| OCR Text |
-f § iiiiiyjiiiififTi0iiaiiafiiiyitiTri r' T Standard-Examin- WSU WOMEN’S BASKETBALL Wildcats overcome slow start to beat NAU jr By JUSTIN JOHNSON Standard-Examin- f- correspondent - OGDEN Things are starting to heat up for the Weber State women’s basketball team ' timing out of the ashes of a showing in the preseason th&Wildcats have soared to 2 startin Big Sky Conference action 0 overall) after downing the1 Lumberjacks of Northern Arizona 70-5- 2 on Friday night at the Dee Events Center “f don’t think we came out with the intensity that we’ve had in the past few games I think’ this was a little bit of a wike-u- p call that the intensity isn’t just going to be there We have to be ready every game” Wildcats head coach Carla Taylor said “We felt that if we came out in second half and did ‘a better job with the press that eventually they were going to wear down” ‘ From the way the Wildcats started you’d never have guessed they would walk off the floor with an win They opened the game by from the shooting just 1 Shelfield to fall behind ley Olson then nailed a long and ignited a 16-- 0 run as the Wildcats took their first 5 lead with 1:41 remaining -8 5-- ns to ed rs (6-1- d- iuI isl -- an ite III U nt 25-1- 27-2- in the first half After a pair of missed Wildcat free throws Northern Arizona climbed back into the lead on Jessica LeBlanc’s with 395 seconds remaining ’’When someone makes a big we play like hitting a all feed off of it That’s what is helping us out right now” Olson said Big plays were the driving force behind the Wildcats’ rally “We came out asleep at the wheel and CT got in our faces and told us we needed to step up and that’s exactly what we did” Wildcats’ point guard Andie Wilier said “We got some turnovers from the press and it got everyone on the floor and on the bench fired up” Olson led the Wildcats with points while teammate Brianna Kanongata’a had 11 21 point and 10 rebounds Next up for the Wildcats is tonight’s clash with the conference leading Matadors of Cal State Northridge at the Dee Events Center at 7 “Tomorrow is a huge game especially because we have more road games in the second half of the (Big Sky) season We need to win our home games if we want to stay alive in the race to host the tournament” Taylor said Falcons keep Vikings within range in Region j Standard Examiner staff Region - CLEARFIELD It wasn’t a thing of beauty but the Clearfield Falcons will take Friday afternoon’s 42-3- 6 victory over Northridge which helped them keep pace in Region 1 - a game behind league-leadin- g Viewmont "It was an ugly win” Clearfield coach CK Hansen said “But a win’s a win” The Falcons opened up the contest by falling behind 6 as the first quarter came to a close but they outscored the Knights by four points in the second lead stanza to take a into the locker room Led by a stifling defense that - held Northridge to four third-perio- d points Clearfield went Jup by six at the end of three : quarters st Despite a mild offensive by the Knights in the fourth quarter the Falcons were hble to match them point for point to secure the win and keep their record at home a perfect" 10-- 0 this season “We played some pretty good ‘D’” Hansen said “We ' just try to work hard holding other teams down and score a few more points If you do that you always give yourself a chance to win” Although the Falcons kept it close by converting only free throws they pulled away led by the efforts of Hayley Barker with 12 points and Susan Layton with 10 one-poi- missed layups the Darts controlled the ball game nearly throughout However the Vikings finally caught Davis with three minutes remaining in the contest The game was back and forth the rest of the way Viewmont found themselves down by a point with 15 seconds remaining but took the lead on Susie Anderson’s driving layup The Darts had one final chance with four seconds left however an shot hit the rim and came off to end the game nt ' Kristen Crockett led the Viewmont scoring attack with 1 6 points Skyline 69 Layton 56 At Layton the host Lancers couldn’t keep up with the Eagles in the second half Skyline jumped out to a 0 lead after one quarter but Layton tied things up at 32-a- ll at the break third However a quarter doomed the Lancers Amy Jensen scored 23 points including a trio of for the visiting Eagles Holly Harris added 19 points and Andrea VanDrunen scored 10 for Skyline Haley Berlin scored 23 points for the Lancers Brittany Hazen added 13 points 16-1- 43 Davis 42 ’ ‘ 10 ’ s “ Overall At Bountiful the Darts gave the first-plaVikings all they could handle before eventually faltering in the final seconds of the'game ' Helped by Viewmont’s poor Standard-Examincorrespondent Chad Pritchett contributed to this report er shooting including numerous Weber State at Northern Arizona Wildcats Big Lumb9nack(l5Q7-0BigSIy- Sky) ) When: 835 MST tonight Where: Walkup Skydome (7000) Flagstaff Ariz Fox Sports Rocky Mountain (Davis and 1660 Weber counties only) KXOL-ASeries record: Weber State leads 6 Last meeting: The Wildcats rallied from a 1 on Feb deficit and forced overtime before falling 79-7- ’t y w J- (14-- 6 48-1- - y 0 21 1998 in Flagstaff ' Increased junior J1 5- 1 - 0 st 26 steals per junior averages 121 