2020-21 Women's Basketball Notebook (Week 2)

GAME COVERAGE: Each game against William Jessup this weekend will be broadcast on the Yotes Digital Network with Sven Alskog on the call. Fans can follow Live Stats on the C of I SIDEARM Stats Portal.

COMPLETE MEDIA GAME NOTES
 
NO FANS TO START THE SEASON: Following a year in which head coach Janis Beal's team took home the Cascade Conference attendance crown - bringing in an average of 790 fans per game - the Yotes will be playing inside of an empty J.A. Albertson Activities Center this season until further notice due to COVID-19 regulations and protocols. C of I has won the CCC attendance crown in two consecutive seasons and finished ahead of 153 Division I schools, including Portland, Washington State, Eastern Washington, Utah State, Idaho and Weber State last year. The attendance inside the J.A. Albertson Activities Center last winter was higher than 278 of 312 Division II schools.
 
MITCHELL NAMED CASCADE CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: College of Idaho guard Lexi Mitchell was honored as the Embrace Health-Santiam Hospital Cascade Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Week, the league office announced on Monday. Mitchell, a sophomore from Middleton, was the high-scorer for the Yotes in two of three games over the course of the opening weekend. She scored 12 points and grabbed three rebounds in the C of I season opener at Boise State and capped off the week with two impressive performances on the boards at Montana Western, hauling in six rebounds on Saturday and eight more on Sunday. Mitchell added 12 points in the second contest at the Bulldogs as well. Over the course of the three-game opening weekend, Mitchell averaged team-highs with 9.3 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.
 
WINNING THE BOARDS: The Yotes outrebounded Montana Western in each game in Dillon, taking the battle on the glass 43-37 on Saturday and 33-25 on Sunday. Three guards are averaging over five rebounds per contest through three games, including Lexi Mitchell (5.7), Cierra Dvorak (5.5) and Allie Cannon (5.3).
 
AT HOME: For the first time this season the Yotes will play a game on their home court after finishing with a 9-6 mark inside the J.A. Albertson Activities Center last year. C of I has now posted winning records at home in back-to-back campaigns after going 6-5 in 2018-19.
 
LATE HOME OPENER: When C of I takes the floor this weekend it will mark the latest that the Yotes have played a home opener since Jan. 4, 1980 when the program fell by a final of 81-32 to Montana State Northern. Overall, C of I has posted a record of 12-13 in home openers and will be looking to win their first home opening game inside the JAAC since the 2013-14 season when the Yotes topped Montana Western by a 65-56 final on Nov. 22.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW - WILLIAM JESSUP: The Warriors finished last season 20-11 overall and 12-6 in the Golden State Athletic Conference. Hernando Planells, formerly the associate head coach at Duke, is in his first season as the head coach at William Jessup. He inherits a strong roster led by honorable mention NAIA All-American Miranda Zaragoza (14 ppg, 12 rpg). Other key contributors that are back from last year include Aycee Willis (12 ppg, 4 rpg) and JoeLyn Stirton (11 ppg, 5 rpg). The roster has nine new players, including five freshman and four transfers. Three of the transfers come to Rocklin, Calif. by way of Notre Dame de Namur, highlighted by Cheyanne Jankulovski, who averaged 10 points, 6 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game last season. William Jessup took Division 1 opponent Nevada all the way to the final possession on Nov. 28, falling 66-65 in Reno. The Warriors play at Division 1 opponents Cal Baptist, Southern Utah and Utah Valley this week prior to coming to Caldwell.

CALIFORNIA TO IDAHO: William Jessup marks the first California team to play against C of I inside the JAAC since Fresno Pacific on Nov. 25, 2011. The Yotes won that game by a score of 75-70. Dating back to the beginning of the 2011-12 season, C of I has played six games against schools from the Golden State, posting a record of 3-3, including a win in Oakland over Menlo in 2011 and a win in Riverside over La Sierra in 2018. This will be the first time that the Yotes have played the Warriors.

