Southern Oregon's Jacki Speer headlines the CCC's 2008-09 preseason all-conference team.
SOU's Jacki Speer Heads CCC Preseason All-Conference Team
PORTLAND, Ore. – Junior forward Jacki Speer, who helped key Southern Oregon University’s rise to a Cascade Collegiate Conference co-championship and a spot in the NAIA national women’s basketball tournament last season, has been voted the CCC’s 2008-09 Preseason Player of the Year, the league office announced Tuesday.
Speer, one of two returning first team All-CCC selections from 2007-08, heads a 15-person preseason all-conference team determined by a vote of the league’s 11 head coaches. Speer last season averaged 13.3 points per game, and is the league’s leading returning rebounder (9.4 rpg). She is joined on the preseason all-league team by teammate Whitney Scott, a 5-7 junior guard who averaged 10.9 points per game and ranked ninth in the CCC in 3-point field goals made per game last year. Speer and Scott are among a group of 11 returning players from last year’s record-breaking SOU team, which set a single-season school mark for victories during a 29-5 campaign.
“Jacki has continued to develop as a player since her freshman season [when she was named 2006-07 CCC Freshman of the Year],”says fourth-year SOU head coach Lynn Kennedy. “She works hard in the off-season and strives to elevate her game each day in practice. As a coach, I am blessed to have not only Jacki, but several other players who can step up and have outstanding nights. We know that there are a lot of great players returning this year in the conference, and it is an honor to have Jacki be a part of this group.”
In addition to Speer, the other returning first team All-CCC selection from 2007-08 named to the ’08-09 preseason all-conference team is Northwest senior forward Brittany Bowsher. A year ago, the 6-0 Bowsher averaged 17 points and nearly five rebounds per game.
Concordia led the way with three selections on the CCC’s preseason all-league team – sophomore Danielle Clauson, last year’s CCC Freshman of the Year, and transfers Angela and Rebecca Gimeno, who played the past two seasons at Montana Tech. Clauson, a 5-10 forward, led the Cavaliers in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals last season. Angela Gimeno comes to Concordia after averaging 11.4 points per game last season at Montana Tech; her twin sister, Rebecca, averaged 10.9 points per game in 2007-08 and was an NAIA honorable mention All-American two seasons ago.
Cascade, College of Idaho and Oregon Tech each had two players selected to the team. For Cascade, returnee Robin Swain, who averaged 13 points per game play last season, was joined by transfer Kristina Schumacher, who was the second-leading scorer (21.0 ppg) in the NWAACC last season while playing for Everett CC. College of Idaho was represented by senior forward Christon Vander Esch, the CCC’s Defensive Player of the Year last season who led the league in blocks and steals, and by sophomore guard Nicole Gall, a transfer from Santa Clara University who averaged 5.1 points per game for the NCAA Division I Broncos in 2007-08. Oregon Tech players named to the preseason all-league team were senior point guard Meagan Miyasaka, who ranked 11th nationally in assist/turnover ratio last year, and senior forward Amanda Johnston, who was named the CCC’s Newcomer of the Year in ’07-08.
Rounding out the squad are Corban’s Kailey Bostwick, who ranked 11th nationally in assists last year; Eastern Oregon’s Jenny Fiso, who ranked seventh in the CCC in assists in ’07-08; and Northwest Christian’s Emily Gray, the CCC’s second-leading scorer (19.2 ppg) last season before suffering a season-ending knee injury.
The 2008-09 CCC campaign begins Oct. 30 with four non-conference games. Southern Oregon was picked to win the 2008-09 conference championship in a vote of the league’s head coaches.
| 2008-09 CCC Preseason All-Conference Team |
| Name |
Institution |
Pos. |
Class |
PPG |
RPG* |
Hometown |
| Kailey Bostwick |
Corban |
G |
Sr. |
9.5 |
5.5* |
Medford, OR |
| Brittany Bowsher |
Northwest |
F |
Sr. |
17 |
4.8 |
Issaquah, WA |
| Danielle Clauson |
Concordia |
F |
So. |
13.5 |
5.8 |
Edmonds, WA |
| Jenny Fiso |
Eastern Oregon |
G |
Sr. |
7.3 |
2.6 |
Orem, UT |
| Nicole Gall+ |
College of Idaho |
G |
So. |
5.1 |
1.8 |
Boise, ID |
| Angela Gimeno+ |
Concordia |
G |
Sr. |
11.4 |
3.4 |
Spokane, WA |
| Rebecca Gimeno+ |
Concordia |
G |
Sr. |
10.9 |
2.9 |
Spokane, WA |
| Emily Gray |
Northwest Christian |
F |
Sr. |
19.2 |
7.5 |
Eugene, OR |
| Amanda Johnston |
Oregon Tech |
F |
Sr. |
10.6 |
4 |
Myrtle Point, OR |
| Meagan Miyasaka |
Oregon Tech |
G |
Sr. |
4 |
5.1* |
Honolulu, HI |
| Kristina Schumacher+ |
Cascade |
G |
Jr. |
21 |
3.0* |
Lake Stevens, WA |
| Whitney Scott |
Southern Oregon |
G |
Jr. |
10.9 |
3.2 |
Olympia, WA |
| Jacki Speer^ |
Southern Oregon |
F |
Jr. |
13.3 |
9.1 |
Centralia, WA |
| Robin Swain |
Cascade |
G |
Sr. |
13 |
3 |
Reno, NV |
| Christon Vander Esch |
College of Idaho |
C |
Sr. |
12.1 |
7.2 |
Riggins, ID |
^indicates Preseason Player of the Year; +indicates 2008-09 CCC newcomer; *indicates assists per game; statistics from 2007-08 |