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2013 WBB Notebook Graphic-Britnee Lewis
Vernon McKnight

March Madness Begins This Week For Women’s Hoops

| By: By Kevin Gilmore
Britnee Lewis is one of six Otter seniors who will be playing their final regular season collegiate games this week.

Otters will determine CCAA seeding, look to strengthen regional ranking







SEASIDE, Calif. -- The roulette wheel that is the CCAA Tournament seeding procedure will come to stop this weekend with the Cal State Monterey Bay women's basketball team finishing somewhere between first and fourth. The Otters will control their part of the spin when they host their final regular season games of 2012-13 by welcoming Cal State Stanislaus (Thursday) and Chico State Friday. Both games tipoff at 5:30 p.m.

Thursday's game will be CSUMB's annual “Pink Out” game to support cancer awareness. Friday will be Senior Night, giving Otter fans a chance to pay tribute to their six seniors: Stefanie Corgel, Jessica Fontenette, Brittani Jefferson, Britnee Lewis, Gabby Munsch and Danielle Padilla.

As always, Otters fans can listen online at www.OtterAthletics.com. Veteran play-by-play man Kevin Richardson will call all of the action live from courtside. Live video will also be available both nights at OtterAthletics.com.

The Otters will return home to host an opening round game of the CCAA Championship Tournament Tuesday, Mar. 5 against an opponent to be determined. Tipoff in The Kelp Bed will be at 7 p.m.


SCOUTING THE WARRIORS (2–23, 1–19 CCAA): It's been a tough row to hoe for first–year Head Coach Wayman Strickland and the Cal State Stanislaus women's basketball team, who have lost 14 consecutive games entering Thursday's contest in The Kelp Bed. The Warriors nearly pulled off the upset Saturday night, leading by as many as three on a Devin Brown steal and layup inside six minutes to play. But the Toros closed the game on a 12–2 run to pull out the 70–63 win. Junior forward Lauren Godde leads Stanislaus in both scoring (15.7 ppg) and is No. 2 in rebounding (7.4 rpg). Her twin sister, Erin Godde, is the Warriors' top rebounder (7.5 rpg).

WHEN LAST WE MET: The Otters jumped to a big early lead and were able to play their entire bench in a 70–44 win at Cal State Stanislaus on Jan. 26. Junior forward Nikki Powell (Eureka/Foothill College) came off the bench to post her first collegiate double–double with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Lauren Godde led Stanislaus with 10 points while Erin Godde grabbed a team–high nine rebounds.

WHEN LAST WE PLAYED: The Otters suffered what might prove to be a fatal blow in the quest for the CCAA regular season title with a shocking 58–49 loss at Cal State San Bernardino last night. CSUMB led for much of the game, but poor rebounding late proved the difference as the Coyotes used 18 second–chance points in the second half to pull of the comeback. Senior forward Brittani Jefferson led all scorers with 19 points. Senior forward Gabby Munsch (Lodi/CSU San Marcos) came off the bench to grab a season–high 10 rebounds.

TO DREAM THE IMPOSSIBLE DREAM: While the Otters have sewn up a CCAA Tournament bid and a first round home game, their final playoff seeding is still undetermined. In fact, with two wins, two UCSD losses (to Sonoma and San Francisco) and a Chico State loss at East Bay, the Otters would earn a share of the CCAA title and the No. 1 seed in the tournament.

A BIT MORE DOWN TO EARTH: While first place might not be the most realistic scenario for the Otters, here are a few more down to Earth possibilities.
  1. (1) With one MB win or one East Bay loss, the Otter clinch at least third place.
  2. (2) With two MB wins and a Chico loss at East Bay, the Otters clinch at least second place.
  3. (3) With two MB losses and two EB wins, the Otters would finish in a tie for third that most likely would result in the No. 4 seed for CSUMB.

EVEN THE LOSERS GET LUCKY SOMETIMES: With a nod to the Tom Petty song of the same name, the Otters have oddly struggled against lesser opposition this season. Of CSUMB's six losses, three have come to teams that entered the game with losing records.

A PERFECT 10.0: Heading into the final week games of regular season action, Brittani Jefferson maintains her season scoring average of 10.8 points per game. She is looking to become the first Otter since Veronica Williams to average double figures in scoring for a season. Williams averaged 12.1 points per game in 2009–10.

HOT AND COLD: Nearly two thirds of CSUMB's 111 three–point field goals this season have come in nine hot–shooting games when the Otters went a combined 73–for–172 from beyond the arc (42.4 pct.). In CSUMB's other 14 games this season, it has shot just 39–for–221 (17.6 pct.) from long range.

SIX IS THE MAGIC NUMBER: Six seems to be the magic number for three–point field goals in the Renee Jimenez era of Otter basketball. Including last week's win at Cal Poly Pomona, the Otters have won 12 consecutive games when draining at least six long balls. Even more impressive, CSUMB is 24–3 (a winning percentage of 88.9) in its last 27 contests when it made at least six three–pointers. All–time under Jimenez, CSUMB is 59–13 (81.9 pct.) when making at least six treys in a game.

