ARCATA – With the first conference win out of the way, Humboldt State can now concentrate on taking down defending California Collegiate Athletic Association Champions Cal State Monterey Bay on Friday. The Lumberjacks will then face the Cal State East Bay Pioneers on Saturday to conclude their first conference road trip of the season. Both games have a tip off time of 5:30 p.m.

"We expect a very competitive weekend against both Cal State Monterey Bay and Cal State East Bay," said head coach Joddie Gleason. "It's always a challenge to go on the road in the CCAA and opening weekend tends to bring an extra edge of competitiveness, so we know it'll be a tough road trip."

The Jacks are currently unbeaten, standing at 4-0 overall, 1-0 in conference. Cal State Monterey Bay is 2-1 overall as they enter the game against HSU—the Otters' first conference game of the season. Cal State East Bay faces Sonoma State Friday in its first CCAA game, and enters the weekend's games with an overall record of 2-2.

Head-to-Head

While the Jacks hold the upper hand against the Otters in the overall series at 9-4, CSUMB grabbed both wins last year, including a 75-54 victory over HSU in Seaside. The last Humboldt State win over Cal State Monterey Bay was a 77-53 result on March 2, 2010, which helped propel the Jacks to claim the CCAA Championship.

The series against the Pioneers is much closer with Cal State East Bay edging out HSU with just three victories to put the record at 28-25 in favor of CSUEB. Last year, the Jacks took both games against the Pioneers, including a 64-48 result in Hayward.

Multimedia

Fans can watch a live video stream of the game against CSUMB at http://media.csumb.edu/www/stream.php. Bicoastal Media Sports Director J.B. Mathers will be at every basketball game to give a live play-by-play feed, which can be found over the local airwaves on KATA, 1340 AM, beginning with the pregame show 15 minutes prior to game time, as well as online at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/humboldt-state-athletics. Live stats from CSUMB can be found at http://scores.csumb.edu/wbb/.

Saturday's game against CSUEB will not have a video feed, but fans can listen to Mathers' broadcast on 1340 AM or at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/humboldt-state-athletics and follow live stats at http://www.sidearmstats.com/csueastbay/wbball/xlive.htm.

Lumberjack Notes

HSU defeated Sonoma State in a tight 57-54 match Saturday to start the Jacks' run at a conference championship. Lisa Petty led the Jacks with 15 points on the night and currently ranks fourth in the CCAA with scoring, averaging 15.3 ppg. Whitney Howard isn't far behind Petty in the team's scoring leader board and places 11th in conference with 12.5 ppg. Howard leads the CCAA in field goal percentage with .571. Bree Halsey is the top rebounder for the Jacks and stands in the No. 4 spot in conference, averaging 8.5 rebounds per game. Kayla Williams is tied for second in conference with assists, averaging 4.0 per game. Caitie Richards is six spots behind Williams with 11 assists, but tops the conference leader board in steals per game with 3.0, 12 total. Patrice Saindon also ranks in the top 10 for steals per game, landing herself in the No. 6 spot with 2.5 steals per game. Saindon's three-point field goal percentage of .800 puts her well above other CCAA players.

Opponent Notes

After claiming the CCAA Championship title last season, the Otters look to defend their title as they enter conference action against the Jacks. CSUMB suffered its worst shooting half of the young season in a 68-63 loss to visiting Simon Fraser on Saturday to put the Otters at 2-1 on the season. Erika Ward leads the Otters offensively, averaging 13.3 points per game. Brittani Jefferson is CSUMB's top rebounder with 22 rebounds in three games, Holly Holcomb isn't far behind with 20 rebounds.

The Pioneers enter CCAA with a split record, coming off a 69-62 win over Central Washington on Nov. 19—two weeks prior to the matchup against the Jacks on Saturday. CSUEB competed in the CCAA/Pacific West Challenge with HSU earlier this year and fell 52-44 to Academy of Art, which the Jacks defeated 68-54. Sarah Finlay leads the scoring threat for the Pioneers, averaging 12.0 ppg, followed closely by Micah Walker with 11.7 ppg. Marlene MacMillan posts up well for CSUEB, snagging 27 rebounds in four games.

Injury Report

Elle Anderson and Kelly Kime are questionable for the weekend's games, both recovering from leg injuries. Rachael Zarate, Jordawn Emmett and Jeanette DeWitt are still restricted to the bench, and could be out for the season.

Gleason's Gabs

"CSUMB is the defending conference champions and a very good team. They had a rough shooting night and loss over the weekend, but I know they'll come back fired up on Friday." ... "We watched a little of CSUEB in the CCAA/PacWest Challenge tournament earlier this year. They're an aggressive and much improved team. They like to change their defense up a lot so it can get our offense off-balanced and out of sync, so we need to do a good job of recognizing their defense and attack accordingly." ... "We're obviously very excited to ge our first conference win against a quality Sonoma State team. We're playing better and better every week and every game. The team continues to work hard and have good chemistry working on a common goal."