ARCATA - Earlier than most seasons, the Lumberjacks will tip off California Collegiate Athletic Association play at home on Saturday.

After a winning start against Saint Martins at the Phoenix Inn Shootout, the Jacks fell short to host Western Oregon last weekend, leaving them 1-1 entering Saturday's game.  The Jacks begin league play by hosting the Sonoma State Seawolves at 5:30 p.m.


On-the-Air
This week's game will be broadcast live on KGOE, 1480 AM, instead of the usual location on KATA, where the men's game can be heard Saturday. …Every Lumberjack basketball home game and conference road game is broadcast live over the local airways on KATA, 1340 AM, beginning with the pregame show 15 minutes prior to game time.  Bicoastal Media Sports Director J.B. Mathers describes the action from Lumberjack Arena and HSU Assistant Athletic Director Dan Pambianco goes on the road with the Jacks. …Audio and video are also streamed live over the Internet through the hsujacks.com web site. The new UStream format allows an interactive chat between listeners during the webcast. 
 
Live Stats
All Lumberjack basketball home games can be tracked online by using the Live Stats feature on hsujacks.com. Real time statistics, momentum tracker and other information are featured on the game viewer. The feature can be found at http://www.sidearmstats.com/humboldt/wbball/.
 
Head-to-Head
Sonoma State leads the all-time series, 28-35.  …The two teams have been matching up since the 1976-77 season.  …The Jacks were victorious in both meetings last year, outscoring the Seawolves 153-106, combined. In the Coach Gleason era, Humboldt holds a 9-3 advantage over the Seawolves. … Sonoma's last win against Humboldt came in the 2007-08 season.

Projected Starters
G - #4 Jenna Hamilton, 5-6, Jr., Corona
G - #22 Catie Richards, 5-10, So., Snoqualmie, Wash.
F - #33 Taylor Kilgore, 5-10, Sr., Rocklin
F - #00 Bree Halsey, 6-0, Jr., Fresno
C - #34 Jeanette DeWitt, 6-0, Jr., Nipomo
 
Lumberjack Notes
With the Jacks' actual season starting last week, HSU head coach Joddie Gleason can already see what needs to happen for early season wins.  “We need to clean up on defense.  We are giving away too many points per game and sending the opponent to the free throw line too often,” Gleason said.  She added, “This is a year to take time and have patience to reach our peak with so many positions to fill coming off of last year's team.” …Gleason sees early leadership from senior guard, Taylor Kilgore.  “Taylor does a good job keeping the team's focus on and off the court,” she praises.  “Offensively, we are getting good production.  We need to improve on defense and have better communication,” Gleason said.  …Local redshirt freshman, Kelly Kime, has been cleared for play after being held out last week.  Kime had experienced a relapse from an injury that kept her off the court last year, and was recently waiting on testing to determine her status.
 
Opponent's Notes
Sonoma brings a 2-0 record into the week, both wins coming at the Coslet Classic in Chico.  The Seawolves defeated Hawaii Pacific, 56-49 and the Academy of Art, 65-63…Junior guard and forward Aly Hennington leads the Seawolves squad into the 2010-11 season. Following the two games, the 5-10 Hennington is averaging 12 points per game.
 
Coach Joddie Gleason
Joddie Gleason enters her seventh season at the helm of the Humboldt State's women's basketball program, after leading the 2009-10 squad to a 20-11 overall record and 14-8 mark in the California Collegiate Athletic Association.  Finishing in a tie for fourth place in the conference, the Jacks went on a three-game tear and won the CCAA Tournament and earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.  It was the team's third NCAA Division II West Regional birth in the last five years and just the fourth in school history.?Under Gleason, the Lumberjacks have won more games in the past five years than in any other six-year period and her .636 winning percentage is by far the best in school history. In her six years at HSU, Gleason has amassed a 107-68 overall mark and is 75-45 in league contests (54-30 in the CCAA and 21-15 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference).

 
Gleason's Comments
“Sonoma is coming off two nice wins.  The win against Hawaii Pacific is big and the wins were on the road.”…”This is definitely going to be a tough game.  We both have new players so there is uncertainty on both ends.”…”Sonoma always comes in prepared and well disciplined.  They are well coached and they don't give up anything easy.”…”This is going to be a test for us to be disciplined and get off good shots.”