USD WBB v.s. CAL State Fullerton

[14lbenson]

Hey, I will not officially be covering USD WBB this year for you all. I will do game previews, game recaps, breaking news, etc.

Well here we go.

The first game preview of the season.

South Dakota Coyotes v.s. CAL State Fullerton

About CAL State Fullerton:

Head Coach Daron Park begins his first stint at the helm of the Cal State Fullerton women's basketball program.

The Titans and Coyotes contest on Friday at Titan Gym will be the very first meeting between the two programs. South Dakota is in its second full year as a member of Division One athletics.

Cal State Fullerton is 6-5 (.545) all-time against the Summit League. Fullerton hasn't played against any teams in the current configuration of the Summit League since December 1, 1989 when the Titans defeated Western Illinois 68-44 in Columbia, Mo.

Cal State Fullerton return all five starters and 11 letterwinners overall from last season's squad that finished 11-22 overall and 5-13 in the Big West Conference, good enough for eighth place. The Titans were the No. 8 seed in last year's conference tournament, falling to Pacific in the Big West Conference Semifinals, 54-51.

Cal State Fullerton is 26-18 all-time in season ope- ing contests (14-7 at home), including an 76-72 opening night loss at Nevada last season. The Titans have won three of their last five regular season openers and three straight home debuts.

The Titans have won five of their last six home openers, including a 94-75 victory over San Francisco State last season. The winning streak will be put to the test Friday against South Dakota.

The Titans entered 2012-13 as the sixth youngest team in women's Division I basketball, and after having to deal with the tragic death of assistant coach Monica Quan, still ended the season with a trip to the school's 12th consecutive Big West Tournament, as the Titans went 11-22 overall and 5-13 in conference play during the regular season to finish eighth in the Big West. Fullerton has now secured seven double-digit win seasons in the last eight years.

About our Lady Yotes, from CSF point of view:


South Dakota is under the direction of second-year head coach Amy William following a 19-16 mark (10-6 conference record) from a season ago. The Coyotes will have to find a replacement for Tempestt Wilson (12.9 ppg), who was the second-leading scorer on the team from a year ago. However, 2013 Summit League Tournament MVP Nicole Seekamp returns and figures to be one main pieces to the puzzle for South Dakota this season after scoring 14.9 points and grabbing 4.0 rebounds per contest last year.

Polly Harrington will be another strong option at guard for the Coyotes. She averaged 11.1 points per game and 5.8 rebounds per game last season. Forwards Lisa Loeffler and Margaret McCloud will help South Dakota in the paint as both return after averaging over five rebounds per game. Seekamp was named to the 2013 All-Summit League Preseason First Team, while Harrington was chosen to the Second Team. South Dakota was picked to finish third in the Summit League coaches/media poll.

Source: www.fullertontitans.com/sports/w-baskbl/2013-14/releases/201311069k9p30

My point of view. I feel like these first few games could start rough. A young, but very talented team needs games under their belt to mesh together well. I think tomorrow will be a win, but it may be a little closer than expected. Maybe by 8-16 points only.

I hope it all starts well, and we play well all season, and pray these girls play their hearts out this year. We all expect a Summit League Championship, now go get it. GO YOTES!

[Yotes]

I like our chances here. Hope we take it and right off the bat start solidifying our resume for an NIT bid in case we fall short of the Big Dance.

[yotefan90]

Starters for the Yotes: Seekamp, Loeffler, Harrington, Hemiller and Hoff. There is a free video feed of the game on the Fullerton web site. Halfway through the 1st half and the Coyotes have already played 10 players. Yotes up 17-4 currently. The ladies are certainly going to be playing an up-tempo game this year.

[Charlie]

Coyotes playing well. I'm really enjoying the Cal State play by play guy gripe about Hartington traveling every time she touches it. "Harrington has no idea about a pivot foot!" Seekamp looks good as expected. I'm liking what I see out of Hemiller. It will be nice if she can step and fill some of the void left by Yackley. I also am impressed by Contreras' ability to create scoring opportunities for herself. It's a good way to start the season. Keep it rolling ladies. Go Yotes!

[canislatrans]

The CS Fullerton play by play guy really got stuck on the traveling thing with Polly. I don't know if he thought he was doing radio or something, but it was clearly a legit move by Polly, he sounded foolish.

[sdyotefan]

Lady Yotes win 66-57!! Seekamp 18, Contreras 17. Coyotes won RB battle 44 to 31 but had 25 TOs. Rugged game but the Coyotes hang tough to get the win! Good luck this year ladies!!

[Yotes]

Solid win, great way to start the season. A 20 mile drive down south to UC Irvine on Saturday, which looks like a game we should take without much challenge. Last year UC Irvine finished 9-21 and 5-13 in the Big West.

[14lbenson]

Here is the recap. www.goyotes.com/sports/w-baskbl/recaps/110813aaa.html

I watched the whole thing and here is my takeaway.

1. Rachel Contreras is a beast. This girl will be a star this year.

2. Nicole Seekamp is even better than last year.

3. Our defense, is nothing short than really good.

4. We need to play every minute, because I feel we let this team into the game when it was not necessary.

5. Playing on the road anywhere is not hard, and CSF had a lot of talent. We responded well to the long road trip, and played very good overall.

Overall: 7/10

[obc]

Good start ladies. Looking forward to seeing them in person this year.