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2013 NCAA WBB Regional Graphic-WWU

Otters Ready For Semifinals Against Top-Seeded WWU

| By: By Kevin Gilmore

With win Monday, CSUMB would reach first Sweet 16 in program history






BELLINGHAM, Wash. -- Monday's NCAA Division II West Regional semifinal has the feel of a classic David versus Goliath encounter. Playing the role of David will be No. 5 seed Cal State Monterey Bay (20-8 overall), making its third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and its second-ever appearance in the round of 32. In the role of Goliath is Western Washington (26-3), the region's top seed and the No. 5 ranked team in NCAA Division II play this season.

Founded in 1893, Western Washington literally has more than a 100 year head start on CSUMB (founded 1994). In fact, Carmen Dolfo became Western's Head Coach three years before CSUMB was born.

Neverthless, the Otters have quickly risen through the ranks from brash newcomer to establishment power in less than five full seasons under Head Coach Renee Jimenez, earning their chance to play giant killer this season thanks to a thrilling 66-64 win over 16th-ranked Chico State in Saturday's regional quarterfinals. Monday's winner will advnace to Tuesday's regional championship game against either Simon Fraser (24-5) or Grand Canyon (23-8).

Otter fans can CLICK HERE TO LISTEN LIVE to the CSUMB broadcast with Mitch McClellan calling the play-by-play from courtside in Carver Gym. Click on the link to the NCAA West Regional website at the top of this story for live stats and live video links.




SCOUTING THE VIKINGS (26–3): Western Washington has been the top–ranked team in the region throughout the 2012–13 season. The Vikings enter Monday's game riding a nine–game winning streak, including Saturday's 70–50 win over Academy of Art in the NCAA Regional quarterfinals. WWU is an experienced team with a trio of seniors topping the stat charts: Post Britt Harris (14.2 ppg/5.8 rpg), guard Corinn Waltrip (11.6 ppg/2.3 rpg) and guard Trishi Williams (10.6 ppg/6.0 rpg). Junior post Sarah Hill is WWU's top rebounder at 6.4 rpg.

WHEN LAST WE MET: The teams played a hard–fought opener in the 2012 NCAA West Regional that Western Washington pulled out late for a 65–58 win at UCSD's RIMAC Arena. CSUMB erased a 14–point halftime deficit, and take its final lead of the game at 58–57 inside the final three minutes. But senior wing Brandi Stephens injured her knee on a fastbreak during the comeback, and an already banged up Otter roster couldn't absorb the blow as the Vikings held on. Jessica Fontenette (Chino Hills/Bishop Amat) led CSUMB with a career–high 15 points. Corinn Waltrip scored 15 for WWU.

vs. COMMON OPPONENTS: CSUMB and Western Washington played four common opponents in 2012–13: Academy of Art, Chico State, Sonoma State and UC San Diego. Here's how they fared in those games:
CSUMB (6–3): 1–0 vs. Academy of Art; 2–1 vs. Chico State; 2–0 vs. Sonoma State; 1–2 vs. UC San Diego
WWU (2–2): 1–0 vs. Academy of Art; 0–1 vs. Chico State; 0–1 vs. Sonoma State; 1–0 vs. UC San Diego

WHEN LAST WE PLAYED: It was a typical knock–down, drag–out battle between CSUMB and Chico State that, as ever, came down to the closing seconds. This time, the Otters erased a late eight–point deficit to upend Chico 66–64 in the opening round of the NCAA West Regional Saturday night. Senior center Brittani Jefferson (Palmdale/Antelope Valley JC) made the clutch shot, finishing a layup with 3.9 seconds left that capped a 10–0 Otter run over the final 4:08 of regulation. Senior forward Gabby Munsch (Lodi/CSU San Marcos) came off the bench to lead both teams with 18 points and 10 rebounds for her second double–double of the season.

JEFFY TO THE RESCUE: For the second time in CSUMB's last three postseason wins, Brittani Jefferson earned the title of heroine by making a last–second shot to win the game. In addition to Saturday's game–winner vs. Chico State, Jefferson hit a layup as time expired to win the 2012 CCAA Tournament championship game vs. Cal State L.A., 71–69.

20–20 VISION: Saturday's win over Chico State secured CSUMB's third consecutive 20–plus win season. CSUMB won 27 games in 2011 (27–4) and 21 games in 2012 (21–9). During the Renee Jimenez era of CSUMB basketball (2008–09 to the present) the Otters have averaged 19 wins per season. Prior to Jimenez, the Otters had never won as many as 10 games in a season.

OTTERS IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT: This marks CSUMB's third consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Otters own an all–time record of 2–2 in tournament action, going 1–1 in 2011 and 0–1 in 2012.

A PERFECT 10…POINTS PER GAME: Thanks in part to scoring a career–high 23 points in CSUMB's CCAA Tourney opening win over Cal Poly Pomona, Brittani Jefferson raised her season scoring average to 11.3 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 ppg in 2010.

HOT AND COLD: Nearly two–thirds of CSUMB's 142 three–point field goals this season have come in 11 hot–shooting games when the Otters went a combined 91–for–217 from beyond the arc (41.9 pct.). In CSUMB's other 17 games this season, it has shot just 51–for–275 (18.5 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. Friday night's overtime loss to Chico State snapped the Otters 13–game winning streak when draining at least six long balls. Even more impressive, CSUMB is 25–4 (a winning percentage of 86.2) in its last 29 contests when it made at least six three–pointers. All–time under Jimenez, CSUMB is 60–14 (81.1 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 Monday's game vs. Western Washington, the Otters have held 11 opponents (of 27 this season) under 50 points. Including Chico State Saturday night, only five opponents have reached the 60–point plateau in regulation against CSUMB.

PICK UP THE PACE: While CSUMB's bread and butter remains its defense, the Otters registered more than 70 points in three consecutive games last week for the first time this season. The last time the Otters broke 70 in three consecutive games came Dec. 10–19, 2011 in wins over Simpson University (86–55), Cal State L.A. (71–60) and Cal State Dominguez Hills (71–51). The Otters have never score 70 or more points in four consecutive games.

70 IS THE ANSWER TO EVERYTHING: With apologies to Douglas Adams, the answer to everything isn't 42, it's 70. The Otter saw their streak of 28 consecutive wins when scoring at least 70 points snapped Mar. 1 in overtime vs. Chico State. In fact, CSUMB is 30–2 all–time when scoring 70 or more points under Renee Jimenez. Prior to last week, the Otters hadn't scored 70 in defeat since a 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 69 of its last 73 regular season games in which it has led at halftime. In fact, under Jimenez, the Otters have a 75–5 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.

ON THE REBOUND: The Otters enter Monday's game averaging 40.8 rebounds per game. That mark would be a school record for rebounding average in a season, eclipsing the 38.4 rebounds per game pulled down by the 2006–07 Otters. In terms of total rebounds, CSUMB enters the week with 1,060 boards, good for No. 3 on that list. The school record for total rebounds is 1,173 set over 31 games by the 2010–11 Otters.

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 three steals to her larder Saturday to increase her school record 72 in one season, besting the previous mark of 65 set by Jennifer Lopez in 2006. She now has 180 career steals, eclipsing Andrews' mark by 46. Junior forward Holly Holcomb currently ranks No. 6 on the list with 98.


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.


THAT GIRL GIVES A HAND: Jessica Fontenette matched her personal best with seven assists in the Dec. 5 win over Academy of Art. That mark ties for the No. 8 spot in the CSUMB record book. Fontenette now has 214 career assists, passing Alma Lopez's CSUMB standard of 206 assists set 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 53.3 ppg, good for No. 8 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.



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