ARCATA – Five seniors have two more guaranteed games left to compete in at Lumberjack Arena as the regular season comes to a close. With a three-way battle for third—between Humboldt State, Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State Los Angeles—in the California Collegiate Athletic Association, these last two games of the regular season are crucial for Humboldt State in determining if the Jacks will earn hosting rights for the opening round of the CCAA Tournament. 

No. 1-ranked UC San Diego has already claimed the regular season conference title after posting a program record-breaking 26-game winning streak. The Tritons hope to end the regular season with a perfect 22-0 conference record, but Humboldt State and Sonoma State stand in their way. The Jacks host the Tritons on Wednesday, Feb. 22, at 5:30 p.m. and look to derail UCSD's impressive unbeaten streak.

If the Jacks can beat the Tritons, they have a good chance at hosting the first round of the CCAA Tournament. If HSU splits on the week's games, the odds are not in its favor in regards to determining tie breakers. The Jacks could find themselves anywhere from the No. 2 spot to the No. 6 position in the conference leader boards, but head coach Joddie Gleason isn't going to look that far into the future yet.

"We try to take one game at a time," said Gleason. "If you start looking ahead, it takes away from the task at hand. First, we'll focus on UCSD and then we'll move on to Cal State San Bernardino. Friday night we'll see where we stand and then we can focus on the conference tournament."

Humboldt State (17-7 overall, 13-7 CCAA) hosts Cal State San Bernardino (9-15 overall, 8-12 CCAA) Friday, also at 5:30 p.m., and will honor the five seniors: Bree Halsey, Kayla Williams, Lexxi Price, Molly Todd and Whitney Howard.

"It's always exciting for both the seniors and the underclassmen to honor the senior class," said Gleason. "This year's senior class has really developed and has been a key to our success. We're really proud of them and all their contributions.

Canned Food Drive

Head-to-Head

If history is to repeat itself, the Jacks can pull off the huge upset by beating the top-ranked Toros after grabbing a split last season. Humboldt State lost earlier this season 74-49, but has beaten UCSD seven of the 16 times the two have faced each other.

Last year, the Jacks lost both of their games against the Coyotes, but claimed a 71-65 victory down in San Bernardino earlier this season. Humboldt State holds the upper hand in the all-time series against Cal State San Bernardino, 7-5.

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Regional Rankings

The first Regional Rankings were released Feb. 14 by the NCAA, placing the Jacks in the ninth spot in the West Region. Rankings will be released weekly for the remainder of the season with the NCAA announcing in March the field of 64 who will advance to the championship tournament. Of the 64, eight teams from the West Region will receive a berth in the tournament.  

Five of the 10 spots are held by CCAA member schools, topped by UC San Diego. Cal State Monterey Bay stands in fourth, just above Cal State Los Angeles. Cal Poly Pomona ranks seventh and HSU rounds out the fifth team in the No. 9 seat.

1	UC San Diego
2	Alaska-Anchorage
3	Grand Canyon
4	Cal State Monterey Bay
5	Cal State L.A.
6	Western Washington
7	Cal Poly Pomona
8	Dixie State
9	Humboldt State
10	Montana State Billings

Lumberjack Notes

Humboldt State comes off a split on its last regular season road trip, including a heart-wrenching overtime 75-59 loss to Cal Poly Pomona. The Jacks played some great defense against San Francisco State, keeping the Gators to their lowest score of the season and scoring the fewest points on the Jacks in a half (15 points). After starting strong against the Broncos, the Jacks couldn't use the strong defensive momentum, ultimately falling in overtime.

"Our team is resilient," said Gleason. "We'll bounce back and be fired up for our last homestand. It was a heartbreaker at Cal Poly Pomona. We competed, gave it our all and came up short against a good Cal Poly Pomona team."

As a team, the Jacks average 65.7 points per game while limiting their opponents to 60.8 ppg. Humboldt State's defensive effort keeps its opponents shooting under 38 percent from the field and under 26 percent from beyond the arc. The Jacks remain the top team shooting from downtown, sinking 35 percent of their three-point attempts.

Lisa Petty continues to lead the scoring front for HSU, averaging 13.3 ppg to place her seventh amongst the top conference shooters. Kayla Williams follows with 11.5 ppg—shooting just under 40 percent from beyond the arc—and averages 3.7 assists per game, putting her tied for second on the CCAA leader board. Caitie Richards also averages double-figures with a 10.8 ppg average, shooting .378 from downtown. Bree Halsey, HSU's all-time career rebounder, ranks third in the CCAA with a 9.3 rebounds per game average. Patrice Saindon continues to be a spark off the bench and averages 2.3 steals each game to put her second in conference.

Triton Notes

On average, UC San Diego outscores its opponents by 19.5 points, scoring 79.1 ppg and limiting its opponents to 59.7 ppg. The conference's top threat, Chelsea Carlisle, not only knows how to score points for the top-ranked Tritons, averaging 16.4 ppg, but can also dish out assists as well. Carlisle averages 6.0 assists per game to put her on top of the CCAA's leader board in the scoring and assist columns, as well as steals with 2.8 steals per game.

Coyote Notes

Cal State San Bernardino has the third-best scoring defense in the conference, holding its opponents to 58.5 ppg, however, the Coyotes have struggled to score points of their own, averaging 57.2 ppg. The Coyotes dynamic duo, Angela Streets and Eliza Dy, lead the team in scoring, averaging 15.8 ppg and 14.1 ppg, respectively. Streets' average places her in second in conference, just under Carlisle. Dy's average of 3.7 assists per game puts her tied for second with Williams.

Gleason's Gabs

"We always look at the game against UCSD as an obvious challenge, but we prepare for any game the same way. We'll prepare with film, scout and practice just like everyone else. We know we have to execute on both ends of the court. You don't have to play a perfect game against them, but you have to play well. ... UCSD has a tendency of scoring in bunches. In the last game we were with them, then in all of a sudden we were down by 15. They're very capable of scoring from a variety of people and they play an uptempo, aggressive style of play. ... Angela Streets is CSUSB's go-to player who had a career night against us. She's one of the great players in conference where we need to focus in on and make her work for her points. Her and Eliza Dy are tough players to slow down, but if you focus in on them, they're smart players so they'll find their open teammates."