Winter Game Notes - Week 4
Mark Samuels leads the CCAA in scoring. The Pioneers take on NDNU and UC San Diego this week. (Photo: Lee Stidham)
- December 9, 2010
HAYWARD, Calif. –The Pioneer men’s basketball team returns home for a nonconference meeting with Notre Dame de Namur this Saturday, while the women head to Arcata to meet Dominican and Academy of Art in the CCAA/Pac West Challenge. Then, both teams travel to La Jolla to return to conference play at UC San Diego on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the Pioneer swimmers are back in action at the UNLV Invitational in Las Vegas, Nev. Complete notes and schedules are below.
PDF: Winter Game Notes - Week 4
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL (0-4, 0-2 CCAA)
CCAA/Pac West Challenge
Dominican
Saturday, Dec. 11 • 3:30 p.m.
Lumberjack Arena • Arcata
Live stats:
Academy of Art
Sunday, Dec. 12 • 1 p.m.
Lumberjack Arena • Arcata
Live stats:
UC San Diego
Tuesday, Dec. 14 • 5:30 p.m.
RIMAC Arena • La Jolla
Live stats:
Pioneers Prep for Busy Three-Game Week: The Cal State East Bay women’s basketball team faces a tough test in the fourth week of the season, traveling to the CCAA/Pac West Challenge in Arcata this weekend before a quick turnaround and a return to conference play on Tuesday at UC San Diego. The Pioneers (0-4, 0-2 CCAA) will be looking to pick up their first win of the season when they face Dominican on Saturday and Academy of Art on Sunday. Last season, the Pioneers went 0-2 against teams from the Pac West, dropping a pair at the Notre Dame de Namur Classic in December. East Bay is set to meet the Penguins on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. and the Urban Knights at 1 p.m. on Sunday at Redwood Arena in Arcata before traveling south to face the Tritons at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday at RIMAC Arena in La Jolla.
Last Time Out: The Pioneers opened the CCAA slate last weekend, dropping a pair at San Francisco State and Cal State Monterey Bay. In a 46-38 loss to the Gators, East Bay came back from a 26-5 halftime deficit and trailed by as many as 27 in the second half. Senior guard Claudia Nelson’s 15 second half points nearly helped the Pioneers to a comeback win. In the 56-38 loss to the Otters, freshman Cassie Coble scored a season-high 15 on 5-of-9 shooting from the field to lead the Pioneers.
Looking Ahead: East Bay next heads to Arcata for the CCAA/Pac West Challenge on Dec. 11-12, where it will face Dominican and Academy of Art. The Pioneers then return to conference play, hosting Sonoma State on Dec. 19 before taking 10 days off for the holidays.
Dominican Lowdown: The Penguins are coming off a 1-3 weekend at the Mt. McKinley Bank North Star Invitational at Alaska Fairbanks on Thanksgiving weekend. After toppling the Nanooks on Thanksgiving, the Penguins fell to No. 8 Fort Lewis and Mercyhurst to cap the tournament. DU is 1-6 overall heading into this weekend’s matchups in Arcata and is led by Kelsey Janusch’s 13.7 points and Raquel Gomes’ 5.1 rebounds per game.
Uncovering the Urban Knights: Academy of Art enters the weekend tournament with a 1-5 overall record and will face Humboldt State on Saturday before meeting the Pioneers. The Urban Knights have lost back-to-back games and are led by a trio of double-digit scorers in Jessica Nolan, Verity Peets and Devin London. Each is averaging just over 10 points per game, led by Nolan who is also posting 10.2 rebounds per game and was named to last week’s Pac West Weekly Honor Roll after an 18-point, 16-board performance in a loss to Holy Names. In their last meeting with the Pioneers, the Urban Knights picked up a 76-67 victory at the NDNU Classic in Belmont on Dec. 19, 2009.
Scouting San Diego: The Tritons have won three of their last four games and bring a 3-6 overall record and 1-1 mark in CCAA play into next the week. UC San Diego split their opening weekend in conference play, falling in double overtime, 92-91, to Cal State Monterey Bay before toppling SFSU, 66-52. UCSD boasts four players averaging double figures in scoring, including Chelsea Carlisle whose 18. points per game rank second in the conference. Meanwhile Emily Osga (14.3 ppg), Lauren Freidenberg (12.9) and Daisy Feder (11.9) all join Carlisle in the top 20 in scoring in the CCAA. Freidenberg and Osga lead the Tritons’ rebounding efforts with 6.9 and 6.2 boards per game, respectively. As a team, UCSD has the top scoring offense in the CCAA and ranks among the top-three in the conference in five other categories. Last season, the Tritons swept the series with East Bay, notching a pair of double-digit 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 with 10.3 rebounds per game. That figure ranks second in the CCAA and makes MacMillan one of just two players in the conference averaging double digit rebounds. 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 (1-4, 0-2 CCAA)
Notre Dame de Namur
Saturday, Dec. 11 • 3 p.m.