points and a conference-bepercentage play tor Big Sky s top eight players in Northern Arizona Casey Frank a 9 senior center leads the conference at 634 percent and NAU teammate Dan McOintock a 7 loot junior cents' ranks second and shoots 631 percent off the bench Ross Land a 5 junior kxward & Sixth (526) and Michael McNair a 3 senior guard is eighth (498) - Stks that matter Northern Arizona has won 22 consecutive home L games The streak currently is the seventh longest m NCAA Division The last conference game at home was to Weber State tm&NAU lost a regular-seaso- n OH - jt Players to watch:Weber State's Harold Arceneaux g his Big scoring average to 21 5 points per game with a £6 point effort on Thursday night at Cal State Northridge Arceneaux a 64oot-- 6 adds 57 rebounds and 1 5 blocks per game WSU point guard Eddie ie ’ a gama Four of the field-go- 6-- 6-- 6-- 1 15 it le it d f 1 n a d 6 3 101-6- 4 dumg the 1995-9- season Notebook: Northern Arizona expects a record crowd of 6J300 for tonight’s - mainly because the tickets are free The university s celebrating its ' game 100th year of existence and has designated the regionally televised Big Sky ' matchup as the “Centennial Basketball Game Those who could care less the Bg Sky showdown are being enticed to Walkup Skydome by a laser ' show after the game For the record the most fans NAU has attracted this ' season is 3810 against Portland State on Jan 9 The Lumberjacks average - 2 L53 fans per game -f- ourth best m the Big Sky WSU leads the conference at Northern Arizona coach Ben Howtand is a 1 978 graduate of Weber 5C97 ' State Howland now n his fifth season as head coach of the Lumberjacks was a r starter for the Wildcats two-yee- i COPY r Utes know slip now would be dangerous much better team” he said By JIM BURTON staff Standard-Examin- SALT LAKE CITY - At first glance Utah’s lead in the Western Athletic Conference’s Pacific Division seems pretty safe At 0 the Runnin’ Utes hold a one game advantage over New in Mexico and BYU (both the Pacific Division and in fact are the only team in either division without a loss Still the Utes are hardly in a position to let up A game tonight against San Jose State and another Monday against Fresno State are key to Utah’s future A let down in either contest could cause a bottleneck atop the standings and Utah coach Rick Majerus is well aware that his team still has two games with New Mexico and a game with BYU in Provo Needless to say he’s making sure his players are aware of those facts too 3-- 3-- 1) The Utes breezed through their last road trip easily beating San Diego State and Hawaii Majerus however seemed less than satisfied “I think we’re becoming a Shields From ID interested in the people who can do a lot of different things” Shields said “I can play safety I can punt I can do kickoffs Anything they want from me I can do it “I can be on an NFL team for one primary position and also be the ultimate backup at the other positions” Shields was the Big Sky Conference’s Defensive Player of the Year this season with 97 tackles and six interceptions as a strong safety He also kicked 67 career field -goals - including a and averaged 419 yards per punt for his career 227 pounds And at the scouts love his size - some have even said he could play linebacker in the NFL “Everyone is just stunned by my size when they find out I’m a punter” Shields said “So I tried to come out and show I had speed as well and that I can play safety in the NFL” selection to the A three-tim- e Associated Press Division team as an player Shields is the best player you’ve never heard of Shields could have been one of the biggest names at the Senior Bowl if he hadn’t gone to er out-bur- :d 1 girls basketball 1 League 9-- Ytewmorrt Saturday January 23 1999 3D Sports er “(But) what I’m disappointed in is our free throw shooting We have to shoot the ball better if we have any hope of continuing to have success” Against Hawaii - a 60-4- 6 victory by the way - Utah made attempts from the just foul line And against San Diego State - a 79-5- 3 win - they made just University of Utah basketball Tonight: San Jose State vs Utah 7:35 pm Monday: Fresno State vs Utah 1 0 pm Where: Huntsman Center (1 5000) Salt Lake City No TV tonight Monday's game on ESPN KNRS-A570 Records: Utah (1 4 0 WAC) San Jose State WAC) WAC) Fresno State (12-FSU Series records: Utah leads SJSU at Salt Lake City Last meetings: Utah beat SJSU in 1 992 FSU swept its series with the Utes in 1 996 Players to watch: Utah guard Jeremy Killion is becoming a nice complement to point guard Andre Miller After a solid performance last weekend Kilhon's scoring average is up to 1 01 points per game and he is shooting 31 percent from range in conference play SJSU's Terrance Richmond is averaging better than 1 4 points a game in WAC play he scored 1 5 Thursday niqhl sophomore leads the conference with against BYU FSU center Melvin Ely a 55 blocked shots Stats that matter Utah leads the WAC in scoring defense allowing an average of just 51 points per game No 2 on the list is UNLV at 61 7 Notebook: Utah and San Jose State have not yet met as WAC opponents The last time the two schools met was Dec 28 1 992 when the Spartans were The Utes currently own a members of