LIVE LINKS: Live Video and Live Stats of the game at Northwest Nazarene on Saturday can be found on the NNU
Stretch Internet Portal.
COMPLETE MEDIA GAME NOTES
HISTORY IN EXHIBITION GAMES: The Yotes will be playing in their 26th all-time exhibition game against an NCAA foe, as the NAIA allowed teams to designate games against NCAA or NCCAA competition starting in the 2004-05 season. Of the games, 14 have been against Division I opponents – including C of I's only two exhibition wins - a 69-65 victory at Weber State in 2008 and an 86-81 win in 2014 at Utah State. The Division I exhibitions have included - at Boise State (L 81-54 in 2004), at Boise State (L 91-57 in 2005), at Utah (L 93-45 in 2006), at Utah State (L 99-65 in 2007), at Weber State (W 69-65 in 2008), at Utah Valley (L 72-56 in 2009), at Boise State (L 89-53 in 2010), at Montana State (L 99-50 in 2011), at Boise State (L 61-47 in 2013), at Boise State (L 92-56 in 2013), at Utah State (W 86-81 in 2014), at Boise State (L 91-40 in 2014), at Idaho State (L 89-32 in 2017) and at Weber State (L 93-67 in 2018). The match-up vs. Northwest Nazarene has been an exhibition game every year since 2008 – with NNU winning all 11 previous exhibition tilts, including last season's 86-61 decision in Caldwell.
LEADING THE CONFERENCE: The Yotes have taken advantage of their opportunities at the free throw line to this point in the season, hitting on 74 percent of attempts (137-184). Multnomah (71 percent), Oregon Tech (71 percent) and Corban (71 percent) are the only other CCC teams that have knocked down their charity attempts at a 70 percent or higher clip. Four different players are shooting 80 percent or better at the line for the Yotes.
BEST CCC START IN YEARS: By winning both games last weekend against Warner Pacific and Multnomah, C of I has started Cascade Conference play 2-0 for the first time since the 2012-13 season, where the Yotes defeated Warner Pacific and Concordia in the opening week of league action. That team went 22-9 and advanced to the NAIA Division II Women's Basketball Championships.
QUICK START: The 56 points in the first half against Multnomah were the most this season for the Yotes and the first time C of I has eclipsed 50 points in half since last February against Warner Pacific when the team tallied 50 points in the second half of a 92-90 win.
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.
OPPONENT PREVIEW - NORTHWEST NAZARENE: The Nighthawks went 29-3 last season and advanced to the NCAA Division II National Tournament, falling in the second round 69-67 to Alaska Anchorage. This year, NNU has started 6-3, including 2-0 in conference play. All nine games this season have featured the same starting lineup for the Nighthawks, with Avery Albrecht (15.9 ppg, 5.8 rpg), Marina Valles (14.4 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 4.4 apg, 39 steals) and Erin Jenkins (12.4 ppg, 4.4 rpg) highlighting the starters.
AGAINST NNU: No games have been decided by single digits in the series between the two Canyon County Schools since 1999, with the last win for C of I coming in December of 2006 by a score of 70-54. The closest meeting ever was that 1999 contest in Caldwell, where the Yotes came out on top 50-49.
ALL OVER THE LEADERBOARD: Senior guard
Mackenzie Royce-Radford is all over the conference statistical leaderboard, averaging 13.6 points per game (6th), 2.5 assists per game (9th), shooting 37 percent on 3-pointers (6th) and draining 82 percent of free throws (5th). Royce-Radford is the only player on the roster to start all 11 games.
GLASS CLEANERS FOR HIRE: C of I has won three games in a row, outrebounding opponents in all three contests by a combined total of 142-107 after being outrebounded by the opposition in five of the first seven games.
QUALITY PERIMETER DEFENSE: For the second time in four games, C of I held an opponent without a 3-pointer on Saturday, with Multnomah shooting 0-for-14 from distance. Prior to last Friday against Carroll, the Yotes had not held an opponent without a 3-pointer since December of 2012 in a 78-56 win over Evergreen, a stretch that spanned 193 games.
SEASON BEST MARKS: The 81 points against Multnomah was a season high for the Yotes and the 47 allowed was a season low.
DEEP ROTATION: Head coach
Janis Beal has utilized 12 players for over 10 minutes per game this season, with
Mackenzie Royce-Radford (28.5 mpg),
Makenna Schritter (20.2 mpg) and
Tayla Sayer (23.1 mpg) the only players averaging over 20 minutes per contest. In addition to the balanced minutes, 10 different players have started this year, including freshmen
Lexi Mitchell and
Allie Cannon.
NEXT UP: The Yotes play at Oregon Tech and Southern Oregon on Dec. 20-21 to conclude the 2019 portion of the conference schedule.
MAGIC NUMBER: C of I is 3-0 this season when scoring 70 or more points in a game, with wins at Linfield (70-66), vs. Warner Pacific (76-70) and vs. Multnomah (81-47).
STEPPING UP ON THE BOARDS: Guard
Makenna Schritter has posted six or more rebounds in three of her last four games, while
Lexi Mitchell has added three straight efforts with six boards.
Emma Anthony has five or more rebounds in three of her last four games.
SEE YOU IN 2020: C of I does not host a game inside the J.A. Albertson Activities Center until January 3-4 when Corban and Northwest Christian come to town. The Yotes will play the exhibition at NNU and the two games in Oregon after playing six consecutive games at home.
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.
