BELMONT – The Humboldt State women's basketball team opened its 2008-09 season with a 96-65 win over Notre Dame de Namur, Saturday.

“The game was up-tempo,” said Humboldt State head women's basketball coach Joddie Gleason. “We distributed the ball well, had good transitions and took open shots.”

HSU set the tone of the night as they took an early 15-5 lead with less than five minutes of play in the first.  NDNU was able to stay within 10 points of the Jacks until a three-pointer by Jennifer Enos with just under eight minutes left set the Jacks momentum for the rest of the half.

Contributing to HSU's 24-point lead at halftime was Katie Franci who tallied 16 points in the half, and totaled 21 points in 17 minutes in the game.

“I think there was a mismatch tonight, as NDNU didn't have a girl who was as athletic as Katie,” Gleason said. “She was able to go to the basket and do damage in a short amount of time.”

The Argonauts looked for vengeance in the second half registering 40 points. Unfortunately their efforts weren't enough as the Lumberjacks took the biggest lead of the night at 88-54 with four minutes and 41 seconds left.

Taylor Kilgore and Enos contributed 19 and 11 points, respectively, while Bree Halsey posted a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Kim Hom led three players in double figures with 14 points for NDNU, while Britni Rathke and Tanaia Keyes both added 11 points.

The Lumberjacks conclude their first tournament of the season as they face off against the University of Mary, Saturday at 3 p.m.

“Tomorrow we play a team that is big and physical,” said Gleason. “Our defense needs to keep working on defending the post. We need to protect the pain and double down on the post, while jumping on the board.”

Newspaper Box Score
HSUWBB vs Notre Dame de Namur
11/15/08 5:00 pm at Belmont, CA (Walter Gleason Gym)
At Belmont, CA (Walter Gleason Gym)
HSUWBB 96, NOTRE DAME DE NAMUR 65
HSUWBB (1-0)
FRANCI, Katie 9-12 2-3 21; KIGORE, Taylor 6-7 2-2 19; ALEXANDER, Sallye 5-10
6-8 16; ENOS, Jennifer 4-9 0-0 11; HALSEY, Bree 5-10 0-1 10; O'KEEFE,
Kristina 3-4 2-3 8; BOBIC, Andrea 2-7 0-0 5; PETERSON,Paige 2-6 0-1 4;
WILLIAMS, Kayla 1-2 0-0 2; TAYLOR, Brittney 0-1 0-2 0; OSBORNE, Luiza 0-3
0-0 0; ALABA, Trisha 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 37-73 12-20 96.
NOTRE DAME DE NAMUR (0-1)
Hom, Kim 5-10 4-6 14; Rathke, Britni 4-9 3-4 11; Keyes, Tanaia 5-12 0-0 11;
Bautista, Marianne 3-4 1-3 9; Brunson, Rachel 3-5 0-0 6; Lopez, Esmeralda
2-3 0-0 5; Wilson, Ashley 1-4 2-2 4; Tatupu-Leopoldo, Bry 1-3 1-2 3; Perry,
Sandy 1-5 0-1 2; Llanes, Melissa 0-3 0-0 0; Gilliam, Katelyn 0-1 0-0 0.
Totals 25-59 11-18 65.
HSUWBB........................   49   47  -   96
Notre Dame de Namur...........   25   40  -   65
3-point goals-HSUWBB 10-19 (KIGORE, Taylor 5-6; ENOS, Jennifer 3-6; BOBIC,
Andrea 1-4; FRANCI, Katie 1-1; OSBORNE, Luiza 0-1; ALABA, Trisha 0-1), Notre
Dame de Namur 4-10 (Bautista, Marianne 2-2; Lopez, Esmeralda 1-1; Keyes,
Tanaia 1-3; Wilson, Ashley 0-1; Hom, Kim 0-3). Fouled out--HSUWBB-None,
Notre Dame de Namur-None. Rebounds-HSUWBB 51 (HALSEY, Bree 10), Notre Dame
de Namur 32 (Rathke, Britni 8). Assists-HSUWBB 22 (OSBORNE, Luiza 4; BOBIC,
Andrea 4; PETERSON,Paige 4), Notre Dame de Namur 17 (Perry, Sandy 5). Total
fouls-HSUWBB 18, Notre Dame de Namur 19. A-230
NDNU Tip-Off Classic Game 3