the Big West Conference Fresno State was the last WAC team to winning streak at the Huntsman Center win in Salt lake City back on Jan 8 1 996 3-- 3-- 2-- 2 6 (9-- 8 2-- 1 11-- 2 6-- 3 60-4- 7 6-- 9 -7 Said Majerus: “You can’t shoot 63 percent and expect to win big games” Last weekend’s games were “big” because they were road games This weekend’s contests are even bigger because the Utes can at least maintain their lead in the division Tonight’s game against the SJSU would seem like an easy one but the Spartans come in on the heels of a 31 point loss to BYU on Thursday It’s hard to imagine they’ll sit still for a similar fate against the Utes “We look forward to playing a good San Jose State team” Macoach Phil jerus said “(First-yea- r Johnson) has done a great job of turning it around with the same players they had last year” -- Wednesday from Dallas where on Tuesday he received the Doak Walker Award as the nation’s best running back After the Hula Bowl it’s back to Austin for a parade with the football team then off to the Super Bowl then to his hometown of San Diego for another awards banquet And that’s just the start “Then the ESPYs in New York on the 15th and then the Maxwell Award on the 23rd and the Touchdown Gub in Columbus on the 20th then I go to Walter Camp on the 25th of February” Williams said “I think then I go to baseball” spring training with the Texas Rangers Williams admits he’s a bit out of shape for playing football but said he told South coach Mike Price he wants to play as much as possible “Coach I think he figured I didn’t want to play much but he asked me and I said I want to play the whole game if possible” Williams said “I came here to play” Miami Dolphins scout Tom Against the Utes Majerus expects the Spartans to spread the floor and run as much clock as possible which is exactly what 4 victory over they did in a Fresno State on Jan 7 91-6- And speaking of Fresno State? The Bulldogs who visit the Cougars on Saturday are still within striking distance in the division standings a win against the Utes - on national television no less - would put them back in the race Also the ’Dogs have another incentive as well: they were the last WAC team to win in the Huntsman Center back on Jan 8 1996 Since then Utah has won 25 straight conference games on its home floor Jim Burton covers University Utah athletics for the Standard-Examin625-446- He can be reached at or jburtontjistandardnet 5 Braatz said Williams’ condition will be factored in by scouts not that he has much to prove “He’s been on airplanes and receiving a lot of awards so we know he’s not going to be in peak shape” Braatz said “He’s not going to be like he was when he finished that last game” Williams started his college career in Hawaii rushing for 95 yards and two touchdowns as a fullback for Texas in their 1995 season-openin- g win over the Rainbows Four years and 6279 yards later the career NCAA major-colleg- e rushing leader is back in Hawaii for one last college hurrah Four players from Perfect For KBIRDK HUNTERS from Pheasant Valley Hunting Preserve NEWYEAR5PEC1AL Packaqe s88 6-Bi- rd including a Merriam's Wild Turkey Pheasant Hens Chukar Quail African Guinea Fowl Utah schools will also play in the game Defensive lineman Ed Kehl of Brigham Young will play for the North along with two players from the University of Utah - wide receiver Daniel Jones and defensive tackle Pene Talamaivao Defensive tackle Walter Fiefia of Utah State is on the South roster mm DAY HUNTS ORm 'memberships availabu mCALlXTODAYM Weber State but the Ogden school was the only one interested in letting him do it all “Most schools said I could play either football or soccer but not both” Shields said “I wanted to play football but I wanted to handle all the kicking and play safety Every big school that was interested in me said one or the TREADMILLS other” So Shields went to Weber State which makes him yet another small school player trying to make a name for himseLf in front of the hundreds of scouts and coaches at the Senior Bowl But Shields doesn’t think he has anything more to prove than any other player here “I came down here and saw all these players that I’ve seen on TV and everyone had heard of them but no one had heard of me” Shields said “So for me it was my opportunity to show I can play with them and I can even be one of them” Weber State’s defensive back Anthony Parker is an alternate for the game as well HOME GYMS - Williams finds time for the Hula Bowl At Wailuku Hawaii as he makes his way along the banquet circuit collecting numerous awards as college football's best player Ricky Williams still has time to play one more game before turning pro The Heisman Trophy-winnin- g Texas tailback says he returned for his senior season in part to play in a college football game like he will Sunday for the South in the Hula Bov-“When you grow up you watch all the All-Stgames” he said “I was kind of upset last all-st- ar L ar year because juniors couldn’t play 1 really wanted to be a part of something like this my whole career" W’illiams had to make time for the game in between accepting awards and attending banquets that will keep him traveling for the next month Willi ns flew to Hawaii on of ELLIPTICALS |
