2019-20 Women's Basketball Notebook - Week 5

LIVE LINKS: Live Video of both games this weekend will be on the C of I Stretch Internet Portal with Sven Alskog on the call. Live Stats for Friday and Saturday can be found on the SIDEARM Stats Portal.

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 73 percent of attempts (105-144). Oregon Tech (71 percent) and Warner Pacific (71 percent) are the only other CCC teams that have knocked down their charity attempts at a 70 percent or higher clip. Five different players are shooting 80 percent or better at the line for the Yotes.

PERIMETER ON LOCKDOWN: By holding Carroll to an 0-for-13 shooting night on 3-pointers last Friday, C of I held an opponent scoreless from beyond the arc for the first time since December 22, 2012 against Evergreen in a 78-56 win, a stretch that spanned 193 games. 
 
ALL OVER THE LEADERBOARD: Senior guard Mackenzie Royce-Radford is all over the conference statistical leaderboard, averaging 13.1 points per game (8th), 2.6 assists per game (9th), shooting 34 percent on 3-pointers (8th) and draining 81 percent of free throws (6th). Royce-Radford is the only player on the roster to start all nine games for the Yotes so far this season.
 
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 - WARNER PACIFIC: The Knights enter conference play with a record of 3-5 and have played Linfield and Pacific - two common opponents with C of I -  dropping both games. Against those same schools, C of I has posted a record of 2-1 this year, with both wins coming against Linfield. Warner Pacific is a dangerous team on the offensive side of the floor, leading the CCC in scoring offense at 69.4 points per game and also leading in 3-point percentage at 35 percent. Four players average double-digit scoring outputs for the Knights, including Courtney Jackson (13.2 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 45 percent 3-point), Gabriella Bruno (12.6 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 36 percent 3-point), Samantha Morgan (12.4 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 17 steals) and Celeste Pantoja (10.4 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 33 percent 3-point).

OPPONENT PREVIEW - MULTNOMAH: When the Lions embark on conference action on Friday at Eastern Oregon, the squad will take a mark of 2-3 into the contest. Multnomah is the stingiest defensive team in the conference statistically, allowing just 54.5 points per game to opponents. Alaygza Portis (11.8 ppg, 5.4 rpg) and Erykah Campbell (11 ppg, 10.4 rpg, 13 blocks) are a couple of the key contributors for head coach Tim Bieri, who has the led program since the beginning.

SCHRITTER FINDING HER GROOVE: Junior guard Makenna Schritter has posted a pair of career-high 14 point performances this season at Montana Tech and against Linfield. Schritter has also been valuable on the glass, averaging 4.5 rebounds per game, including hauling in six against Carroll and nine against Linfield last weekend at home.

DANGEROUS FROM DEEP: It has been a strong start to the season from the 3-point line for Middleton graduates Mackenzie Royce-Radford and Lexi Mitchell. Royce-Radford is hitting on 34 percent (15-of-44) of her tries, with Mitchell connecting on 42 percent (10-of-24).

DEEP ROTATION: Head coach Janis Beal has utilized 12 players for over 10 minutes per game this season, with Mackenzie Royce-Radford (28.4 mpg) and Tayla Sayer (27.7 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: C of I has a week break from conference action, taking on Northwest Nazarene on the road on Saturday at 7 p.m. in an exhibition. The Yotes play at Oregon Tech and Southern Oregon on Dec. 20-21 to conclude the 2019 portion of the schedule.

A RARE LOSS: The Yotes are now 123-4 when allowing under 50 points in the history of the program after a 48-34 loss last week to Carroll in the Best Western Caldwell Inn and Suites Classic. The 34 points were the third-lowest scoring output in program history behind the 33 in 2014 at Westminster and 32 in 1980 against Montana State-Northern. 

IN CONFERENCE OPENERS: Over the last seven years C of I has gone 2-5 in conference openers, with wins over Oregon Tech in Klamath Falls in 2017 and at home against Warner Pacific in 2012. Four of the five losses have come by 10 points or less.

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.