THE DEFENSE NEVER RESTS: The Otter defense continues to be as consistent as — for lack of a better comparison — the Otter defense. Entering Thursday's game vs. Cal State Stanislaus, the Otters have held 11 opponents (of 23 this season) under 50 points. Only two opponents have reached the 60–point plateau in regulation against CSUMB, and both came in Otter victories (79–63 vs. Academy of Art on Dec. 5 and 78–66 at Dominguez Hills on Jan. 4).

A MISLEADING RECORD: While Cal State L.A. did touch up the Otter defense for an opponent season–high 72 points on Jan. 5, credit that total to the three overtimes and not the Golden Eagles' scoring prowess. The Otters held CSULA to 45 points in regulation, 53 points through the first overtime and 63 points through the second overtime.

70 IS THE ANSWER TO EVERYTHING: With apologies to Douglas Adams, the answer to everything isn't 42, it's 70. The Otters have won 27 consecutive games when scoring at least 70 points, a streak they continued with their 70–44 win at Cal State Stanislaus on Jan. 26. In fact, CSUMB is 28–1 all–time when scoring 70 or more points under Renee Jimenez. The lone loss, you ask? An 85–79 loss to Cal State Stanislaus on Dec. 6, 2008.

WHY PLAY 40 MINUTES? Second halves have become all but irrelevant when the Otters lead at intermission under Renee Jimenez. CSUMB has won 67 of its last 70 regular season games in which it has led at halftime. In fact, under Jimenez, the Otters have a 73–4 all–time regular season record when leading at intermission. Humboldt State broke the Otters' 52–game win streak in such situations by overcoming a 32–31 on deficit Feb. 4, 2012 to win 65–51. CSUMB was 18–1 when leading at halftime last season.

A THIEF IN THE NIGHT: Jessica Fontenette (Chino Hills/Bishop Amat) finally grabbed the brass ring, taking the career steals record from Dana Andrews (2006–09) in the Jan. 12 win over Humboldt State. She added one steal to her larder Saturday night and now has 167 steals, eclipsing Andrews' mark by 33. Junior forward Holly Holcomb currently ranks No. 6 on the list with 95.

MUNSCH–ING ON THE URBAN KNIGHTS: Senior forward Gabby Munsch (Lodi/Cal State San Marcos) hit 10–of–14 from the field to match her career high with 21 points in CSUMB's Dec. 5 win over Academy of Art. It was CSUMB's first 20–point game of the season and its first since Stefanie Corgel (Manhattan Beach/UCSB) dropped 20 on Cal State L.A. on Dec. 18, 2011. It's still the only 20–point game by an Otter this season.

BACK–TO–BACK DOUBLE–DOUBLES: Junior forward Ashley Morgan (Rohnert Park/Santa Rosa CC) and Brittani Jefferson each posted double–doubles the weekend of Jan. 4–5, with Morgan going for 10 points and 10 rebounds at Dominguez Hills and Jefferson getting 10 and 13 at CSULA. It marks just the third time in four seasons two different Otters have posted consecutive double–doubles. The last two to do it were Jefferson (14 & 10 at SFSU on Jan. 5, 2012) and Shonetta Crain–Williams (14 & 12 at Cal Poly Pomona on Jan. 7, 2012).

In case you're wondering, the last time two Otters posted double–doubles in the same game came on Feb. 18, 2011 when Holly Holcomb had 10 & 10 and Julie Heurung had 20 & 10 in a 62–45 win over Sonoma State on Feb. 18, 2011.

ANOTHER 20–WIN SEASON, ANOTHER TITLE: The Otters secured a second consecutive 20–win season and a second consecutive championship banner with last season's run through the CCAA Tournament. They are the first two of each in CSUMB women's basketball history.

THAT GIRL GIVES A HAND: Jessica Fontenette matched her personal best with seven assists in the win over Academy of Art. That mark ties for the No. 8 spot in the CSUMB record book. Fontenette now has 197 career assists good for No. 2 on that list. Alma Lopez set the CSUMB standard with 206 assists from 2007–08.

THE DEFENSE NEVER RESTS: Otter success in the Renee Jimenez era begins with defense. The 2011–12 Otters allowed just 59.6 points per game, marking the third consecutive season they allowed fewer than 60.0 points per game. The Otters entered the week allowing 51.0 ppg, good for No. 4 in the nation among NCAA Division II schools.

BALANCING ACT: While defense remains the forté, the Otter offense found success by doing an insane balancing act once again in 2011–12. CSUMB's top six scorers averaged between 9.8 and 7.6 points per game, marking the second consecutive season that an Otter championship team did not feature a player who averaged in double figures.

OTTERS WEARING RED? While not traditionally a CSUMB color, red will be the color for four Otters who will redshirt the 2012–13 season: One of the redshirts will be a returning player: Sophomore forward Mykayla Harris. They will be joined on the redshirt list by junior wing Kayla Patton and freshman guards Victoria Dorn and Tyvette White.


GET ENTHUSE, EARN REWARDS

Hey Otter fans, want to earn rewards simply following your favorite CSUMB sports teams? Of course you do. Otter Athletics is partnering with Enthuse to allow you to do just that. All you have to do is visit the iTunes Store (iPhones) or play.google.com (Android) and download the FREE Enthuse app.

Once installed, search for “Monterey Bay Otters” to find your favorite CSUMB teams and you'll start earning points immediately. The more you follow the Otters, the more points you'll earn and the more free stuff you'll get. It really is that easy.

So download the Enthuse app and start earning your rewards today.





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