Turkish delight

Fast breaks can lead to success on the basketball court.

But it was the one that North Idaho College women's basketball coach Chris Carlson did before the season began that helped push the Cardinals toward a second straight appearance at nationals, starting today.

Tugce (TWO-chay) Canitez (Can-EE-tez), a 6-foot-2 freshman forward from Izmir, Turkey, was not originally on the NIC roster - not until Idaho coach Jon Newlee told Carlson about a player that he should take a look at.

"John was the one that e-mailed me some information about her," Carlson said. "We had to go real fast to get her here. Jon also helped us bring Bianca (Cheever) here from Australia, so we've kind of had a good working relationship."

Ceyhan Lisesi High School trainer Ercan Ates pointed Canitez in North Idaho's direction after Newlee looked over her information and passed it along to Carlson.

The Australian-born Cheever has since moved onto the Idaho Vandals, after one year with North Idaho after one season at Idaho State playing for Newlee.

Canitez came to Coeur d'Alene after discussing her options with Ates.

"I learned a lot about the school from Ercan," Canitez said. "I looked at the other schools, but wanted to come to NIC."

She joined nine other freshman and two sophomores on this year's Cardinals (26-6), who face Monroe Community College (20-5) of Rochester, N.Y., today at 10 a.m. PST in the opening round of the NJCAA tournament in Salina, Kan.

Canitez is third in the Scenic West Athletic Conference in scoring (15.8) and second in rebounding (9.6), sixth in field goal percentage (50.3), eighth in assists (2.8) and third in steals (2.0).

NIC defeated top-seeded Salt Lake Community College 86-76 in the Region 18 championship game. Canitez was named tournament MVP for her efforts, scoring 22 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in the title game.

"It felt really good," Canitez said of beating Salt Lake. "It felt really good. To get to nationals is really good. We wanted to win and believed we could. We all wanted to go to the national tournament and had a strong desire to get there."

Following the team's win, Carlson e-mailed Ates to let him know of the team's accomplishment.

"We told him we were going back to nationals and that Tugce was MVP," Carlson said of the e-mail. "He told us she's probably just as happy to go to nationals. Being MVP of the tournament wasn't important, but getting to nationals as a team was."

Carlson added that Canitez showed more emotion after defeating Southern Idaho in double overtime the previous day.

"She was very emotional after the CSI game," Carlson said. "She had some tears coming from her eyes. The rest of her teammates were empathetic of her. They all had a strong belief they could get there."

Growing up in Turkey, basketball has its similarities, but is different in the states, according to Canitez.

"Basketball is played with a different style over here," Canitez said. "People play with a stronger, quicker style. Here it is important to play as a team. In Turkey, you focus more on skills and play as an individual. My layups are getting stronger, but I've had to adjust on drives."

Carlson added that bringing Canitez into the Cardinal program added another piece to an already competitive roster.

"Tugce is a very competitive player," Carlson said. "She loves to play the game. Right away, she came in and made us a strong rebounding team. I told them at the regional tournament, 'rebounding wins championships.'"

Canitez has also began to shoot the ball from beyond the 3-point line more in recent weeks.

"She shot more 3s in Turkey," Carlson said. "She'll drive more to the basket, but has been a clutch shooter. In a tough situation, she'll make a big shot for us."

Midway through the season, Canitez injured her ankle during a practice on the eve of the team's rematch with Salt Lake on Jan. 21 at Christianson Gym. NIC went on to win the game 75-65 with Canitez spending the entire first half on an exercise bike near the bench.

"We were really checking it before that game," Carlson said. "We were prepared not to have her that night. As a team, we knew we'd have to beat them once. Tugce didn't play the first half, but stepped up in the second half to help us win that game."

Carlson pointed to a similar situation last year, when they had lost to Southern Idaho three times, but needed a win to gain confidence in the tournament.

"The girls put a game together against Salt Lake," Carlson said. "I guess it's worked two years in a row."

Canitez has also spent time playing in the European leagues, as well as a stint as the youngest player on the Turkey national team during the European League tournament. If the chance to play at the next level and possibly professionally come up, Canitez is listening.

"I'd love to play basketball the rest of my life," Canitez said.

"Tugce can play at the highest levels," Carlson said. "She's expressed her desire to play in the WNBA someday. She's getting a lot of interest right now - and probably even more following nationals. She's a power forward that can handle the ball like a guard. For her size, she's a great passer and can see the entire court. She can find people really well on the court."

As a non-qualifier, Canitez must complete an A.A. degree before moving on to a Division I school.

"A lot of schools have been calling about her," said Carlson, who is looking forward to coaching her again next season.

Canitez seems to be in no hurry to move on, enjoying her time with the Cardinals this season.

"I like NIC," Canitez said. "I like my teammates and my coaches. The people here are really nice."

She also added that her teammates have really helped her make the adjustment to the American game.

"My teammates are really fun to be around," Canitez said. "I've got a real good friendship with all my teammates."

When it comes to the everyday activities, such as ordering food and traveling, Canitez counts on her teammates to help translate any language issues she encounters.

"We are together all the time," Canitez said. "I don't talk very much, so everyone helps me."

"She does pretty well," Carlson said. "With ordering food and studies there is some questions - as with communication in practice, but we're all happy to help. I've really enjoyed having her here. It's been a lot of fun - hopefully there's more fun to come."