AREA COLLEGE NOTEBOOK

Cal State Northridge didn’t have long to lounge around before hitting the road again.

Northridge (7-6) opens Big Sky Conference play tonight at Weber State, then plays at Cal State Sacramento on Saturday night. The Matadors play at Northern Arizona next Thursday before playing their home opener Jan. 13 against Idaho State.

Northridge played four road games in eight days in December, traveling to Virginia to play James Madison, then to Hawaii for three games in the Nike Festival at Hawaii.

Northridge lost all three games at Hawaii.

“We’ve been a little down,” guard John Burrell said. “But there is no reason we can’t go 16-0 in conference.”

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Forward Joey Busch has practiced sparingly because of flu but was expected to travel with the team to Weber State and Sacramento.

Busch, a 6-7 transfer from Chaffey College, is averaging 5.5 points.

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Guard Markus Carr, ordered by Braswell to leave practice last week for disciplinary reasons, was back this week. The matter is over and done with, Braswell said.

“He was just being a jerk,” Braswell said. “So I kicked him out.”

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Northridge is shooting 35.7% (81-227) on three-pointers, but the Matadors’ big guns from long distance are sharp.

Burrell, Brian Heinle, Marco McCain and Carl Holmes are 68 of 170 (40%) from behind the arc. Heinle leads the team with 20 in 46 shots. Holmes is shooting 46.7% (14-30) from three-point range.

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The Northridge women (4-7) open Big Sky play tonight at home against Weber State (3-7) and plays at home Saturday against Sacramento (1-8).

The Big Sky women’s schedule mirrors the men’s, with both teams playing the same opponent at opposite sites.

LaShaunda Fowler scored a career-high 27 points in a 75-69 loss to Virginia last week and is averaging 10.2 points a game.