Jan. 2, 2009

Complete Release in PDF Format

THIS WEEK: USF will close out the non-conference portion of the schedule with a game at Wyoming. The game between the Dons and Cowgirls will take place Saturday, January 3 at 2 p.m. MT at Arena Auditorium in Laramie, Wyo.

LAST TIME OUT: The Dons wrapped up 2008 at home Wednesday, hosting Iona. USF dropped a 68-64 decision to the Gaels, but not without three double-digit scoring efforts, and a 14 rebound outing by reserve Nnenna Okereke. Senior guard Shay Rollins led San Francisco with 18 total points, while senior forward Necolia Simmons added 15. Junior guard Danesha Wright posted 14, to wrap up the Dons double-digit scorers.

LOOKING AHEAD: San Francisco will open the 2009 West Coast Conference season at defending conference tournament champion San Diego next week. The Dons and Toreros will face off Thursday at the Jenny Craig Pavilion at 7 p.m. Following the contest with USD, USF will return to the Bay Area to face Saint Mary's Saturday, Jan. 10 at 2 p.m.

OKEREKE DOUBLES CAREER-BEST: Wednesday, junior forward Nnenna Okereke capped 2008 with a bang, pulling down 14 rebounds for USF. The junior, who has started three games this year, came off the bench against Iona to pull down her career-best boards total. Prior to the game, Okereke's personal best had been seven rebounds against Cal State Fullerton. In addition to her 14 rebounds, the native of Berkeley, Calif. also recorded two points, an assist, two steals and a big block.

KEATING MAKES NOISE OFF THE BENCH: Against Tennessee-Chattanooga on December 19, freshman forward Katy Keating posted a strong outing off the bench for the Dons. The native of Santa Monica, Calif. pulled down a career-high five rebounds, while posting 11 points in 24 minutes of action. Her efforts off the bench, coupled with a USF injury, earned Keating a starting spot against Stephen F. Austin on December 20. Keating has proven to be one of the Dons' leading threats off the bench this season, averaging 3.1 points and 3.2 rebounds an outing.

DONS' GAME TO BE TELEVISED ON CSTV: On Thursday February 5, when the Dons host West Coast Conference and Bay Area rival Saint Mary's College, the game will be aired nationally on CSTV. The game marks the lone television appearance in the Bay Area for USF this season. The game is slated for 7 p.m. at War Memorial Gym.

SIMMONS POSTS CAREER NIGHT: December 10 against Cal State Fullerton, senior forward Necolia Simmons turned in a career night. The native of Pittsburg, Calif. led the Dons against the Titans with a career-high 24 points and 17 rebounds. The 24 points matched a career-high for Simmons, who previously had posted as many points against Colorado State on Nov. 13, 2007. Heading into the season, Simmons' previous career high for rebounds in a single game was 13, set against Fullerton on Nov. 19, 2007. Twice this season, Simmons has surpassed the mark thanks to 16 boards against Northern Colorado and 17 Wednesday night. The 16 and 17 rebounds, respectively, mark the highest single game total for the Dons since Mary Krueger pulled down 23 on Dec. 11, 2003 against New Mexico.

DONS PLAY IN 900th All-TIME CONTEST: The Dons game on December 7 at Cal Poly marked the 900th game in USF women's basketball history. To date, USF has posted a program all-time record of 465-439 for a .514 winning percentage. The Dons dropped a heart breaking 85-83 loss to the Mustangs in the milestone contest. In the program's first game against Fresno State in 1976, USF fell 72-55. Other benchmark games are as follows: No. 50 - @UC Irvine, 1978 (W, 49-41); No. 100 - Stanford, Feb. 28, 1980 (W, 67-56); No. 200 - Idaho, 1983 (W, 92-83); No. 300 - @Pacifi c, 1987 (L, 69-47); No. 400 - Santa Clara, Feb. 16, 1991 (L, 80-64); No. 500 - Pepperdine, 1995 (W, 72-49); No. 600 - Loyola Marymount, Feb. 14, 1998 (W, 62-61); No. 700 - vs. Cornell, Jan. 4, 2001 (W, 68-56); No. 800 - Gonzaga, Feb. 17, 2005 (L, 70-62).

