The Warriors will begin the 2008-09 season this weekend as they host the Eva Schicke Memorial Classic presented by Stanislaus Farm Supply. The three-day, four team tournament includes Northwest Nazarene, Cal State Dominguez Hills, Central Washington along with the host Warriors.
THIS WEEKS GAMES
Eva Schicke Memorial Classic presented by Stanislaus Farm Supply
Sat. Cal State Dominguez Hills vs. Northwest Nazarene, 5:30 p.m.
WARRIORS vs. Central Washington, 7:30 p.m.
Sun. Cal State Dominguez Hills vs. Central Wash., 1:30 p.m.
Mon. WARRIORS vs. Northwest Nazarene, 1:30 p.m.
PROBABLE STARTERS
No. Name Pos. Ht. Yr. Hometown Notes
3 Antwinette Turner G 5-4 Sr. Richmond Returns from SF State for senior year
5 Christin Gowan G 5-7 So. Manteca 33 3-pointers as a freshman last year
44 Samantha Bertomen G 5-8 Fr. Turlock Only true freshman on the team
13 Lysandra Williams F 5-11 Sr. Placerville All-CCAA second team pick last year
23 Katie Busi C 6-0 So. Valley Springs 9.6 ppg and 7.5 rpg in 2007-08
GET OFF TO FAST START
The Warriors will look to get off to a fast start as they host two tournaments the first three weeks of the season. They will play two games in the Eva Schicke Memorial Classic to start the season and then two more in the Stanislaus Thanksgiving Classic on Nov. 28 and 29. A good start to the season at home would go a long ways as the Warriors will play seven of eight games on the road following the two tournaments, mainly during the month of Decemeber. Last season the Warriors dropped their first three games of the season including two losses to Northwest Nazarene, who they will face on Monday.
HEALTH KEY FOR PAGE
Two-time first team All-CCAA honoree Gwen Page is looking to make a return from a knee injury that allowed her to play in only six games last season. The knee injury comes after Page was sidelined for the final eight games of the 2006-07 season with a stress fracture. When Page is healthy she has been able to dominate opponents and if healthy she will be a big boost to the Warriors scoring as well as rebounding. She is still recovering from knee surgery and had to miss individual workouts. She has been practicing through pain and it is unknown if she will be ready to go for the opener on Saturday. Page currently ranks second all-time in scoring with 1,101 points as a Warrior and has 22 career double-double games.
WILLIAMS LOOKING TO IMPROVE ON BANNER YEAR
Senior Lysandra Williams, a second team All-CCAA pick, averaged 12.7 points per game in 2007-08. She led the Warriors in scoring in 10 of their 26 games and at times was unstoppable as a scorer. Last season Williams jumped up the charts and now ranks third in scoring in Warrior history with 888 career points. In the 2006-07 season Williams averaged 15.7 points per game as she emerged as a prolific scorer in the CCAA. The Warriors will be looking for her to get off to a fast start and help provide leadership along with Page.
SUPER SOPHS RETURN WITH EXPERIENCE
Christin Gowan and Katie Busi both played in all 26 games as freshmen and started in a majority of them. This season coach Sharon Turner-Dean expects that experience to show and looks for both of them to improve upon their numbers. Busi averaged 9.6 points and 7.5 rebounds per game, while Gowan averaged 9.1 points per game while making 33 three-point baskets. Busi also logged three double-doubles and has the capability to record one at any time. Katies numbers could significantly increase if her minutes increase by staying out of foul trouble and Christin can spread the defense out and make them defend the perimeter, stated Turner-Dean. They are both projected starters.
TURNER RETURNS FOR SCHOOL, BASKETBALL
Antwinette Turner is back for her senior season. Turner played in 28 games for the Warriors over the 2004-05 to 2005-06 seasons before transferring to San Francisco State. She came back to Cal State Stanislaus in the fall to earn a second B.A. degree and contacted coach Turner-Dean. Both sides agreed to give it one more shot for her senior season and Turner-Dean could not be more thrilled. She always has a smile on her face and seems to really be enjoying her experience back here, she said. Turner is projected to be the Warriors starting point guard this weekend.
NEW FACES
The new faces on the womens team are five transfers and a local high school standout. The lone freshman is Samantha Bertomen, a Turlock High star. Turner-Dean is excited to have Bertomen and believes she is going to be good because she is very smart and understands the game very well at a young age. Sophomore Heather Jones of Ceres returns home after a year at Lewis and Clark College. Jones, who was originally recruiting by Turner-Dean, adds a great deal defensively and has the ability to stop penetration. Sarah Olson (Modesto Junior College), Nathalie Olveda (Fresno City College), Heather Highshoe (Sierra College), and Kyrstin Christ (Moorpark College) round out the slew of community college transfers looking to help the Warriors make that run towards the conference championship.
INJURY REPORT
Christin Gowan will be questionable this weekend with a hurt knee and Gwen Page is questionable as she is recovering from knee surgery.
ABOUT CENTRAL WASHINGTON (0-3)
The Wildcats dropped all three of their contests in the Disney Division II West Coast Tip-Off Classic They fell to Concordia St. Paul, Indianapolis and Cal Poly Pomona LeeAna Busch and Shaina Afoa lead the Wildcats in scoring averaging 7.0 ppg Have been outscored 113-49 in the first half of play Made only 8-44 (18%) from behind the arc CWU was 13-13 overall and 5-13 in the GNAC a year ago head coach Jeff Whitney is in his 12th season at CWU.
ABOUT NORTHWEST NAZARENE
The Crusaders defeated the Warriors 79-63 at Warrior Arena and 72-61 in Nampa last season Were 7-3 in non-conference contests in 2007-08 Junior Jennifer Williams led the Crusaders in scoring (12.4 ppg) last season Junior Kristin Hein averaged 7.6 rebounds per game last season Kelli Lindley is in her ninth season as head coach the Crusaders were 19-9 overall and finished third in the GNAC (12-6).
