FULL HUMBOLDT STATE NOTEBOOK IN PDF FORMAT



SEASIDE, Calif -- The Cal State Monterey Bay women's basketball team opens defense of its 2010-11 CCAA title by hosting a pair of games this weekend. Friday (Dec. 2) brings undefeated Humboldt State to town while Saturday (Dec. 3) will see Sonoma State visit The Kelp Bed. Both games tip-off at 5:30 p.m. as the openers of men's/women's doubleheader action.

SCOUTING THE LUMBERJACKS: Humboldt State enters the week riding a season–opening four–game win streak, including a CCAA–opening 57–54 win over Sonoma State last week. Humboldt's first three wins came by double–digit margins, thanks in large part to a sizzling 41.8 percentage shooting effort from beyond the arc. Junior forward Lisa Petty leads four Lumberjacks scoring in double figures at 15.3 points per game. Senior guard Kayla Williams chips in 11.0 ppg and a team best 4.0 assists per game. Senior forward Bree Halsey is the team's top rebounder at 8.5 rpg.

WHEN LAST WE MET: Seniors Julie Heurung and London Houchin combined for 27 points to lead the Otters to a 74–54 win over Humboldt State on Feb. 19. CSUMB actually trailed 28–27 at halftime before opening the second period with a 22–8 run to take control. The win gave the Otters their first season sweep of the Lumberjacks (CSUMB won in Arcata 72–64 on Jan. 13).

TITLE DEFENSE: The Otters officially begin defense of their CCAA title with Friday's game. The Otters are 4–3 all–time in CCAA openers and are on a four–game CCAA opening win streak. This will be the first time the Otters have ever opened CCAA play against Humboldt State.

RANK IT UP: After finishing 24th in the WBCA/USA Today Top 25 last season, the Otters entered 2011–12 receiving votes in the preseason top 25. It marked the first time the Otters received votes in the preseason national rankings.

KEEP IT ROLLING: The Otters enter Friday's game with the Lumberjacks riding a seven–game CCAA win streak dating back to a Feb. 11 win over Cal State Dominguez Hills. They've won six consecutive CCAA home games and are on a 13–1 CCAA home streak dating back to the 2009–10 season.

TWO TITLES IN ONE: The Otters earned not one but two titles during the 2010–11 campaign. With a 20–2 mark in conference play, the Otters captured their first CCAA women's basketball championship. By allowing just 51.2 points per game, they also earned the NCAA Division II statistical championship for scoring defense. It was the first statistical title for the CSUMB women's basketball program.

STARTING FAST: The Otters found much of their success by starting fast last season. CSUMB went 23–1 when it led at halftime in 2010–11, including a spotless 21–0 mark in the regular season. The Otters have won both games in which they led at the half to start this season.

WHY PLAY 40 MINUTES? Second halves have become all but irrelevant when the Otters lead at intermission under Renee Jimenez. CSUMB has won 42 consecutive regular season games in which it has led at halftime. In fact, under Jimenez, the Otters have a 48–2 all–time regular season record when leading at intermission. The last time the Otters lost such a game came on Feb. 14, 2009 when Cal State L.A. overcame a 29–25 deficit at the break to win 67–63.

BOMBS AWAY, PLAYER EDITION: The Otters continued their historic pace of long–range shooting with a record–setting performance last week. Senior guard Erika Ward (Simi Valley/Ventura College) broke the CSUMB single–game record with six treys in the Nov. 23 win over Colorado State–Pueblo (Dana Andrews twice set the previous standard with five). Ward did it in a recording–breaking 12 attempts, besting the old mark of 11 by Andrews and Veronica Williams.

BOMBS AWAY, TEAM EDITION: As a team, the Otters have tied the school mark for three–pointers in a game twice this season with 11 in wins over Pueblo and Academy of Art.

WELCOME ABOARD: The Otters welcome seven new faces to their 2011–12 roster, including a pair of NCAA Division I transfers in junior Stefanie Corgel (Manhattan Beach/UC Santa Barbara) and sophomore Hillary Drinovsky (Long Beach/Loyola Marymount). Corgel is eligible to play immediately while Drinovsky must sit due to NCAA transfer regulations.

WELCOME ABOARD, COACHES EDITION: The Otter bench will welcome a pair of new coaches as well in 2011–12. Former NBA star Tariq Abdul–Wahad, the first French national to play in the NBA, will get his first taste of collegiate coaching with the Otters this season. Meanwhile, LaShawn Johnson will make the transition from player to student–assistant coach in 2011–12. Johnson appeared in 24 games for the Otters as a senior in 2010–11, averaging 9.4 points and 3.1 rebounds per game.

THIEVES IN THE NIGHT: Two Otters continued their climbs up the CSUMB career top 10 for steals. Junior guard Holly Holcomb (Ventura/Buena HS) grabbed three steals last week to solidify her hold on the No. 7 slot with 71 career steals. Fellow junior guard Jessica Fontenette (Chino Hills/Bishop Amat HS) added seven steals to pass Michelle Santizo for sole possession of ninth place with 62. Both are chasing the career record of 133 set by Dana Andrews from 2006–09.

ON THE BLOCKS: Holly Holcomb also began the season chasing the career blocked shots record. She picked up her first two blocks of the season last week and is alone at No. 3 with 36 career blocks. Julie Heurung set the pace with 77 blocks in just two seasons (2010–11).

ON THE REBOUND: Holly Holcomb continues to claw her way up the Otter career rebounding ladder. She grabbed 16 boards in two games last week to solidify her hold on the No. 4 spot with 307. Next up is Julie Heurung with 416 boards. Krista Herr sets the pace in this category with 643 rebounds from 2005–08.