|
2002 Division
II Women's Basketball West Regionals
CALIFORNIA
STATE POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY, POMONA
Bronco Sports News
For Immediate Release
March 6, 2002
Contact: Paul Helms
(909) 869-2812
2002 NCAA
DIVISION II WEST REGIONAL MEDIA NOTES
Titans
Collide In Loaded Regional Field: Cal Poly Pomona will
host the 2002 NCAA Division II West Regional for the third
year in a row and this year’s field just might be one
of the strongest in recent memory. Four of the six teams entered
in the tourney are nationally ranked and a fifth received
votes and was just below the top-25. The combined record of
the six regional teams is an impressive 131-31, a winning
percentage of .808. Four of the six teams were ranked in the
top-25 in the latest USA Today/ESPN Coaches’ Poll. Cal
Poly Pomona was ranked second, Seattle Pacific was ninth,
Western Washington was 11th and Montana State-Billings was
25th. Cal State Bakersfield received votes, but slipped from
22nd to just out of the top-25 after its loss to Cal State
Dominguez Hills.
What’s At Stake: A trip to Rochester, Minnesota and the
Elite Eight awaits the winner of Saturday’s championship
game. The highly-competitive field, though, figures to have
some classic games before Saturday’s regional finale.
The action begins on Thursday night when No. 3 Montana State-Billings
(23-4) meets No. 6 Sonoma State (20-7) at 5 p.m. The next
matchup Thursday will feature No. 4 Cal State Bakersfield
(22-5) vs. No. 5 Seattle Pacific (22-5) at 7:30 p.m. On Friday,
No. 2 Western Washington (23-4) meets the winner of the Montana
State-Billings/Sonoma State matchup at 5 p.m., while tournament
host and defending national champion Cal Poly Pomona (23-4)
will meet the winner of the Cal State Bakersfield/Seattle
Pacific contest at 7:30 p.m. The survivors will meet at 7
p.m. on Saturday for a chance to advance to the Elite Eight,
which will be held March 20-23.
We
Meet Again: There are plenty of familiar faces in the
2002 West Regional. Cal Poly Pomona, Western Washington and
Seattle Pacific have been in all three of the regionals hosted
here beginning in 2000. Cal State Bakersfield, which is in
just its second year of fielding a women’s basketball
team, is here for the second straight year. Montana State-Billings
was here in 2000 and is making its second appearance in three
years. Sonoma State is making its first postseason appearance
since 1999, but the Cossacks were here earlier this season
for a CCAA game.
Streaks,
Streaks, Streaks: The six programs selected to the West
Region are becoming accustomed to success. Cal Poly Pomona,
the defending NCAA Division II national champion, is making
its sixth straight NCAA playoff appearance and is enjoying
its fourth straight 20-win season. Western Washington is making
its fifth straight national tournament and has already recorded
its fifth straight 20-win season. Montana State-Billings is
making its sixth national playoff appearance in seven years
after missing the postseason last year. Cal State Bakersfield
is a perfect 2-for-2 in reaching the postseason in just its
second year of women’s basketball and has recorded at
least 20 wins in both seasons. Seattle Pacific is making its
sixth straight postseason appearance and advanced to the regional
championship games in 1997, ’98 and ’01. Sonoma
State is making its first postseason appearance since 1999,
but could be in the beginning stages of a nice run. The Cossacks
don’t have any seniors on their young team this season.
The
Stars Will Be Out: The 2002 NCAA Division II West Regional
will include several of the top players in the country. Cal
State Bakersfield’s Heather Garay leads the nation in
scoring at 24.8 points per game, while Cal Poly Pomona’s
Lauri McIntosh is next at 22.9 points per game. Cal State
Bakersfield’s Diane Dittburner is sixth at 21.6 points
per game. McIntosh is also 15th in the country in field-goal
percentage (58.5 percent), while Garay is 15th (57.5 percent),
Kelley Berglund of Seattle Pacific is 18th (56.3 percent)
and Garay is 20th (56.1 percent). Dittburner is second in
3-point field goals made per game, averaging 3.5 a contest,
while Kami Malnaa of Montana State-Billings is 21st in 3-point
field goal percentage at 39.9 percent. Natalie Visger of Montana
State-Billings is ninth in free-throw percentage (87.7 percent),
while Kerie Hughes of Seattle Pacific is 10th (87.0 percent).