DONS SET SINGLE GAME 3-POINT MARK: Against Cal Poly on December 7, San Francisco hit 13-of-20 3-pointers to shoot at a .650 clip. The 13 baskets from beyond the arc set a new program single game record. The previous mark was 12 three's, set twice, most recently on Mar. 1, 2008 against Pepperdine and prior to that on Dec. 1 against Massachusetts . Earlier this season, the Dons snuck up on the mark, but fell just short with 11 treys at UC Davis. Against the Mustangs, three Dons hit three's, while Shay Rollins paving the way with six. Freshman Rheina Ale added four, while Danesha Wright was a perfect 3-for-3 from 3-point territory.

ROLLINS REACHES 1,000: Against Cal Poly, senior guard Shay Rollins became the 18th member of USF history to record 1,000 ore more career points. With a 3-pointer at the 4:07 mark in the first half against the Mustangs, the Alameda native surpassed the benchmark. Currently, Rollins has amassed 1,096 career points, including 233 so far this season, to stand as the 16th most prolific scorer in USF history. With her 20 points at Cal Poly, Rollins passed Kim Bachman (1978-83), who was listed 16th with 1,002 career points. Mary Hille (1977-81), a member of the USF Athletics Hall of Fame and a "Legend of the Hilltop", holds the Dons' record for career points with 2,324.

SIMMONS NAMED PRESEASON ALL-WCC: Senior center Necolia Simmons has been selected as a preseason All-West Coast Conference selection by a vote of the league's head coaches. Simmons, the Dons' starting center, earned WCC Honorable Mention accolades last season after posting a team-high 7.3 rebounds per game. She returns for her senior campaign as USF's second leading scorer from a year ago, when she averaged 11.0 points per game.

ROLLINS SETS USF 3-POINT RECORD: Thanks to four 3-pointers against Oregon State on December 3, Shay Rollins has become the all-time USF 3-point record holder. Heading into the season, Rollins ranked second with 128 treys. With her 33 baskets from beyond the arc this season, Rollins surpassed Lindsey Huff (1997-2002) as the Dons all-time 3-point shooter. Huff finished her career with 146 treys, while Rollins currently stands at 167. For her career, in 99 games played, Rollins shoots .312 (170/545) from beyond the arc, averaging 1.7 3-pointers a game. This season, the senior is shooting .318 from 3-point territory, averaging 3.4 threes a game.

Rheina Ale TIES DONS RECORD: Freshman guard Rheina Ale scored a career-best 21 points on perfect 9-for-9 shooting against Northern Colorado on November 29. Ale's 9-for-9 shooting, 3-for-3 from the beyond the arc, ties a program-best single game shooting percentage record. The native of Carson, Calif. became just the second Don in San Francisco history to record a perfect 1.000 shooting percentage from the field. The lone other member of USF history to record a perfect game was Teri Hunt, who hit 11-for-11 against Loyola Marymount on Jan. 25, 1986. Hunt's record also stands as a West Coast Conference all-time best. In addition to her 21 points, Ale also added five rebounds, three assists and a steal.

ODWALLA CLASSIC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM: Two Dons made the All-Tournament team at this year's odwalla Classic. Senior guard Shay Rollins averaged 18.5 points in the Dons' two games. Against Northern Colorado, Rollins posted 18 points with a pair of steals, before recording 19 points against Washington State with four assists and six rebounds. Freshman guard Rheina Ale averaged 19.5 points in the two contests. Against the Bears, Ale tied a school record going 9-for-9 for a perfect 1.000 shooting percentage with 21 points. In the loss to the Cougars, Ale continued her strong scoring; posting 18 points with three boards and four assists.

