Results tagged “Vanessa Wilt” from College Sports CCAA

By Michelle Gardner

Staff Writer

The Cal State San Bernardino women’s basketball team will need to reverse a trend if it is to win its first California Collegiate Athletic Association title.

The Coyotes have lost eight straight games to Chico State and only one of those was competitive. But that is the foe that will be marching into Coussoulis Arena for a 5:30 showdown Friday.

The stakes are high with the Coyotes (17-4, 11-3) one game behind frontrunner Chico State (19-4, 12-2) in the CCAA standings. The Wildcats also are ranked 13th nationally and second in the Division II West Region poll, one spot ahead of Cal State.

Even the typically reserved Coach Kevin Becker acknowledges the importance of the game.

“A lot of times a game may not seem important at the time, then you look back on it,” he said. “But if you just look at the standings and what is on the line it probably is the biggest game any of these girls have played here.”

Chico leads the all-time series 16-7, with Cal State’s last win coming Feb. 27, 2004. Five of the eight in that stretch have been decided by 19 points or more.

In the first round of conference play the Wildcats defeated the Coyotes 70-59, a game that wasn’t as close as the score indicated. Chico led 35-12 at the half and scored the first 10 points of the second half with the Coyotes missing their first nine shots from the field.

Becker doesn’t think there will be any lingering effects.

“We have played a lot of games since then,” he said. “You look at what you did wrong and move on. These girls aren’t the kind that are losing sleep over it.”

Becker concedes that it’s a tough matchup for his team, which relies on a finesse game. The Wildcats are bigger, stronger and deeper at every position. They are led by guard Audriana Spencer (14.3 points per game), last week’s conference player of the week.

“Their wings are 5-9, 5-10 and they’re strong. Their guards may be 5-5 or 5-6 but they’re solid,” he said. “It definitely is a matchup problem for us.”

The Coyotes are led by senior center Vanessa Wilt (21.3 ppg, 13.6 rpg) who ranks second in the nation in rebounding and fourth in scoring and has 20 double-doubles in 21 outings. But she is averaging just 11 points and seven rebounds in four previous games against the Wildcats, fouling out of three of them.

The formula for success is simple: Becker will be looking for his perimeter shooters to knock down some shots to take the pressure of Wilt inside. The key trio there consists of juniors Rachel Johnson (7.4 ppg) and Shanae Blake (10.5 ppg) and sophomore Krystal Urzua (8.3 ppg). Blake knocked down 20 in the first meeting, all of those coming in the last 14 minutes of the game.

Meanwhile the goal for men’s coach Jeff Oliver’s team will be to not get complacent. Ranked second in the region and 18th nationally, the Coyotes (18-4, 11-3) will be facing a Wildcat team (5-16, 1-13) that has dropped 11 straight games and has not yet won on the road.

The Coyotes currently have a one-game lead over UC San Diego and a two-game edge over defending champion Humboldt State and surprising San Francisco State.

“The bottom line is if we take care of business on our home floor we can do no worse than a tie for the conference championship. That is the light at the end of the tunnel,” Oliver said.

Senior point guard Marlon Pierce has been the catalyst, averaging 15.5 points and shooting 48 percent from long distance in conference play.

Cal State Stanislaus will come in for a doubleheader on Saturday.

      Vanessa Wilt today was named the Wilson/California Collegiate Athletic Association women’s basketball player of the week for the second straight week.

            Wilt, a 6-1 senior center from Hesperia, was recognized for her double-double – 18 points and 18 rebounds – in a 68-50 Coyotes win over University of Redlands this past Thursday.

            Her 18 rebounds were a season high and her three blocked shots raised her 2007-08 total to 21 in six games, an average of 3.5 per game.

            She has helped the Coyotes to a 6-0 record to open the season, equaling the best start ever by a CSUSB women’s basketball team. The only other team in the history of the program to start 6-0 was the 2000-01 squad.

            Thursday’s performance by Wilt means that she has achieved a double-double (points and rebounds) in all six games this season. She is the only player in the CCAA thus far averaging a double-double

            Wilt ranks No. 2 in the CCAA in scoring at 19.2 points a game but leads the CCAA in rebounding at 13.2 per game. She also ranks No. 1 in blocked shots with 21 (3.5/game). She is shooting 83 percent from the foul line (15 of 18) and 53 percent from the field (50 of 94).

            The Coyotes return to action on Tuesday and Wednesday, Dec. 18-19, facing Seattle Pacific and Northwest Nazarene in the Dixie State College Tournament in St. George, Utah.

            SPU is 5-0 and coming off a 68-60 win over Chico State, ranked No. 9 in the nation, while NNU is 5-1 on the season.