Women's Basketball
Turnover Prone Cougars Tumble against Wayne State
November 16, 2009 – The CCU women’s basketball team committed 22 turnovers and shot a forgettable 35% from the floor in a 46-71 loss to the Wayne State Wildcats Monday evening at the Super 8 Tip-Off Classic in Aberdeen, South Dakota.
Struggling to overcome a stingy Wildcat defense and an ice-cold shooting performance, the Cougars also found themselves on the wrong end of the whistle, falling behind 18-9 in the foul count and shooting only one free throw to Wayne State’s 17.
Trailing 38-15 at the break, the Cougars continued to sputter through the second half, as the Wildcats increased the margin to as many as 32, while shooting 48% from the floor and an efficient 40% from the land of plenty.
Abby Rosenthal once again led the Cougars in scoring with 12 points, while chipping in five rebounds and two blocked shots.
Juanise Cornell added nine points and eight rebounds to go with two steals and three assists in the setback.
Dropping to 0-2 on the young season, the Cougars are back in action on November 20, as they travel to Seattle, Washington to battle the Seattle Pacific University Falcons at 5:00 p.m. local time.
Northern State Stuffs Cougars in Season Opener
November 15, 2009 – The Northern State Wolves spoiled the season opener for the CCU women’s basketball team, pulling out a 73-58 victory (box score) over the Cougars in game one of the Super 8 Tip-Off in Aberdeen, South Dakota.
Abby Rosenthal led the way for the Cougars with 15 points and nine rebounds to go with a pair of assists and a blocked shot.
The Cougars trailed 41-28 at the break, but managed an impressive 9-2 run to begin the second stanza, eventually pulling to within six points when Jodi Krall tipped in a Brittany Long three point miss with 16:48 showing.
From that point on it was all Northern, as the host Wolves ran the margin back up to 16 over the next four minutes and eventually increased the lead to as many as 20 points heading down the stretch.
Northern’s 6’6” Jodi Reinschmidt kept order in the paint Sunday evening, finishing the contest with six points, eight rebounds and an incredible nine blocked shots.
Kelsie Hert added 10 points and five boards for the Cougars, while Juanise Cornell stuffed the stat sheet with nine rebounds, five points, four assists and a block.
The Cougars are right back in action tomorrow evening when they square off against the Wayne State Wildcats at 4:00 p.m.
Preseason Honors Kind to Cougars
October 29, 2009 – If the preseason awards are any indication of regular season success, the CCU women’s basketball team is headed for one memorable year. The ladies were picked second-overall in the hotly-contested RMAC East Division, while senior standouts Abby Rosenthal and Talmai Aguirre each earned a spot on the 2009-10 RMAC Preseason Team.
The Cougars return every starter from a 2008-09 squad that started the season on a tear. The ladies began the season by downing some tough regional opponents, came one bucket short of an upset over top-five foe, Alaska-Anchorage, and eventually advanced into the Central Region rankings before a rash of late season injuries derailed an otherwise record-setting year.
Leading the charge for the ladies will be the inside-out attack of 6-1 Rosenthal, and the high-scoring Aguirre.
Rosenthal nabbed a CCU women’s basketball-best five RMAC Player of the Week awards last year, while averaging a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Before being sidelined by a season-ending knee injury, Aguirre led the ladies with 15.7 points per game, while connecting on a team-best 60 buckets from long range, and gobbling up 4.4 boards per outing from her guard spot.
The regular season opener is just around the corner as the Cougars gear up to take on the Northern State Wolves on November 15 in Aberdeen, South Dakota. Tip-off is slated for 8:00 p.m. local time.
Cougars Bolster Roster with Addition of Juanise Cornell
August 3, 2009—The CCU women’s basketball team put the finishing touches on an already potent roster this past week by officially announcing the addition of Juanise Cornell, a senior Division I transfer from Colorado State University.
