2021-22 Women's Basketball Notebook (Week 4)

GAME COVERAGE: All College of Idaho women's basketball home games will be broadcast live on the Yotes Digital Network with Sven Alskog on the call. Each broadcast will begin 15 minutes prior to opening tip. Individual game passes are available for $10 and season passes are $50. Fans can also follow along with Live Stats on the C of I SIDEARM Stats Portal.

COMPLETE MEDIA GAME NOTES
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW - MONTANA WESTERN: The Bulldogs have started the season 3-1 with wins over Walla Walla, William Jessup and Whitworth to go along with an 87-68 loss in Spokane against Whitman last week. Brynley Fitzgerald (16.3 ppg, 6.5 rpg) has shouldered a heavy workload for Montana Western in the early season, averaging just a shade under 30 minutes per game while leading the team in points and rebounds. In addition, C of I will have to keep an eye out for Shainy Mack and Lilly Gopher who each have nine steals in four games this season. Montana Western has made five straight trips to the NAIA National Tournament, highlighted by winning the 2018-19 championship with a 75-59 win over Oklahoma City in the title tilt.
 
RIGGLE NAMED CASCADE CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: College of Idaho forward Sienna Riggle was honored as the WVT Laboratory Cascade Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Week, the league office announced on Monday. Riggle made a major impact on the inside over the course of a three-game road trip this past weekend to California, helping lead the Yotes to three straight wins to improve the record for the team to 5-0 so far on the campaign. The senior from Stansbury Park, Utah averaged 14.3 points and 10.7 rebounds per game while also racking up four blocked shots, including three against Westcliff in an overtime win. Riggle contributed a pair of double-doubles during the trip and already has three total this season.
 
BEST START IN PROGRAM HISTORY: The 5-0 record to begin the new season is the best mark in C of I women's basketball history, surpassing the 1997-98 and 2012-13 teams that both started 3-0. Each of those teams made the NAIA National Tournament.
 
STILL LOVING THE SUN: C of I now has an impressive 15-6 all-time record in the state of California after the three-game sweep last weekend.
 
WELCOME BACK FANS: After playing without fans last season, the Yotes are eager to get back in front of a large crowd once again this year. Head coach Janis Beal's team was the biggest draw in the CCC regular season back in 2019-20, bringing in an average of 790 fans per game. C of I has won the CCC attendance crown for the past two normal seasons. The attendance inside the J.A. Albertson Activities Center two seasons ago was higher than 283 of 312 Division II schools.

BEAL BEST: By limiting Bethesda to 9-for-41 (22 percent) shooting from the floor on Saturday, the Yotes posted the lowest opponent field goal percentage of the Janis Beal era and the best mark since holding Walla Walla in check to the tune of a 9-for-53 (17 percent) day from the floor on Nov. 26, 2011.
 
WINNING THE BOARDS: The Yotes have won the rebounding battle in all five games this season by at least eight, including outrebounding Pacific Union and Bethesda by 23 each. C of I has also grabbed 50 or more rebounds twice, led by 57 against La Verne. The +16.8 rebound margin is currently second in the Cascade Conference.
 
CONTINUING TO DOMINATE FIRST QUARTER: A trend in the early season for the Yotes has been to jump out in front of the opposition early, as C of I has led at the end of the first 10 minutes in four games while being tied in the other. In total, the Yotes have outscored opponents 99-43 in the first quarter.
 
POSITIVE NUMBERS: The Yotes are second in the CCC, averaging 76.8 points per game. The team is also second in scoring defense, allowing 53.2 points per contest. C of I ranks well in the conference in a number of categories including field goal percentage (3rd), field goal percentage defense (1st), 3-point field goal percentage defense (2nd), rebounding margin (2nd), assists (1st), steals (1st), assist to turnover ratio (2nd), offensive rebounds (1st) and defensive rebounds (2nd).
 
LOTS OF STEALS: C of I had 14 steals at Bethesda, the most for the program since Dec. 6, 2019 against Warner Pacific when the Yotes had 15.
 
SEVEN DOUBLE-DOUBLES: Four players have combined to tally seven double-doubles already this season for C of I, led by Sienna Riggle with three and Lexi Mitchell with two. The Yotes have already surpassed the total number of double-doubles for the team from the past two seasons combined and are within one from equaling the 2018-19 squad that had eight.
 
FIVE IN DOUBLE FIGURES: When five players contributed double-digit scoring outputs at La Verne last week, it marked the first time that had happened for C of I since Dec. 11, 2016 at Walla Walla.
 
VARIETY OF SCORING THREATS: Four different players have led the Yotes in scoring over the first five games, with the 21 points scored by Kenadee French at Simpson serving as the season-high for the team.
 
ONE-TWO PUNCH: The point guard duo of sophomore Jada Reed and freshman Taryn Riley had 27 assists last week in California, with the two saving their best for last in the win over Bethesda in which Reed had eight assists in just 14 minutes. Riley had five assists and no turnovers in the win.
 
RIGGLE REBOUND RUNDOWN: By bringing down 15 rebounds at Westcliff, senior Sienna Riggle became the first player since Alyssa Case at Southern Oregon on Feb. 15, 2019 to haul down 15 or more in a game for the Yotes.
 
FRITH ON FIRE AGAINST FLAMES: Junior Riley Frith went 5-for-11 with two 3-pointers off the bench on her way to a season-high 15 points and eight rebounds on Saturday against Bethesda.
 
TRIO SCORES FIRST COLLEGIATE POINTS: First-year Yotes D'Nia Williams, Madison Shears and Paige Pentzer each scored the first points of their C of I careers at Bethesda, as all 14 players that appeared in the game contributed at least two points. Pentzer also added six rebounds.
 
KRUSEMARK CAREER UPDATE: Senior guard Kaylee Krusemark has drained 79 3-pointers in her career, putting her in 15th all-time in program history. Krusemark's 77 percent career free throw percentage entering the season is 10th all-time.

YOTES PICKED NINTH IN CASCADE CONFERENCE: C of I was picked ninth in the CCC Preseason Coaches Poll, with preseason favorite Bushnell receiving 10 first-place votes and 142 points in the poll. Eastern Oregon followed with one first-place vote and 127 points and Lewis-Clark State received the final first-place vote and 114 points. Oregon Tech was picked fourth, Southern Oregon fifth, Corban sixth, Northwest seventh and Warner Pacific eighth. Evergreen came in 10th behind the Yotes followed by Multnomah and Walla Walla.
 
TICKETS ON SALE: Season Tickets for the 2021-22 C of I basketball season are currently on sale through the C of I Ticket Portal. Season tickets are available for as low as $133 for a general admission senior pass. Gates to the J.A. Albertson Activities Center will open 90 minutes prior to the schedule tip time on game days. Per the Cascade Conference Return to Play protocol, all fans will be required to wear a mask over their nose and mouth at all times while inside the Activities Center.
 
LOOKING AHEAD: The Yotes host rival Eastern Oregon next Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. to start conference action. C of I will also host the Best Western Caldwell Inn and Suites Classic featuring EOU, Simpson and Rocky Mountain next Friday and Saturday.