Garay is ninth in the nation in rebounding (11.3 per game),
while teammate Holly Armstrong is 10th in assists (5.9 per
game). Hughes is 26th in that category. Montana State-Billings’
Jessie Henigman is 13th with 2.5 blocked shots per game and
teammate Robyn Milne is 21st with 2.2 per game.
The Teams Are Stars, Too: The 2002 NCAA Division II West Regional
has a little bit of everything with teams that can score,
defend and rebound with the best in the country. Cal Poly
Pomona is fourth in the nation in scoring at 82.0 points per
game, while Cal State Bakersfield is 10th at 79.5 points per
game. Seattle Pacific is third in the nation in margin of
victory (16.8 points per game), while Montana State-Billings
is 10th (15.2 per game), Western Washington is 15th (13.7
per game), Cal Poly Pomona is 17th (13.0 per game) and Cal
State Bakersfield is 28th (11.1 per game). Western Washington
is 11th in the country in field-goal percentage (46.3 percent),
Seattle Pacific is 23rd (44.8 percent). Western Washington
is third in 3-point field-goal percentage (39.4 percent) and
Montana State-Billings was 24th (35.7 percent). Montana State-Billing
was averaging 6.1 3-point field goals per game, which was
27th in the country. Cal State Bakersfield is sixth in free-throw
shooting (75.2 percent) and Seattle Pacific was connecting
at a 74.5 percent clip, which is 13th. Seattle Pacific is
seventh in the country in rebounding margin (9.3 per game),
while Sonoma State is 23rdth (5.8 per game). Montana State-Billings
is the ninth-best defensive team in the country, allowing
only 56.1 points per game, while Sonoma State was 19th, giving
up 57.6 points per contest.
These
Teams Are Good: Here’s a team-by-team look at the
six NCAA Division II West Regional participants. More detailed
information is available in each school’s weekly media
release.
#1
Cal Poly Pomona (23-4): The Broncos, the defending national
champions who are currently ranked second in the nation, won
their third straight CCAA title. Cal Poly Pomona won its 18th
CCAA title and 23rd conference title overall by one game over
Cal State Bakersfield and this most recent championship was
definitely a struggle. The Broncos will be without their career
3-point leader Anna James, who suffered a season-ending knee
injury on Feb. 2. Cal Poly Pomona might also be without a
top reserve, Heather Reeder, who is questionable after suffering
a concussion in practice recently. Her status will be a game-day
decision. The Broncos are led by senior Lauri McIntosh, who
is having a sensational senior season. McIntosh is second
in the nation in scoring at 22.9 points per game and she recently
went past Jessica Eggleston and moved into second on the all-time
Cal Poly Pomona scoring list. All-American center Aprile Powell
is second on the team in scoring (13.8 points per game) and
rebounding (7.7 per game). The Broncos have compiled a 58-6
conference record over the past three seasons. The Broncos
are hosting the regionals for the 12th time and have advanced
to the Elite Eight in nine of the past 11 times they’ve
hosted.
#2
Western Washington (23-4): The Vikings are used to excelling
at the national level. In four years as a full member of the
NCAA Division, Western Washington has advanced to the postseason
each time. The Vikings won the 2000 West Regional in Kellogg
Gym and advanced to the Final Four. Western Washington also
advanced to the NAIA nationals in 1997-98. The Vikings are
led by sophomore center Jenn McGillivray, who is the team’s
leading scorer (13.6 points per game) and rebounder (5.9 per
game). McGillivray has a team-high 20 double-digit games.
Junior guard Megan Quarterman averages 13.1 points per game
and has been especially hot lately, scoring 20 or more points
in five of her last six games. Freshman center Susan Rodgers,
at 6-foot-6-inches, is the tallest player in school history
and she is averaging 9.0 points per game on 55.6 percent shooting.
Western Washington has made 23 straight postseason appearances,
the last 12 under coach Carmen Dolfo, who has compiled a 255-98
record. The Vikings were the regular-season GNAC champions.