Hailing from Azusa, California, the 5’11” forward started 26 of 30 games last season for the Rams, while averaging seven points and a team-second five rebounds per contest. Juanise finished the 2008-09 season ranked first in made field goals, second in total rebounds and fourth in assists and steals, including a 19 point 12 rebound effort at Air Force.
During her three-year stint with the Rams, Juanise started 85 games, moved into 18th all-time at CSU in single season rebounds, while finishing top-10 in CSU history in free throws made, steals, offensive rebounds, rebounds per game and total rebounds for a freshman.
A two-sport (basketball and volleyball) prep star at Bishop Amat High School, Cornell led the Lancers to a 2006 state championship, which included a perfect 35-0 season record. Serving as team captain as a junior and senior, Juanise also compiled honors as all-league, all-state and CIF Co-Player of the Year in both 2005 and 2006, while being named a McDonald’s All-American nominee in 2006. In her four year stay with Bishop Amat, she guided the team to a school-best record of 119-7.
"Juanise is a phenomenal player and person and will be a wonderful addition to our family,” stated coach Hays. “She could be one of the best individual athletes to ever attend CCU and has an incredible work ethic and knowledge of the game. She has proven already that she can be a great leader and player at the college level, and will have an immediate impact on our program. Maybe even more impressive than her playing accolades is her unselfish attitude and ability to make others around her better. She's a complete package, and we are very excited to have her here"
The women’s basketball season tips off on November 15, as the Cougars face the Northern State Wolves in Aberdeen, South Dakota.
Caldwell Joins Coaching Staff for 2009-10
July 28, 2009—The CCU women’s basketball team is pleased to announce the addition of Jessika Caldwell, a former Division I and professional athlete, who will step in as lead assistant for the Cougars as they gear up for the 2009-10 athletic year.
A two-year team captain and four year letter winner at Baylor University, Caldwell earned a spot on the 2004 NCAA Mid West Regional All-Tournament Team and was named the 2003-04 Big 12 Sportswoman of the Year.
During her stay with the Bears, Jessika moved into first place all time in the Baylor record books in both single-season free-throw and 3-point percentage, while claiming the top spot in career free-throw percentage.
Following graduation, Caldwell spent a season with the Sparta Praha Basketball Club in the Czech Republic, where she continued her on-court dominance by averaging over 17 points per game, while being named Most Valuable Female Athlete.
Returning stateside to pursue a career in coaching, Jessika took the reins of fellow RMAC member UC-Colorado Springs in 2005. As head coach of the Mountain Lions, Caldwell recruited seven high school All-State players, two State Players of the Year and led UCCS to the RMAC conference tournament for only the fourth time in school history.
"We are extremely excited to welcome Jessika to CCU,” stated coach Hays. “She is an immensely talented coach and has the passion and character to serve in a Christian environment. Her experience as a player and leader at one of the top college programs in the nation (Baylor) and as a head coach in the RMAC makes her a valuable member of a program looking to take the next step towards being nationally recognized. She is one of the highest quality individuals I have ever spent time with and will have a major impact on our program."
Caldwell is replacing former assistant Nikki Long, who recently accepted an opening as head coach of the CCU women’s golf team.
Cougars Earn Spot in WBCA Academic Top-25
July 10, 2009—Demonstrating success in the classroom as well as on the court, the CCU women’s basketball team earned a ranking of 22nd in the 2008-09 Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Academic Top-25 Honor Roll, holding an impressive team GPA of 3.394.
The WBCA Honor Roll, given in NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NAIA and Junior College/Community College, awards teams throughout the nation that carry the highest grade point averages for the entire season, based on the nomination submitted by WBCA-member head coaches.
“The girls have worked very hard this year to get the job done in the classroom,” stated coach Hays. “Our aim is to achieve excellence in every area of our lives and this recognition goes to show that the girls are doing exactly what we’ve set out to do.”
Talmai Aguirre
Women's Basketball
Why CCU?
God chose CCU for me because He knew that coming here would be a perfect fit for me and that I would be able to receive an amazing education while growing closer to the Lord. Coming to CCU also provided me with the great ...
