2019-20 Women's Basketball Notebook - Week 4

LIVE LINKS: Live Video of the 2019 Best Western Caldwell Inn and Suites Classic will be on the C of I Stretch Internet Portal. Live Stats for all of the games this weekend can be found on DakStats.

COMPLETE MEDIA GAME NOTES
 
LEADING THE CONFERENCE: The Yotes have taken advantage of their opportunities at the free throw line to this point in the season, hitting on 78 percent of attempts (84-108). Warner Pacific (73 percent), Oregon Tech (73 percent), Corban (71 percent) and Multnomah (70 percent) are the other CCC teams that have knocked down their charity attempts at a 70 percent or higher clip. Six different players are shooting 80 percent or better at the line for the Yotes.
 
HISTORY IN THE BEST WESTERN CALDWELL INN AND SUITES CLASSIC: For the 19th time C of I will host the Best Western Caldwell Inn and Suites Classic, formerly known as the Lady Yotes Classic. The Yotes boast a record of 21-14 in the event, with nine titles over that time period. Of the teams in the field of four this year, Eastern Oregon has appeared the most times, going 20-11 with six titles in 16 appearances. Linfield came to Caldwell in 2008 and went 0-2, while Carroll has never played in the event. Montana Western won the most recent Best Western Caldwell Inn and Suites Classic back in 2017, defeating C of I 68-42 and EOU 79-65. Brianna King set the new high-scoring mark for a game in the tournament with 37 and also broke the field goals record with 13 in a contest.
 
BASKETBALL SEASON TICKETS: Season Tickets for the 2019-20 C of I basketball season are currently available via the Yotes Online Ticket Portal – beginning at just $150 – or by calling the ticket office at 208-459-5223.
 
YOTES PICKED FIFTH IN CCC: The C of I was picked to finish fifth in the 2019 Cascade Conference Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll, released Oct. 8 by the league office. The Yotes received 81 points in the poll, which is voted on by the coaches in the CCC. Eastern Oregon was selected as the preseason favorite to claim the conference title for the third consecutive year after a 29-4 mark a season ago. The Mountaineers received seven first-place votes and 115 points, but have to replace CCC Player of the Year Maya Ah You Dias, who averaged 23.2 points, 9 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. Corban follows EOU in the poll with three first-place votes and 110 points, while Oregon Tech (94) and Southern Oregon (90) round out the Top-5 ahead of the Yotes.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW - CARROLL: The Fighting Saints have started the season 4-3, with two of those losses coming against Division I opponents at Montana and Montana State. Carroll pushed the Grizzlies to overtime on Oct. 29 thanks to 42 percent shooting and four players posting double-digit scoring outputs. Danielle Wagner (12.3 ppg, 4 rpg, 11 steals), Sienna Swannack (11.6 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 14 steals) and Christine Denny (10.7 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 17 steals) lead the way for head coach Rachelle Sayers from the guard line. Carroll defeated C of I 79-54 last month in Helena in a game that had the start delayed due to a local power outage.

OPPONENT PREVIEW - LINFIELD: All six players who started a game last year return for Linfield, which lost 70-66 against the Yotes on their home floor. The Wildcats average just under 83 points per game, while allowing 70.8 to opponents. Molly Danielson (20 ppg, 12 rpg), Kory Oleson (19.6 ppg, 7.8 rpg) and Delaney Ragan (14 ppg, 3 rpg) are the leading scorers so far this season. Jordyn Feinauer (8 ppg) is a dangerous option from outside, hitting on 44 percent of her 3-point tries.

A CONSISTENT PRESENCE: Senior Mackenzie Royce-Radford has led C of I in scoring in five of seven games this year and is averaging 14.1 points per game, which is fifth in the conference. After posting 10 points per contest a year ago, Royce-Radford has elevated her game in the early season and scored in double-digits in six of seven games.

POSITIVE FOURTH QUARTERS: C of I is outscoring opponents 130-127 in the final quarter. The Yotes have been outscored by opponents in each of the first three quarters of games.

IMPACT NEWCOMERS: Freshmen Lexi Mitchell (7 ppg, 2.4 rpg) and Allie Cannon (2.9 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 5 steals) each started at least one game last weekend. Mitchell is hitting 47 percent of her 3-point tries, while Cannon has been a steady presence on the floor, averaging 15.3 minutes per game.

EMMA ELEVATING HER GAME: Fellow freshman Emma Anthony had her best game as a Yote against Montana Western, hauling in 11 rebounds and adding six points and three blocks. The interior presence from Mountain View High in Meridian is averaging just under four points and three rebounds per game this year.

NEXT UP: The Yotes begin conference play inside the J.A. Albertson Activities Center on Dec. 6 against Warner Pacific. C of I then takes on Multnomah on Dec. 7 to round out the opening weekend of CCC action. Last year the Yotes went 1-1 against the Knights and 2-0 against the Lions. Following the battles against WPU and Multnomah, C of I then has a week off from conference play before heading to Oregon to play Oregon Tech and Southern Oregon on Dec. 20 and Dec. 21.

EXTENDED STAY: After traveling for the first five games of the season, the schedule has shifted to feature zero games outside of the Treasure Valley for C of I until a Dec. 20 clash at Oregon Tech. The home stretch spans six games, with an exhibition tilt against Northwest Nazarene mixed into the schedule on Dec. 14.

FOOTBALL CONNECTIONS: C of I women's basketball has had multiple football connections over the years, including Christon Vander Esch, the sister of current Dallas Cowboys linebacker Leighton Vander Esch, who finished with 15 steals in a game during the 2008 Lady Yotes Classic. Current C of I football player Miles Maupin is the brother of women's basketball player Hannah Maupin. Another brother, Cole, played tight end for the Yotes as well.

LAST YEAR OF THE NAIA DIVISION II: The 2019-20 season will be the final season with the NAIA sponsoring two divisions, as the association will return to a single division for the first time since the 1991-92 season. Beginning in 2020-21, the new-look national tournament will feature 64 teams playing at 16 Opening Round sites, with the 16 Opening Round champions advancing to the Final Site of the NAIA Championships in Sioux City, Iowa.