CANNON SCORES CAREER-HIGH AT MONTANA WESTERN: Guard Allie Cannon contributed a personal best 14 points on 5-of-12 shooting from the floor last Saturday in Dillon. Cannon saw the most action over the course of the opening three games, averaging 31.3 minutes per contest. The sophomore from Blackfoot was a key part of the C of I rotation, averaging 7.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game.

DVORAK MAKES C OF I DEBUT: Redshirt senior guard Cierra Dvorak stepped on the floor in the purple and white for the first time on Saturday at Montana Western and made an immediate impact with six assists and a pair of steals.

ANDERSON EFFICIENT: Freshman forward Emma Anderson also made her C of I debut last weekend, finishing the first three games with the highest shooting percentage on the roster by converting on 7-of-13 attempts (54 percent). The Logan, Utah native scored 11 points and grabbed four rebounds on Saturday at Montana Western to earn a spot in the starting lineup for the finale in Dillon.

SHEPHERD MAKES COLLEGIATE DEBUT: Along with Anderson, redshirt freshman guard Chevelle Shepherd saw game action at the NAIA level for the first time, finishing off the weekend strong by tallying eight points and three rebounds on Sunday. Shepherd also drew a pair of charges over the first three games.

RASMUSSEN PRODUCTIVE: Senior forward Kiersten Rasmussen saw a spike in her scoring and rebounding outputs from a year ago over the first three games, raising her scoring average to 7 points per game and her rebounding average to four per contest. Rasmussen also blocked two shots in the first game at Montana Western. The Soda Springs product averaged 5.9 points and 2.9 rebounds per game last season.

RECORD BOOK: Three players continue to climb the record books for the Yotes, including Sophia Jackson and Kaylee Krusemark, who are among the all-time leaders in made 3-pointers in program history. Jackson has hit 73 triples in her collegiate career, putting her at 16th on the career list, while Krusemark has hit 61 to put her at 22nd. Kiersten Rasmussen has also been climbing the record books with 60 blocks for her career, which is eighth in C of I history.

HOME BROADCAST INFORMATION: Fans will be able to follow Coyote Basketball this season online - with all home games carried live on C of I's Stretch Internet Portal using the new StretchCast system. The broadcasts will feature an enhanced look and feel of a traditional television broadcast, with features, graphics and insight on the Yotes. Sven Alskog will have the play-by-play beginning 15 minutes prior to tip for all women's basketball home games. All links to broadcasts originated while the Yotes are on the road can be found online at YoteAthletics.com underneath the women's basketball schedule page.

YOTES PICKED EIGHTH IN CCC: C of I was picked to finish eighth in the Cascade Conference Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll that was released Oct. 6 by the league office. New conference foe Lewis-Clark State was voted the preseason favorite with 139 points and eight first-place votes. The Warriors went 21-10 last season and made the Frontier Conference Championship, falling 69-66 to Providence. Bushnell received four first-place tallies and 136 points to be chosen second in the poll after making a trip to the national tournament last year. The Beacons are led by senior Morgan McKinney, who returns after posting 18.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game on her way to CCC Player of the Year accolades as a junior. Eastern Oregon and Southern Oregon each tied for third with 107 points and Oregon Tech racked up 97 points to finish out the top-five. Warner Pacific (78 points) and Corban (71 points) were selected to finish sixth and seventh in the poll. After C of I in the No. 8 spot (59 points), Northwest (49 points), Evergreen (41 points), Multnomah (25 points) and Walla Walla (21 points) rounded out the poll.

A NEW LOOK NAIA: The new season also marks the first time since 1991 that the NAIA will operate with just one division in basketball – combining the Division I and Division II leagues. The association will operate with an eight scholarship maximum (three less than the Division I used previously, but two more than the Division II allowed). The change will also affect the NAIA Championships, as the field will grow from 32 teams to 64, starting with 16 4-team Opening Round sites, with each of the 16 winners earning a trip to the Final Site in Sioux City, Iowa. The J.A. Albertson Activities Center has been certified as a potential venue for the NAIA Opening Round, with the decision made by the national office in February.

UP NEXT: The Yotes have added a second game at Boise State on Dec. 16. Opening tip is scheduled for 2 p.m. inside ExtraMile Arena in Boise.