Show Bruins Head to St. St George Georae in Hopes of Tournament Wins Lady Bruins Earn Rematch with NIC Cardinals Coach Adams says Undefeated Definitely Beatable Larry D. D Curtis Managing Editor THE Lady Bruins head into the Scenic West Athletic Conference tournament this week as the second seed because of their second place regular season conference finish They will face the seventh seeded Northern Idaho College Cardinals who defeated the Bruins in Couer d' d A lene Idaho on Friday Ft Feb b. b 18 The conference will be held in St. St George hometown of eighth place Dixie Rebels The winner of the tournament w will ll play another junior college conference ch champion champion cham cham- pion and the winner will advance to Tyler Texas for a chance to win the national cham cham- The Bruins Bruin's conference record is 4 14 while their overall record is 22 Seeded ahead of is the nationally ranked Utah Valley State College Wolverines Wol- Wol Wolverines Wolverines verines verines- who defeated the Bruins 80 70 in their final conference game to post their record to a perfect 28 Despite losing both games to Bruin players and coaches feel the tournament tournament tournament ment is wide open Bruin coach Soni Adams says even who plays eighth seeded Dixie college college college col col- lege isn't guaranteed a winI winI winI win I think Dixie has a shot at Utah Valley Val ey They've won five in a row coming into intoE f E their own tournament she said Mandy Ney of UV C said the Wolverines arent aren't taking any team lightly Were confident but we cant can't overlook anybody Ney said t V Adams said it was difficult to make a prediction middle I dont don't Its so packed in the know Snow can be tough on a night I think f is fading a little CEU is pretty t tough ugh 5 Adams said t t. t Bruin starting point guard Krista Wardle t I was less uncertain n and less diplomatic I. I Were going to win the tournament she t f said f f- Starting forward Laura Goulding shared the same view as Adams when it came to up match-up against Dixie and felt that V would beat if the two faced t V each VI other again J. J They know they are so lucky We had them tonight They know we can beat them Goulding said Of the up match-up against NIC Wardle glad to have a chance to av avenge their recent loss to the Cardinals We had a horrible game at NIC NI C and they tl think that is how we play and we dont don't at all They put a three one-three-one press on us and we didn't handle it very very well Wardle said Attending the Friday Feb 24 up match-up between the top two seeds and was San Diego State University University- women's basketball coach Beth Burns Bums She was impressed by the talent of the individuals individuals individuals in in- and the teams Its unfortunate only one of these teams get to go to the national tournament These teams are better than a lot of teams Ive I've seen there Burns Bums said The Bruins will rely on three freshmen in their starting line up Wardle starts at guard Kane Karle Johnson at shooting guard and Goulding Goulding Goulding Gould Gould- ing at power forward Sophomores Mika Brown and Kamie Bland who was named Bruin player of the year play center and small forward respectively Other first r round und ups match-ups include fourth seeded Ricks fifth seed College College College Col Col- lege of Eastern Utah and the College of Southern Idaho taking on Snow Men Will Rely on Big Three to Pull Off Upsets in Dixie First Opponent Will be Third Seed Golden Eagles Jody Genessy Contributor THE TIlE Bruin Men take their ever best-ever record of 8 22 down to th the sunshine of St. St George this week to participate in the Scenic West Athletic Conference Tournament The conferences conference's top eight teams will play in a single elimination playoff to crown the season post-season champion The winner winner winner win win- ner will represent Region 18 8 in the national finals from Thursday March 17 7 to Saturday March 19 in Hutchinson Kan The Bruins are not entering the tournament tournament tournament ment as the favorites but are definitely considered considered considered con con- a threat to challenge the hometown favorite Dixie Rebels They tied with Snow College for fifth place in the but because because because be be- cause of a tie-breaker tie system the Badgers earned the higher seeding and Snow split their to head-to-head games but Snow beat the seeded first-seeded Dixie College thus clinching the higher ranking If the Bruins are to win the tournament they will need big efforts from their fearsome fearsome fearsome fear fear- some threesome of Chuck Overton Marcel ss t ry 7 Ya 51 r is t J Ely 1 1 i. i v. v o t 0 by f a 9 91 tt t Y y VV V. F r w a 1 Horizon photo Larry Lany D. D Curtis Krista Wardle takes a defensive position against a ball handler The Bruins forced 19 Wolverine turnovers but still lost 80 Johnson and Silas Mills V Overton finished the season leading the in scoring for his second consecutive consecutive consecutive tive year with a scoring average Overton is considered especially dangerous from 10 to 15 feet but he can nail down the three-pointer three with regularity Johnson who averages points per game was a a. a work horse underneath the basket and anda a legitimate threat from the outside Mills joined the the team midway through the season and became an immediate force He finished the j season in five of 10 0 conference conference conj con- con ference statistical groups Mills averaged points and 95 rebounds in 15 5 games The Bruins also will count counton on leadership from point guard Shane Belnap who averaged nine points six assists and two steals a game will need strong performances performances performances per per- from Don Faux and the bench if they hope to fare well in the tournament The Bruins will fa face e the Coll College ge of Southern Idaho who surged late in the season season to finish third in the conference at 6 12 7 23 The Bruins beat early in inthe inthe inthe the season but fell to the Golden Eagles 99 91 in Twin Falls Idaho To be effective effective effective tive will need to contain CST's Shawn Bankhead who finished the season averaging more than 17 points Sandro a foot 7 center will be another threat the Bruins must shut down The winner of the game will play the winner of the NIC game on Friday March 4 Dixie won the conference regular season championship with a 2 16 conference record 28 2 overall The Rebels earned the right to host the tournament because they had the best overall record of the southern division which includes Utah Valley State College S Snow ow College Colorado Northwestern Community College and College College College Col Col- lege of Eastern Utah Dixie will host CEU who at the eighth seed is the lowest ranked team in the touma- touma ment The North Idaho Cardinals finished one game behind Dixie with a 3 15 record in inthe inthe inthe the 4 27 overall NIC ranked in the nation is considered by many to be a big th threat eat to to win the tourney y at the number two seed NIC will face the Wolverines 8 10 19 11 the seventh seeded team In other action Ricks College and Snow Snow College will face each other with the winner winner win win- ner playing the winner of the Dixie CEU game on Friday March 4 |