DONS POST LARGEST WIN MARGIN SINCE 2005: Thanks to a 30-point (80-50) victory over Academy of Art on November 18, the Dons posted their largest win margin since the 2005-06 season, when San Francisco defeated Rider by 36 points (80-44, 11/25/05) as part of the odwalla Classic. A year ago, the largest victory margin for USF was a 23-point, 74-51, victory over San Jose State. The school record for victory margin is 76 points, thanks to a 98-22 victory over Stanislaus on Nov. 27, 1978.

ROLLINS CONTINUES TO PACE OFFENSE: Senior guard Shay Rollins entered the 2008-09 campaign as the Dons top scorer from a season ago. As a junior, Rollins averaged 12.7 points per game thanks to double-digit scoring in 21 contests. Last season, Rollins ranked second in the WCC in three pointers with 75, shooting at a .379 clip from beyond the arc, while also ranking 11th in assists with 86. The native of Alameda, Calif. is a two-time West Coast Conference honoree, being named to the All-Freshman Team in 2005-06 and earned honorable mention accolades as a sophomore. This season, Rollins continues to head up the offense, leading USF with 17.9 ppg, 30 assists (2.5 apg) and 26 steals (2.0 spg). To date, Rollins has scored in double figures is all 13 games this season and, dating back to a year ago, has scored 10 or more points in 19 consecutive contests.

WRIGHT MAKES IMMEDIATE IMPACT: Junior transfer Danesha Wright has made an immediate impact to the Dons this season. The guard has started all 13 games, averaging 10.3 points, going 40-for-107 (.374) from the field, including 20-for-54 (.370) from beyond the arc. Against UC Davis on November 25, Wright led all scorers with a game-high 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting, including 5-of-10 from beyond the arc. In the Dons most recent outing, Wright recorded 14 points, including going a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line. Prior to joining San Francisco, Wright played at Ohlone College . At Ohlone, Wright was named the Coast Conference MVP in 2007-08 and was awarded First Team All-State accolades. Prior to playing collegiate basketball, Wright and fellow Don Nnenna Okereke were members of the Berkeley High School varsity basketball team.

DROPPING THREES: Prior to last season, head coach Tanya Haave challenged the Dons to improve on its shooting from beyond the arc. The Dons responded to the challenge. In 30 games, the 2007-08 squad hit 177 3-pointers to nearly double its total of 89 from the 2006-07 season. A year ago, USF led the West Coast Conference with a .362 mark from 3-point territory. Current senior Shay Rollins heads returnees for the Dons when to comes to 3-point shooting, hitting 75-of-198 for a .379 clip last season. So far this season, USF has shot at a .336 clip from beyond the arc, including a season-high clip of .650 at Cal Poly, where the Dons posted a school-record 13 treys. Shay Rollins leads the Dons with 42 3-pointers, including three in the first half against Stephen F. Austin, while Danesha Wright has recorded 20 to add to the Dons' total of 94.

USF BASKETBALL RETURNS TO KUSF: USF women's basketball returns to the airwaves and cyberspace for the 2008-09 season with a bulk of the games available on KUSF 90.3 in San Francisco and all games available on USFDons.com. Join George Devine for the play-by-play in his 13th year behind the mic for the Dons. Other features on USFDons.com include GameTracker, courtesy of CSTV.com with live play-by-play and streaming video of all home games courtesy of Yahoo Broadcast.

WAR MEMORIAL GYM TURNS 50: Home of the USF Dons since 1958, War Memorial Gym celebrates it 50th anniversary this year. The facility has hosted a wide variety of events from concerts to political debates, from basketball games to boxing matches. "The House that Russell Built" has enjoyed a rich history. The facility served as one of the home arenas when the Philadelphia Warriors of the NBA moved to the Bay Area and most recently, served as a host venue for the 2008 International Children's Games.