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Show The Signpost Page 7 Dort Sports Editor: Danielle Blaisdell. Travis Clemens Phone: 626-7983 Wildcats rip apart Bobcats Friday, January 16, 2004 r fi t' . ' . Ill Mil ,.' A- v i i'l . ' L il .. X ..!,' X ;- us. 44 sT . 7 T J V v. A? WSU Becky O'Neil flips in a turnaround jump shot in Thursday's game at the Dee Events Center. Men's basketball score: MSU 61 WSU 48 Montana Indoor track teams picked to win championship By Travis Clemens sports editor The Signpost The opening game of the Big Sky Conference basketball season for the Lady Wildcats proved to be a memorable one. Coach Carla Taylor started the action by raising the team's 2003 Big Sky Championship banner in a pre-game ceremony. Weber State University didn't waste any time reminding the visiting Montana State Lady Bobcats who the defending champs were, and eventually defeated MSU 78-58. Much of that credit has to go to junior forward Julie Gjertsen who had 16 first-half points. "I was firing them up and they were going in," Gjertsen said. "1 just kept making them." Gjertsen hit all four 3-pointers she took. The Lady 'Cats, 7-7 on the season and 1-0 in the conference, used b 9-2 run to close the first half, capped by a half-court shot by freshman guard Laura Porter to give WSU a 41-29 halftime lead. "Obviously it's a big win against a good team to open the conference season," Taylor said. "I am pleased with the team's effort on both ends of the court; even more so on the offensive end to be able to score that many points." MSU didn't give up, however, and outhustlcd the Lady Wildcats during the first nine minutes of the second half. The Lady Bobcats held Gjertsen to only one shot during that span and cut the WSU lead to 51-47 with 1 1 minutes to play. By Jamie Hester sr. sports reporter The Signpost The men's and women's indoor track teams have been picked to win the Big Sky Indoor Track and Field Championships. Winning this championship is not new to either of these teams. The men have won the Big Sky Championship three times in the last five years and placed second the other two years. The women have won the championship the past two years and are excited to see if they can make it three in a row. "This could be as dominant a team as last year, but we will need to keep improving and always need some good luck to make it happen." said women's head coach Jim Blaisdell. With a strong mixture of veterans and freshman, the Wildcats feel they will have a strong chance at the championship. The women have returning athletes who combined for 103.5 points in last year's championship. That total is more than five of the eight Big Sky schools scored in last year's championship. Even with such high scores and being picked to win the championship, the 'Cats are staying levelheaded and are still working hard to be the best and not let the talk of winning take the place of working to win. The main competitor that might get in the way of WSU's men and women is Northern Arizona University. NAU was picked second to win the Big Sky Championship, with not many votes behind the 'Cats. Last year the men finished second to NAU. "We took second last year but before that we were number one for two years," said men's head coach Chick Hislop. "I would like to get that title back." Senior Jerome Milncr has been a part of the winning team, and after the team placed second last year, Milncr wants to bring the title back to WSU. "We have all worked really hard," Milncr said. "Even if we are sick we still go to practice. We are giving our all. and if we give our all in the end we should be able to win. 1 basically know what I have to do to win and I repeat the same strategy over again." Even with the talents and leadership of several older team members, the men are depending on a lot of freshman this year. "We have good incoming talent in the 1,500, the pole vault, the hurdles and the triple jump," Hislop said. "But we are depending on freshmen to score in those events. We have a . lot of talent overall." Hislop said that even with a lot of talent he knows this season will be hard because many of his men have not been in championship situations like the Big Sky. Both teams have had an excellent start. The 'Cats defeated the Idaho State University Bengals in the season opener; the WSU men's team won 86-55 and the WSU women's team won 84-55. WSU will return to Idaho this Saturday to compete in the Snake River Open. The following week, the Wildcats will be in action at home as they take on the University of Utah and Utah Valley State College. The meet will be held at WSU's Health and Physical Education Center. Big Sky Championships will be held Feb. 27-28 in Boeman. Mont. You on leave a message lor reporter jamie Hester by calling 626-79113. After a time out, the Lady Wildcats went on a 6-0 run, extending their lead to 57-47, and took control of the game. WSU exploited MSU's lack of height and counted on its post players finish off the Bobcats. "We have to have a well-balanced inside-outside game." Gjertsen said. "Just the guards can't win it and just the posts can't win it." WSU outscored MSU 21-11 to close the game and claim the conference victory. The win was the team's fifth straight. After starting the season 0-5, the Lady Wildcats are 7-2. "I don't really get concerned with the preseason record ever," Taylor said. "We always schedule a tough preseason to prepare us for all this. We're where we need to be to make a run at it." Gjertsen finished with 23 points, while teammate Angela Sampson chipped in 1 1 points and eight rebounds to pace the Lady 'Cats. Junior forward Kati Burrows was the lone bright spot for MSU with 23 points and 1 1 rebounds. She was also instrumental in helping lead the Lady Bobcats back to within four midway through the second half. Sixteen of her 23 points came after halftime. The Lady Wildcats play home again on Saturday against the University of Montana before heading on the road next week. "I think this is a good start," Gjertsen said. "Montana State's a good team. It's good momentum. We just got to stick with it." You can reach reporter Travis Clemens by calling 626-7983. Rootball recruiting trail By Jarrod Hiatt corespondent The Signpost Part 1 of 2 1 Perhaps Weber State University football coach Jerry Graybeal is taking a break during the off-season. Maybe he and the assistant coaches will take a little bit of a breather and relax. They deserve it, right? Well maybe not. 1 One would think after a dominant 35-15 season-ending performance against St. Mary's (Calif.), which capped an impressive 8-4 season, the staff would take a break, maybe even a hiatus before preparing for the upcoming season. This, however, is not the case. The WSU football coaches, hungry to see repeated success, are on thd recruiting trail in an effort to complement this season's returning talent with players from high schools and junior colleges. Graybeal said he couldn't mention any names of potential Wildcats, but he did say that he could talk about the process. '("I'm busier now than I ever was during die regular season," Graybeal said. During die months of December and January, coaches focus heavily on recruiting in an effort to have all their recruits in place by the second Wednesday in February, which is National Letter of Intent Day. The National Collegiate Athletics Association has set aside that day as the day that prospective student-athletes can sign with the school of their choice. coaches are feverishly working to build a team they feel will be; as good as or better than the previous season. The process to recruit athletes from in-state high school differs slightly from the process to bring in possible recruits from out of the state; however, the process to evaluate players and build the team from players across the country is very time-consuming and involves a lot See Recruiting page 8 |