ARCATA, Calif. – Following a rough weekend away, the Humboldt State women's basketball team comes home to Lumberjack Arena looking to return to form.
The Jacks (6-7, 3-3) saw their three-game win streak come to an end with back-to-back California Collegiate Athletic Conference road losses this past weekend, but will have the Green and Gold faithful's full support as Chico State and Stanislaus State come to campus on Jan. 7 and 9, respectively. Both games are scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m.
"For us it has been a weird year," said Head Coach
Joddie Gleason. "We've had a ton of injuries. Our numbers are down a little bit, so right now we are just trying to get up and down the court in practice and simulate the pressure that we are going to have this week. Chico and Stanislaus both bring it, they are athletic and pressure on the perimeter at the guard spot."
Chico State (5-6, 1-5) enters Thursday's game having lost six of its last seven games, after opening the season with a 4-0 record. Statistically, the Wildcats are amongst the conference's best in assists per game, averaging 14.1 through 11 games. Chico State is one of just four conference teams to shoot above the 40 percent mark, meaning HSU will have to challenge shots defensively to lower that number. Last year's CCAA Freshman of the Year, Whitney Branham, has upped her 10.0 points per game average to a team-high 11.5 in her second season.
Stanislaus State (8-4, 4-2) has been perfect to date on their home court, but is an even 3-3 in games away from Ed & Bertha Fitzpatrick Arena. Much like the Jacks, Stanislaus is a strong offensive rebounding team, averaging 14.5 per game and 16.8 in CCAA games. The Warriors will also look to take advantage of any sloppy play on the court, as indicated by their league-best 9.8 steals per game against conference opponents. Stanislaus is having a strong start to its season, despite not having a double-figure scorer on the roster. Junior forward Cassidy Sanders-Curry (9.1 points per game) leads a quartet of Wildcats who average at least eight points per game.
"The Lumberjack faithful are like no other, we love playing at home," said Gleason. "We are on the road a lot, especially in January, so we are valuing these few times that we get to be here."
Entering the week,
Kiana Brown (92.3 percent) and
Amanda Kunst (91.2 percent) are the only two CCAA players shooting over the 90 percent mark from the charity stripe. Humboldt State is first in the conference in free throws made per game (16.8) and first in free throw attempts per game (22.8).
The Green and Gold lead the conference in home attendance and have an opportunity to increase that number this week. Tickets for the games are available online or at Wildberries Market in Arcata, and live video streams will be available online as well.
