Mar 7, 2007

Oaks prepare to make run for national title

By Julio Lara / Daily News Correspondent

The women from Menlo College will spend the next couple of days in the Midwest, Sioux City, Iowa, to be exact, looking to continue arguably the best season of basketball in school history.

Sioux City will host the NAIA Division II tournament, the big dance for the Lady Oaks.

Menlo goes into the tournament ranked No. 7 in the country and drew the No. 2 seed in their bracket, the highest seed in the school's history in this, Menlo's third trip to the national tournament.

The 32-team tournament features Cedarville (Ohio), Indiana Wesleyan, Saint Francis (Ind.) and Ozarks (Mo.) as the four No. 1 seeds.

"We are flattered by the No. 2 seed, but we really have not focused on it. Our approach is that every team - all 32 - are good so every game is a war regardless of seed," Menlo head coach and this season's California Pacific Conference Coach of the Year Caitlin Collier said in an e-mail.

The Lady Oaks hope to stay hot.

They enter the tournament winners of 18 straight games, a span that saw them go undefeated in regular season play for the first time in school history.

They followed that impressive feat by dismantling the opposition during the Cal-Pac Conference Tournament, winning the event and locking up the lone automatic bid for the NAIA tournament, and in essence, helping them climb up to No. 2 in a tournament that will prove to be the biggest challenge for the Lady Oaks this season.

The fun will begin with a little waltz against No. 7-seeded Iowa Wesleyan today at 7:45 p.m. Iowa Wesleyan finished fourth in the Midwest Classic Conference, but qualified for Sioux City by winning their conference tournament, defeating Mount Mercy in the championship game 64-58. In the semifinals, the Tigers knocked off top-seeded and No. 19-ranked St. Ambrose.

As coach Collier said, there is no such thing as a "gimme" in a tournament of this magnitude.

The Tigers enter tournament play with four players averaging in double figures in scoring for the season, with Sara Goodman and Ashley Swick each at 11.4 points per game, followed by just over 10 per game from Rachel Mitchell and Amber Pence. Such versatility on offense can provide the Lady Oaks with defensive problems.

But it's been the defense that has carried Menlo the entire season.

A defense that enters the NAIA ranked No. 2 in the nation allowing a mere 49 points per game to opponents, while allowing teams to shoot a measly 23 percent from downtown. The Lady Oaks also average just under 10 steals a game.

"If we stick to our principles we will do well. If we lose sight of these and do something other than our defensive principles, we will be in trouble. We need discipline," Collier said.

And if offense is your cup of tea, well, Menlo has a little of that to show to the rest of the country too. Junior Kepua Lee is coming off another Player of the Year performance in the Cal-Pac, finishing the season averaging 19 points per game and almost nine rebounds a contest, both tops on the Lady Oak team.

Joining Lee on the All-Conference team was sophomore Kelci Fushikoshi, who was first on the Lady Oaks in 3-pointers made and second in 3-point field goal percentage this year.

Yet despite having only two players who average double-figure scoring during the season, Menlo is still averaging 62.4 points a game.

The tournament starts today with eight games beginning at 6:30 a.m., and continues Thursday with the elimination of another eight teams.

The round of 16 commences the following day with the quarterfinals the day after.

"Our goal is Elite 8 - to go one round further than we did last year," Collier said.

Last year the Lady Oaks made the Sweet Sixteen.

Final four action will begin on Monday. The Division II national championship game will tip-off on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. and will be shown live on College Sports Television.

NOTES: Menlo is already a winner of the basketball hardwood as it was announced that the Lady Oaks were awarded the Buffalo Fund's Five Star Champions of Character award for exemplifying the NAIA Champions of Character's five core values. Menlo raised $3,000 for breast cancer research this past season.