#3
Montana State-Billings (23-4): The lone independent in
the tournament, the Yellowjackets have had a tremendous season.
Montana State-Billings was a solid 10-4 on the road, including
a recent win over St. Mary’s of Texas, which was sixth
in the nation in the last USA Today/ESPN Coaches’ Poll.
The Yellowjackets have thrived with a stellar defense, which
is allowing just 56.4 points per game. Montana State-Billings
credits much of that defensive success to shot blockers Jessica
Henigman and Robyn Milne. Henigman, a 6-2 junior, and Milne,
a 6-3 freshman, both rank in the top-15 in the nation in shots
blocked. Henigman set a school record with nine blocked shots
in a game against Seattle University. Senior Kami Malnaa leads
the Yellowjackets in scoring at 13.6 points per game and is
second on her school’s all-time 3-point shooting list.
Junior Natalie Visger added 12.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per
game. Montana State-Billings is a proficient outside-shooting
team and ranks high nationally in both 3-pointers made per
game and 3-point field goal percentage.
#4
Cal State Bakersfield (22-5): The Roadrunners have enjoyed
nothing but success in their first two years of women’s
basketball, finishing second in the CCAA in both seasons and
advancing to the NCAA Division II playoffs. Cal State Bakersfield
has the most potent 1-2 scoring punch in the nation with juniors
Heather Garay (24.8 points per game) and Diane Dittburner
(21.6 points per game). Garay had a career-high 43 points
to lead the Roadrunners to a 92-86 win over Cal Poly Pomona
earlier this season. Holly Armstrong just set a new season
high for assists with 10 in the Roadrunners’ regular-season
ending win at Cal State L.A. Armstrong led the CCAA in assists
with 5.8 per game. Cal State Bakersfield is looking for its
first postseason victory after falling to Alaska-Fairbanks
in last year’s tourney, 86-75. The Roadrunners are also
hoping history repeats itself. Cal State Bakersfield’s
1973 men’s team, in just its second year of existence,
won its first-ever tournament game, defeating the University
of San Diego, 50-44.
#5
Seattle Pacific (22-5): The Falcons are making their sixth
straight NCAA Division II playoff appearance and came oh-so-close
last year to reaching the Elite Eight before a last-second
shot by Cal Poly Pomona’s Burgundie Porter lifted the
Broncos to a win in the regional final. The Falcons come in
on a nice winning streak of six games, which Seattle Pacific
figures is a good sign. When the Falcons reached the regional
championship games in 1997, ’98 and ’01, they rode
into the tournament on mid-size winning streaks. Seattle Pacific
finished in a second-place tie in the GNAC. Kelly Berglund
leads the Falcons in scoring at 15.7 points per game, while
Stephanie Urrutia averages 11.3 points per game and Emily
Faurholt averages 11.2 points per game. The Falcons also have
a nice personal story with Kristin Poe, who has come back
from reconstructive knee surgery and led the Falcons in rebounding
(8.2 per game). Head coach Gordy Presnell has an overall record
of 307-121 at Seattle Pacific. It’s not just the present
that looks so bright for the Falcons as not one senior is
on the SPU roster.
#6
Sonoma State (20-7): The young Cossacks are another talented
group with youth on their side. Sonoma State doesn’t
have a senior on its roster and has been getting key production
this season from a pair of outstanding freshman. Jessica Jones
leads the team in scoring at 13.2 points per game, while Tara
Whiteside is next at 11.7 points per game. The Cossacks are
making their second trip to the NCAA playoffs, the first time
came in 1999. Sonoma State brings with it the best defense
in the CCAA and one of the best in the country, allowing only
57.4 points per game. The Cossacks did have four returning
players from a team that went 14-13 overall last season. Sonoma
State split a pair of games this season against No. 4 seed
Cal State Bakersfield and lost by just one point to #1 seed
Cal Poly Pomona last weekend. The Cossacks have three players
who average double-figures in scoring, Jones (13.2), Whiteside
(11.7) and Domenica Curran (11.2). Sonoma State was an effective
road team this year, winning 10 of 13 games played away from
home.
|
