Area Teams Struggle To Keep Up Their Pace
It all looked so promising for the region’s female hoopsters when the season opened. An enthusiastic new coach, several players with experience and a fresh start for all.
So what happened on the way to respectability? About the same as in recent years. A collective not much, as things haven’t improved as conference play winds down.
The Washington State Cougars enter tonight’s home game against Oregon with 4-17 overall and 1-10 Pacific-10 Conference records. One year ago, WSU was 9-12, 3-8 with seven conference games left.
Gonzaga, meanwhile, started out promising, but takes a 9-14, 2-8 West Coast Conference record into San Diego tonight. One year ago, the Bulldogs’ overall record was worse at 7-15, but they had three conference wins to this year’s two, with five games remaining until the WCC tournament.
With five regular-season games left until the Big West Conference tournament, the Idaho Vandals are an identical 5-4 in league as they prepare for Friday’s home game against first-place Nevada and Sunday’s home game against New Mexico State. They were 12-10 last year and are 11-10 this season, partly because of last weekend’s two-game road slip-up, which caused UI to fall out of first place in the conference’s East Division.
“The overall record hasn’t been a disappointment, considering our tough preseason schedule,” Idaho coach Hilary Recknor said. “As for the conference record, we were on track … until last weekend.”
As for the region’s Big Sky Conference rep, the Eastern Washington Eagles have shown some signs of improvement, going from 6-14, 3-7 in conference to 8-12, 4-6 with four road and two home games left. The true test will be whether they qualify for the six-team Big Sky Conference tournament. They enter tonight against second-place Idaho State in sixth place, and then travel to eighth-place Sacramento State on Saturday.
Whitworth, the lone NCAA Division III team in the area, has had a better season as it enters tonight’s home game against first-place George Fox. But in reality, the Whits’ record is the same as last year at 14-7 and 8-4 in the Northwest Conference. (They were 10-4 in conference last year, but Seattle University has since departed).
Zags’ Bruno out for rest of season
Junior guard Holly Bruno of Gonzaga will miss the remainder of the season because of a left ankle injury. The Mead High graduate’s status is undetermined for the 2000-01 season.
Bruno was the Bulldogs’ second-best scorer, averaging 10.9 points per game. She was third on the squad in assists with 43 and her 42 3-pointers moved her into second place on the Bulldogs’ all-time list with 123.
Dying to be blond
Spokane’s own Stacy Clinesmith, a senior point guard for the 11th-ranked UC Santa Barbara, has decided to go platinum blond. And her coach is about to reluctantly join her.
It came about when Gauchos coach Mark French said he’d dye his salt-and-pepper hair, eyebrows and mustache the same color as Clinesmith’s if UCSB broke the attendance record earlier this month on “Fill the Dome” promotion night against UC Irvine.
A record 4,835 spectators filled the Thunderdome as the Gauchos went on to beat the Anteaters, sending French straight to the drug store’s hair-color isle.
Actually, according the Santa Barbara sports information office, the dye job has been on hold. But the four-time Big West Conference coach of the year is expected to show off his chemically-treated locks at Friday’s home game against Cal State Fullerton.
Meanwhile, Clinesmith - blond, brunet or whatever shade she selects - continues to lead the conference in assists with 6.4 per game, which ranks her 14th nationally. The Mead High graduate has an assists to turnover ratio of 2.2-to-1 that also is the best in the Big West.
This sidebar appeared with the story: Area women’s leaders Scoring Player, school FG-FGA FT-FTA 3pt Avg.
Alli Nieman, UI 190-388 83-131 14 21.7
Susan Woolf, UI 98-248 70-86 50 14.4
Anna Getz, NIC 126-354 58-69 61 14.3
Jessica Malone, GU 109-312 39-58 65 14.0
Jamie Wakefield, Whit 112-257 61-92 4 13.8
Heather Cox, NIC 120-266 53-69 13 13.5
Tracy Ford Phelps, EWU 97-267 36-45 35 13.3
Alke Dietel, WSU 104-238 40-52 15 13.2
Star Olson, Whit 105-250 36-55 28 13.0
Jen Kerns, WSU 76-195 47-60 33 11.6
Holly Bruno, GU 80-244 38-51 42 10.9
Bernice Stime, CCS 116-254 41-71 5 10.7
Amy George, CCS 100-226 45-65 32 10.6
Amy Lewis, NIC 83-217 70-89 39 10.6
Julie Moore, EWU 86-172 27-35 0 10.5
Rebounding
Allie Bailey, EWU 9.8 (196); Nieman, UI 9.3 (205); Wakefield, Whit. 8.8 (185); Kristin Deal, GU 6.7 (155); Sydney Perno 6.5 (149), Cox, NIC 6.4 (141). .
Assists
Getz, NIC 4.3 (112); Katie Nyseth, WSU, 4.0 (84); Kerns, WSU, 3.8 (77); Lewis, NIC, 3.8 (100); Pruett, CCS 3.6 (94), Rikki Jackson, UI 3.5 (45).
Steals
Bernice Stime, CCS 2.9 (76); Getz, NIC 1.9 (51); Nieman, UI 1.8 (41); Wakefield, Whit. 1.7 (36); Woolf, UI 1.7 (26), Nyseth, WSU 1.6 (34).
Schedule
Thursday: Eastern Washington at Idaho State, 6 p.m.; Oregon at WSU, 7 p.m.; Gonzaga at San Diego, 7 p.m.
Friday: College of Southern Idaho at North Idaho, 5:30 p.m.; George Fox at Whitworth, 6 p.m.; Nevada at Idaho, 7 p.m. Saturday: Oregon State at WSU, 3 p.m.; Treasure Valley CC at North Idaho, 5:30 p.m.; Lewis and Clark at Whitworth, 6 p.m.;’ Gonzaga at Saint Mary’s, 7 p.m; Eastern Washington at Cal State Sacramento, 7 p.m.
Sunday: New Mexico State at Idaho, 2 p.m. Tuesday: Whitman at Whitworth, 7 p.m.
Note: Statistics from Wednesday’s CCS game not included.