Pioneer Gym • Hayward
Live stats:
UC San Diego
Tuesday, Dec. 14 • 7:30 p.m.
RIMAC Arena • La Jolla
Live stats:
East Bay Set to Meet Notre Dame de Namur and UC San Diego: The Cal State East Bay men’s basketball team will take a quick break from CCAA play to take on Notre Dame de Namur before jumping back in to face UC San Diego this week. The Pioneers (1-4, 0-2 CCAA) are coming off a pair of losses to open the conference season and have lost four straight, but posted a win over another Pac West Conference squad in Academy of Art to kick off the regular season. East Bay plays host to the Argonauts on Saturday at 3 p.m. at Pioneer Gym before traveling to UCSD on Tuesday to meet the Tritons at 7:30 p.m. at RIMAC Arena.
Last Time Out: The Pioneers dropped the first two games of the CCAA season last weekend, falling at San Francisco State, 79-54, and at Cal State Monterey Bay, 67-60. In the loss to the Otters, East Bay saw three players reach double digits in scoring, including Mark Samuels who notched his fourth double-figure scoring night in five games. Will Freedman led the Pioneers against the Otters, posting his first double-double of the season with 17 points and 10 boards.
Looking Ahead: East Bay will play its final game before the 10-day holiday break on Dec. 19 when it plays host to Sonoma State. The Pioneers return to action after Christmas when they host Humboldt State on Dec. 30.
Notre Dame de Namur Notes: The Argonauts come into the weekend with a 1-5 overall record after snapping a five-game losing streak with a 73-67 victory over William Jessup on Dec. 8. NDNU is led by the duo of Jeff Ford and Arron Mollet who are averaging 15.5 and 10.5 points per game, respectively. Mollet has been the Argonauts’ leading scorer in each of the last two games, including a season-high 24 points against WJU, while Ford posted 29 in a loss to Minnesota State. Tyler Fricke is leading NDNU on the boards, pulling down 6.5 rebounds per game. The Pioneers and Argos last met on Nov. 27, 2009, when East Bay notched a 71-64 victory in Belmont.
Tracking the Tritons: UC San Diego is coming off a pair of losses at Cal State Monterey Bay and San Francisco State to open the conference season last weekend and enters Tuesday’s matchup with a 5-3 overall record. The Tritons won five of six to start the season, including a 20-point victory over common opponent Academy of Art, but matched the Pioneers last weekend with a pair of losses to kick off CCAA play. UCSD is led by three players averaging double figures in scoring in Casey Ryan, James McCann and Christian Hatch. Ryan paces the Tritons with 12.3 points and 8.3 rebounds per game, the latter of which ranks second in the conference. Meanwhile, McCann and Hatch are not far off with 12 and 11.5 points per game, respectively. As a team, UCSD leads the CCAA in rebounding defense, allowing opponents just 26..6 boards per game, and is second in rebounding margin, pulling down an average of 10.7 more rebounds than its opponents. Last season, the Tritons took a pair from the Pioneers by an average of 19.5 points.
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 16.6 points per game which is also the top scoring average in the CCAA. In addition to scoring in double figures in four out of five games this season, Samuels has also stepped up his game on the glass, pulling down a team-leading 5.2 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 leads the conference in scoring, as well as ranking in the top 15 in rebounds, while Freedman is ninth in scoring at 14.4 points per game. Meanwhile, the newcomer, Wynne, also ranks in the top 25 in the CCAA in scoring with 11.6 points per contest. East Bay joins UC San Diego and Chico State as the only schools in the conference to have three players ranked in the top 25 in scoring so far this season.
SWIMMING
UNLV Invitational
Dec. 11-13 • All Day
Buchanan Natatorium • Las Vegas, Nev.
East Bay To Cap First Half at UNLV Invitational: The Cal State East Bay swimming team will head to Las Vegas, Nev., this weekend for the UNLV Winter Invitational where it will meet Division I and II squads in a championship meet format. The meet will mark Pioneer Head Coach Ben Loorz’ return to UNLV, where he served as an assistant coach for three years before joining the East Bay staff this summer. The Pioneers will get underway with prelims on Friday at the Buchanan Natatorium on the UNLV campus.
Last Time Out: The Pioneers finished third at a tri-meet with Fresno Pacific and Biola on Nov. 20 in Fresno. East Bay fell to FPU, 164-92, and to Biola, 182-86, the Pioneers had some impressive individual performances. For the second straight meet, Sara Bonino continued to impress. Bonino was the overall winner in both the 1650 (18:49.2) and 500 freestyle (5:30.54) events, swimming comparable times to her efforts from last weekend. She also competed in two relay events, which made her one of the busiest swimmers at the meet. Rachel Knowles was the other workhorse of the afternoon, racing to a third-place finish in the 200 breast (2:37.30) followed a short time later by second-place finishes in the 100-yard breast (1:13.85) and 400 IM (5:08.92).
Looking Ahead: Following this weekend’s meet, the Pioneers will take a break from competition for the holidays before returning to action on Jan. 8 when they travel to Fresno State for a dual meet.
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.