ARCATA – After spending two weeks on the road, Humboldt State returns to Lumberjack Arena to host Cal State East Bay and Cal State Monterey Bay on Thursday and Saturday, respectively. Both games have a 5:30 p.m. tipoff time.

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With only eight games left in the regular season, these last games are crucial for California Collegiate Athletic Association teams in hopes of continuing in post-season play. Currently, HSU is tied for fourth in conference with Cal Poly Pomona, standing 13-5 overall and 9-5 against conference opponents. Cal State East Bay stands in the No. 10 spot with an overall record of 6-13 and 3-10 in CCAA. CSUMB sits in third place with a 13-4 overall record and 10-3 in conference action.

"We're happy to be home and have six of our next eight games at home, however, you can't rely on the home advantage," said head coach Joddie Gleason. "We know we have to go out and win on the road, but it's definitely nice to take on tough teams at home."

Head-to-Head

Earlier this season, the Jacks beat CSUEB 66-44 at Hayward to put the overall series within two games at 28-26 in favor of the Pioneers. Cal State Monterey Bay grabbed the sweep last year, and has the first game under its belt after handing HSU its first loss of the season 79-64 in Seaside. The Jacks hold the upper hand in the overall series at 9-5 and look to grab a split in this season's series against the CCAA's defending champions.

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 where a video feed will be shown along with Mathers' play-by-play. Live stats can also be found at http://www.sidearmstats.com/humboldt/wbball/.

Lumberjack Notes

In its second-to-last regular season road trip, HSU returns home with another split on the road. The Jacks blew out Cal State Stanislaus 82-63, grabbing their highest score of the year, before falling 90-67 to a very determined Chico State. 

As a team, the Jacks average 67.3 points per game, while limiting their opponents to 62.4 ppg. Humboldt State's accuracy from beyond the arc tops the conference leader board with a .359 three-point field goal percentage. On the other side, HSU ranks second among the top teams in three-point defense. The team's 41 percent shooting effort places the Jacks in the No. 3 spot, along with their overall scoring offense.

Lisa Petty still leads the scoring threat for HSU, averaging 13.8 ppg, which puts her seventh among fellow CCAA scorers. Two other starters average double-digit points, including Caitie Richards' 11.3 ppg and Kayla Williams' 10.9 ppg. Whitney Howard is just on the cusp of averaging double-figures with 9.9 ppg.

Bree Halsey broke the all-time rebounding record Friday night, previously set by Dawn Miner in 1993 with 830 rebounds, picking up eight rebounds against the Warriors. Halsey now has 839 career rebounds and still eight guaranteed games left to play in the season. Averaging 9.3 rebounds per game places Halsey in the top three on the CCAA leader board, just under Theresa Henderson (Cal State Stanislaus) and Megan Ford (Cal Poly Pomona).

Pioneer Notes

Cal State East Bay comes off two losses against Cal State Los Angeles and Cal State Dominguez Hills. The Pioneers fell 61-52 against the Golden Eagles and dropped 58-53 to the Toros. CSUEB outscores its opponents in the first half, but cannot carry the momentum through the game and ultimately lose its lead. The Pioneers have struggled to pull a string of wins together despite out-rebounding their opposition, led by Marlene MacMillan's average of 8.5 rpg (fifth in the CCAA). As a team, CSUEB scores 56.5 ppg, but gives up 59.9 ppg, led by McMillan's 8.5 ppg, Lauren Lucchesi's 8.3 ppg and Micah Walker's 8.1 ppg.

Otter Notes

Cal State Monterey Bay enters the weekend after grabbing a split against the Toros and Golden Eagles. After defeating CSUDH 60-56, the Otters fell 79-64 to Cal State L.A. The once-ranked Otters average 66.5 ppg, with a 40.4 shooting percentage, and limit their opponents to 60.4 ppg. While the Jacks top the CCAA in three-pointer accuracy, CSUMB tops the conference in defending shots from beyond the arc. The Otters also top the CCAA in blocked shots, averaging 3.0 per game due largely to Brittni Jefferson's defensive efforts. Jefferson has blocked 19 shots this season, while averaging 9.8 ppg and 8.0 rpg. Brandi Stephens leads the CSUMB scoring effort with 11.6 ppg, rounded out by Erika Ward and Stefanie Corgel with 9.5 ppg and 9.2 ppg, respectively.

Injury Report

Kayla Williams suffered an ankle injury in the game against Chico State, but is probable to play this weekend. Patrice Saindon has also been fighting an injured foot, but is expected to play as well.

Gleason's Gabs

...on Cal State East Bay

"They play a matchup zone defense that causes problems because it's not your typical zone or man defense. We didn't do a very good job attacking that in the first game. ... CSUEB is a solid team and on the cusp of being able to beat anyone. The Pioneers are a dangerous team if you think they're not good because they don't have a good standing in conference, but they can compete with anyone."

...on Cal State Monterey Bay

"Playing a team in the second round after losing in the first round is motivation in itself. It's definitely a big game for us to move up in positioning for the CCAA tournament since they're ahead of us in conference. ... The Otters play a great defensive game and force you to really execute offensively and make good reads. It's important for us to be patient and get high percentage shots.

...on being the top three-point shooting team

"We can't rely on only taking three-pointers. That can't be our only offensive weapon. We need to move the ball and attack the basket by getting the ball to our posts, which helps free up the perimeter."

...on cleaning up the defense

"I feel like teams are having too easy of a time putting up shots against us. We need to focus on defense a little more this week since we've slipped a little these past weeks."