Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Davis suits Heidi Heintz just fine

Women’s college basketball notebook

UC Davis senior Heidi Heintz (Central Valley) is trying to get the Aggies to the NCAA Tournament this season.  (Wayne Tilcock / Davis Enterprise)
Heidi Heintz didn’t hesitate when discussing why she left San Francisco after two seasons to play at UC Davis, but she admitted, “I haven’t had to think about that in a while.” The senior from Central Valley has been with the Aggies, three years, one on the bench while she redshirted and two as a starter. She’s now a captain for a team predicted to win the Big West Conference and make its first NCAA Tournament appearance. Heintz said the transfer was simple - Davis is far more like Spokane in general and the Valley in particular than San Francisco. It wasn’t basketball. After making the All-West Coast Conference freshman team she started as a sophomore, averaging 10.2 points and 4.6 rebounds. “Part of it was the city. It was fast-paced and I was just looking for something different,” she said. “It’s like night and day. Davis has more of a community feel, family atmosphere. It was a great change for me. It seems like ages ago.” She’s pretty much doing the same thing for Davis she did for the Dons, hitting the boards hard as a 5-foot-10 battler, shooting well and scoring when needed. She’s third in scoring (8.3), rebounding (4.8) and assists (25) for the Aggies, who were 6-2 going into Tuesday’s game at Wichita State, with the losses to ranked UCLA and almost-ranked Kansas State on Sunday. “We have a lot of scorers, which is nice compared to last year,” she said. “We have more weapons so there is no pressure on me to score. We play team basketball, which is what I really enjoy. I think my role kind of changes, depending on what team we’re playing. “I’m still an in-between player, it’s been that way my whole life. I start at the four, but it’s four-out, one-in, so I’m facing the basket.” Heintz led the Aggies (21-11) in rebounding (4.5) and was second in scoring (10.8) to earn second-team honors last year for the league champions who stumbled in the conference tournament. They went to their second WNIT in three years as a Division I school. There are plans to fix that last stumble. “We could be very good,” she said. “That’s definitely achievable. It would be pretty exciting.” Going from a private school to a public school meant some classes didn’t transfer so the extra year is giving her plenty of time to finish her degree in exercise biology. “I’m still in the process of figuring (what’s next),” she said, mentioning physical therapy, pre-med and graduate school. “I’ll see where life takes me in the next few months.” Tip-ins Gonzaga leads the WCC in 10 different statistical categories, including offense (85.3), defense (62.7) and scoring margin (plus-22.7). The offense is No. 11 nationally and the shooting, at 47.4 percent, is 12th. … Idaho is holding teams to 33.6 shooting, which is 19th nationally. … Idaho senior Yinka Olorunnife is only a couple rebounds shy of averaging a double-double at 13.3 points and 9.8 rebounds. … Portland State senior Kelli Valentine (Mead), who is 14 short of 1,000 career rebounds, leads the Big Sky Conference in 3-point percent at 52.6. … Sophomore Sara Kliewer (Lewis and Clark) had a career-high 14 points last week when Portland won at Montana State. The Pilots then won at Montana. … EWU’s Julie Piper is 34 points shy of the 1,000-point club to go with 617 rebounds. … Gonzaga is collecting diapers at Friday’s game for Catholic Charities Spokane to distribute. … Stanford’s game at Tennessee Sunday at 4 is on ESPN2. … It’s been more than 10 years since UCLA was ranked in the Top 10.