In two very different ballgames in terms of the Lumberjacks’ shooting prowess, Cal Poly Humboldt’s women’s team won on both Thursday and Saturday in road games this past week, besting Cal State Los Angeles on Thursday, 74-69 in overtime, and then No. 7 nationally-ranked Cal Poly Pomona on Saturday, 64-61.
Humboldt is the only California Collegiate Athletic Conference team to best the Broncos, after a win in Lumberjack Arena earlier in the year. The victories bring Humboldt to 18-8 on the season, 16-4 in conference, as the regional rankings were set to be released on Wednesday.
In the win over San Bernardino, Shade Satica became the Lumberjacks’ all-time season steals leader with the two she swiped, accumulating 100 thus far and surpassing the 98 Trina Dukes posted in 1994-95. Jada Barnes led the Jacks with 17 points and also had two steals. Jordyn Smith chipped in 13 points with 11 rebounds to lead Humboldt and go with her three steals and two blocks, Satica had 11 points with six boards, Riley Sanz scored 10 with six rebounds, Sienna Cherwinski scored 10 as well, and Kya Kanoho tallied 13 off the bench.
Drew Gwerder
Shade Satica goes up for a shot against San Bernardino on a night she would set the program single-season record for steals. (Drew Gwerder, CPH — Contributed)
The Lumberjacks were vastly outrebounded in the contest, but managed to provide their trademark defense, creating 25 turnovers from the Coyotes and getting 23 points from those.
Humboldt outscored San Bernardino 18-11 in the opening quarter and 18-13 in the second, building a 36-24 lead. But the Coyotes rallied with a 22-point third quarter to bring the fight to the visitors. Ultimately, CPH scored 16 in overtime on 3-of-3 shooting from the field and 9-of-14 from the line to win.
“Shade has done a tremendous job in a lot of areas this season, but I’m glad she’s being recognized for her defense and her steals not just within the conference but nationwide,” said Humboldt head coach Michelle Bento-Jackson. “She’s towards the top, she plays with a motor, she plays with a lot of energy, and has a knack for being in the right spot at the right time.”
As with the Pomona game, the Jacks led by double-digits in the first half and got off to good starts, but started the third quarter in both games poorly, according to the coach.
“We need to be more consistent and effective in the third quarters,” she said. “When we can get multiple players scoring in double figures, that’s certainly a positive. We’re working the ball for the best shot selection that we can get, and I’ve always said when we have balance scoring as a team, we’re going to be that much stronger on offense. In that game, we were able to do that.”
As to her defense against San Bernardino, Bento-Jackson said the squad’s goal is always to bring “intensity and disruption” to the opposition, with “some live-ball turnovers. When we do that, it gives us a lot more offensive opportunities as well. I thought the girls did a tremendous job in that game.”
Versus Pomona, with the fourth top-ten upset in program history, the Jacks solidified their standing at third in the CCAA, though that could change with second-place Cal State LA and first-place Pomona battling this coming weekend. Humboldt shot 10-for-15 from the field and 6-of-7 from three in the first quarter in building again one of those double-digit leads, 27-16.
Barnes, on her way to a CCAA Player of the Week designation, scored 20 including shooting 4-of-5 from deep and swiping two steals. Cherwinski got hot late and scored 18, including 4-of-8 from three, while Satica scored 12 on 5-of-8 shooting with five rebounds. Smith had nine rebounds and eight points to go with her two blocks and two steals, and Sanz contributed seven rebounds and two steals.
“In the first quarter, Jada Barnes really got us going,” said Bento-Jackson. “She was making her outside shots, playing with pace, and really grabbed the momentum for us to start the game. And later in the third and fourth quarter, we had a lull, but Sienna Cherwinski got hot from three and she made some key buckets. Obviously, that was a positive for us, and the third quarter was the only downfall giving up too many offensive boards or turnovers.”
Humboldt forced just 14 turnovers, below their average, but was opportunistic, turning those into 25 points. Pomona outscored the Jacks 17-10 in the second quarter, but was ultimately unable to fully close the gap as the hot-shooting visitors held the Broncos to 38% shooting from the field and 30% from three.
“It’s a tremendous win for the program,” said Bento-Jackson. “Whenever we are first able to have the opportunity to play a ranked team and then pull off the win, that’s very positive and it’s an exciting time for our program. Even more so, we try to get those wins when it puts us in position for any possible postseason play.” It’s yet to be determined if the Lumberjacks have the resume to get an at-large berth to the regional playoffs if they don’t win the CCAA tournament.
“There’s still games to be played, you don’t know what upsets are going to happen in certain conference tournaments that will put a team in you weren’t expecting, so many things that can still take place. That’s why in the preseason, our non-conference games, we always schedule all regional games, those ones back in the fall are going to have an impact … we’ll see what happens, but right now our focus is just finishing off regular season with the two games we have this week and continuing to play the best basketball we can.”
Humboldt hosts Cal State Monterey Bay (13-12, 10-10 conference) Thursday at 5:30 p.m. on “Black-out Day” where fans are encouraged to wear black, and then Cal State San Marcos (7-18, 4-16) Saturday at 1 p.m. on “Fan Appreciation Day.”
With what is now a six-game winning streak, “we’re just really trying to keep the team to stay in the present,” said Bento-Jackson. “Everyone wants to talk about the conference tournament and regionals and everything else, but right now my focus is Monterey Bay. I want us to hone in on the next opponent and just stay in the present.”
Ken McCanless can be reached at 707-441-0526.