p.m.
Fitzpatrick Arena • Turlock
Live stats: warriorathletics.com
Chico State
Saturday, Jan. 8 • 7:30 p.m.
Acker Gym • Chico
Live stats: chicowildcats.com
Pioneers Hit the Road for Pair of CCAA Contests: The ÂãÁÄÖ±²¥ men’s basketball team will look to notch its first victory in conference play, as it heads to Cal State Stanislaus and Chico State this weekend. The Pioneers (2-8, 0-6 CCAA) come into the weekend having lost four straight, but will meet a Warrior squad that has just one conference win on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. in Turlock. East Bay will then head north to Chico to take on the Wildcats at Acker Gym at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Last Time Out: East Bay dropped a pair of contest last week to Humboldt State and UC San Diego. The Pioneers fell to the Jacks, 91-69, on Dec. 30 before dropping a 64-53 decision to the Tritons on Jan. 3. In the loss to UCSD, ÂãÁÄÖ±²¥ trailed by as few as four points with less than six minutes remaining, but could not pull back into the game. Mark Samuels paced the Pioneers against the Tritons, scoring 10 points in his ninth double-digit scoring game this year.
Looking Ahead: The Pioneers will return home on Jan. 13 to kick off a four-game homestand that will feature Cal State Dominguez Hills and Cal State LA next weekend, followed by Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State San Bernardino on Jan. 20 and 22, respectively.
Watching the Warriors: Cal State Stanislaus is 3-7 overall and 1-5 in CCAA play following a pair of losses to Cal State Dominguez Hills and Cal State LA last week. The Warriors have lost four of their last five games, notching their only victory during that span on Dec. 18 against Cal Baptist. Reggie Jones is pacing Stanislaus with 14.1 points per game and a .550 shooting percentage, ranking him among the top shooters in the conference. Evan Scott is second on the team, averaging 10.8 points per game and leads the Warriors with five boards per game. Cal State Stanislaus swept the season series last year, picking up a pair of victories, including a seven-point win in Turlock on Feb. 13, 2010.
Checking Out Chico State: The Wildcats are coming off losses at Cal State Dominguez Hills and Cal State LA last week and bring a 7-3 overall record and a 3-3 mark in CCAA play into the weekend. Before last week, Chico State was off to its best start since the 1942-43 season. Chico has four players averaging double digits in scoring, led by Damario Sims’ 14 points per game. Jay Flores, Sean Park and Roderick Hawkins join Sims in double figures, with Flores and Park posting 11.5 and 11.3 points per game, respectively. Meanwhile, Terrence Pellum is pacing the Warriors on the boards with 4.9 rebounds per contest. The last time the Pioneers and Warriors met, Chico State picked up a 71-67 victory in Chico to complete the season sweep on Feb. 12, 2010.
Streaking Samuels: Sophomore guard Mark Samuels was the Pioneers’ leading scorer last year and has picked up where he left off in 2009-10. The Berkeley native collected Sodexo Tip-Off Classic All-Tournament Team honors and is pacing East Bay with 15.8 points per game which is also the one of the top scoring averages in the CCAA. In addition to scoring in double figures in nine out of 10 games this season, Samuels has also stepped up his game on the glass, pulling down a team-leading 4.6 rebounds per game.
Triple Threat: The Pioneers have put together an offensive trio that are all averaging in double digits in scoring and rank among the top scorers in the conference in Mark Samuels, Will Freedman and Roshun Wynne. Samuels is among the conference leaders in scoring and ranks in the top 20 in rebounds, while Wynne and Freedman are both averaging 11.8 points per game, ranking them in the top 25 in the CCAA.
SWIMMING
Fresno State
Saturday, Jan. 8 • 1 p.m.
Clovis North High School • Fresno
Pioneers Return to Action at Fresno State: The ÂãÁÄÖ±²¥ swimming team gets back into the swing of things in the new year this weekend, traveling to Fresno State for a dual meet after a month-long break from competition. East Bay spent a week in Las Vegas training in December and are looking to pick up their second dual-meet victory of the season this weekend. The Pioneers and Bulldogs are set to get underway on Saturday at 11 a.m. at Clovis North High School in Fresno.
Last Time Out: The Pioneers performed well at the UNLV Winter Invitational on Dec. 11-13. East Bay finished tied with Azusa Pacific for seventh place with 15 points. Host UNLV won the nine-team invitational with 968 points. East Bay had a stellar performance in 800 freestyle relay, as the team of Murphy Wimer, Lindsay Miller, Jenni Perez and Sara Bonino went a full 15 seconds faster (8:13.13) than a year ago. Bonino also clocked a time of 18:39.59 to finish 13th in the 1650 freestyle. Freshman breaststroker Rachel Knowles had an outstanding meet, cracking the top-16 twice. Her 14th-place finish in the 100-yard breastroke was a season-best time (1:10.70), and her preliminary time in the 200-yard breastroke (2:29.32) was a personal best and a new sectional cut in USA Swimming. Knowles placed 12th in that event.
Looking Ahead: ÂãÁÄÖ±²¥ returns to action next week when they host San Jose State in their final home meet of the season on Jan. 14 before traveling to Nevada to meet the Wolfpack on Jan. 15.
Bravo Bonino: Junior Sara Bonino collected Pioneer Bookstore Athlete of the Month honors for November after capturing the 1650-yard freestyle at both the Bay Area Invitational and at a double-dual meet against Fresno Pacific and Biola University. She also won the 500-yard freestyle at the FPU/Biola competition and was runner up in this event at the Invitational. Her mile time from the Bay Area Invitational (18:34.23) was the best ever while swimming in the middle of the season during hard training. Out of the five PCSC conference schools the Pioneers have faced thus far, Bonino has been the fastest distance swimmer.