ARCATA – This time last year, Humboldt State was finding a hard time finding its footing amongst fellow California Collegiate Athletic Association teams. The Jacks were standing in eighth place in conference with a 3-6 CCAA record, 6-7 overall. While HSU is still working on standing on solid ground in conference, the Jacks are in a better position this year.

Humboldt State is currently tied for fourth in the CCAA with Cal Poly Pomona—both schools have a 8-4 conference record and 12-4 overall record—as it heads out on its second round of competition and faces Cal State Stanislaus and Chico State on Friday and Saturday, respectively. The Jacks beat both teams earlier this season at home.

"The second time around is tough," said head coach Joddie Gleason. "Beating the teams the first time is hard enough, but now the opponent has an extra emotional incentive to win at home, so it's tough to beat them again on the road."

This weekend's games will be the second-straight weekend on the road for the Jacks after HSU grabbed a split last weekend against Cal State San Bernardino and No. 1-ranked UC San Diego.

"We're getting used to [playing multiple games on the road in a row]," said Gleason. "Now we have the added dimension of school starting which doesn't help, but it's the nature of the business. We'll look forward to getting the road games out of the way so we can come back home for most of February."

Head-to-Head

In the middle of December, the Jacks hosted the CSUS and Chico State, beating both teams by double digits in the comfort of their own court. Bree Halsey and Lisa Petty both grabbed double-doubles against HSU's rival Chico State to finish with a 10-point victory over the Wildcats. The 72-62 victory didn't put the overall series in favor of the Jacks, as the Wildcats still hold the 57-19 edge in the series. Caitie Richards scored a career-high 25 points to lift the Jacks 76-60 over the Warriors. The win puts HSU just one win behind Cal State Stanislaus in the overall series (29-28). 

Multimedia

Every Lumberjack basketball game is broadcast live over the local airwaves on KATA 1340 AM, beginning with the pre-game shoe 15 minutes prior to game time. Bicoastal Media Sports Director J.B. Mathers describes the action from courtside. Fans can follow the action live on the hsujacks.com website via the Jacks' ustream account at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/humboldt-state-athletics. Fans can follow live stats of Friday night's game at http://csuswarriors.com/stanislaus/wbb/ and Saturday's action against Chico State at http://www.ccaalivestats.com/chico/wbb/xlive.htm.

Lumberjack Notes

As a team, Humboldt State scores on average 66.5 points per game, while limiting its opponent to 57.2 ppg. The Jacks dropped to the No. 3 spot of the CCAA leader board in field goal percentage defense (.374). HSU also ranks third in three-point field goal percentage, while placing second in three-point field goal percentage defense. 

Petty remains the team's top scorer, averaging 13.5 ppg, and places in the top 10 among other players in the CCAA at No. 8. Petty is one of four Jacks averaging double figures each game, followed by Richards (11.1 ppg), Kayla Williams (10.6 ppg) and Whitney Howard (10.4 ppg). Halsey is closing in on the four, but tops the Jacks' rebounding effort with 9.6 rebounds per game—grabbing 16 boards (one less than her career high) against UCSD.

Warrior Notes

Cal State Stanislaus sits toward the bottom of the CCAA standings with a conference record of 2-10 and overall record of 5-11. As a team, CSUS scores, on average, 60.8 ppg, but struggles to limit its opponents' points, giving up on average 69.3 ppg. The Warriors have played the last two games against No. 22 Cal State Monterey Bay and Cal State East Bay with only seven players, including without the CCAA's best scorer and best rebounder, Theresa Henderson, who averages 21.2 ppg and 9.9 rpg. 

Wildcat Notes

Chico State has been making steady progress forward, even taking UC San Diego to double overtime. The Wildcats sit right behind the Jacks at 10-6 overall, 7-5 in conference play. Synchro Bull leads the team in scoring with the sixth-best ppg average in the CCAA at 14.6 ppg. Jazmine Miller shoots a confident 86 percent from the free throw line, helping the Wildcats top the CCAA leader board with 80 percent from the line.

Injury Report

Patrice Saindon played in both games over the weekend after sustaining a foot injury. Kelly Kime continues to fight a foot injury, but has been improving each game.

Gleason's Gabs

"In our previous game against CSU Stanislaus, our entire focus was on making Henderson take tough shots. We knew she would get points, so we wanted to create tough opportunities for her. ... In the past, we've struggled at their place rebounding. That will be another key to win the game since they have two good rebounders in Lauren Godde and Henderson." ... "Chico State is playing really well right now and even took No. 1-ranked UCSD to double overtime. They continue to improve and are finishing well so it'll be a challenge to play against them. ... They are so athletic in the guard position and do a great job pressuring and harassing on defense."