Jan. 3, 2008

USF WELCOMES NO. 22 WYOMING TO THE HILLTOP: San Francisco welcomes No. 22 Wyoming to the Hilltop for its final non-conference game of the season, Thursday, January 3, 2008 in a 7:00 PM tip-off at War Memorial Gym. The Dons look to bounce back after suffering a 66-44 setback last Saturday at Nevada, snapping a six-game winning streak. It will not be an easy task for San Francisco as it welcomes a streaking Cowgirls squad that enters the contest with a sparkling 11-1 record and rides a five-game winning streak. Through 12 games of the season, Wyoming averages a somewhat pedestrian 64.8 points per game, but limits opponents just 52.6 points per game (+12.2). The Cowgirls last two opponents - Northern Colorado (68-37) and Westminster (73-35) - failed to reach 40 points. The Dons dropped a 71-58 decision to the Cowgirls last November 12 in Laramie.

GAME #15 - SCOUTING WYOMING: The Cowgirls enter the week with a sparkling 11-1 overall record after pounding visiting Westminster College 73-35 (12/19/07), before breaking for a 15-day holiday break. Wyoming totes a No. 22 national ranking into the Bay Area and have won five straight with its only setback of the season coming in a 69-55 loss to Colorado (12/5/07) in Boulder. Senior forward Hanna Zavecz leads the Cowgirls offensive assault, averaging a team-high 14.7 points with 5.9 rebounds per game, while senior forward Justyna Podziemska adds 12.1 points and 5.2 rebounds per contest. Through 12 games, Wyoming averages 64.8 points on .418 from the field, and shoot at a .329 (81-246) clip from 3-point range. Joe Legerski is in his fourth season as the head coach and owns a career record of 75-48 all coming in Laramie. Legerski guided Wyoming to the 2007 WNIT Postseason title.

TEAM COMPARISONS - 2007-2008 SEASON (As of 1/2/08):
Team	PPG	Margin	FG%	3-FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	TOPG	SPG	BPG
USF	70.5	-0.6	.420	.348	.704	39.1	13.3	17.6	5.5	2.4
Wyoming	64.8	+12.2	.418	.329	.713	35.8	15.3	17.3	7.8	4.8

WYOMING PROBABLE STARTERS (As of 1/2/08)
G. 2 Jodi Bolerjack, 5-9, Sr. (9.0 ppg, 1.8 rpg)
G. 12 Dominique Sisk, 5-10, Sr. (3.9 ppg, 2.7 rpg)
F. 5 Hanna Zavecz, 6-0, Sr. (14.7 ppg, 5.9 rpg)
F. 10 Rebecca Vanderjagt, 6-3, Jr. (4.2 ppg, 3.5 rpg)
F. 25 Justyna Podziemska, 6-2, Sr. (12.1 ppg, 5.2 rpg)

LAST MEETING: at Wyoming 71, USF 58 (11/12/06)

SERIES RECORD/STREAK: Series tied 2-2/Wyoming won one

ON THE AIR/ON THE WEB:
Radio Broadcast: KUSF 90.3 Television: None
Internet Audio: Yes - USFDons.com (Yahoo Broadcast)
GameTracker: Yes
Wyoming Official Website: WyomingSports.com

COWGIRLS AND DONS - THE SERIES:
- USF got a team-high 18 points from Nickie Warren and 16 from Dominique Carter, but Wyoming connected on 10 3-pointers and converted on 11 more free throws (17) than the Dons attempted (6)
- San Francisco's last victory in the series came in a 68-44 trouncing in the consolation round of the Arizona Wildcat Tournament (12/3/95). Brittany Lindhe scored a game-high 21 points, while Valerie Gillon added 14 points and 11 rebounds.
- This is Wyoming's first visit to War Memorial Gym. Two games have occurred on neutral sites; two in Laramie.

CARTER CONTINUES ASSAULT ON CAREER SCORING CHART: A three-time West Coast Conference First Team selection, senior guard Dominique Carter enters Thursday's game against No. 22 Wyoming with 1,544 career points, good for fourth place on the USF career scoring list. With nine points at Nevada (12/30/07) Carter also jumped into 13th place on the WCC career points chart. The Tracy native needs 52 points to pass USF Hall-of-Famer Margaret Walsh (1983-87), who currently owns the third spot with 1, 595 and is 76 shy of cracking the league's top-10. USF Hall-of-Famer and Legend of the Hilltop Brittany Lindhe (1994-99), the only four-time All-WCC selection in league history, currently occupies the 10th spot with 1,619 points in her standout career. Carter leads the league in scoring this season at 20.1 points per contest and is seventh in rebounding (7.0).

IT'S RAINING THREES: In the preseason, head coach Tanya Haave challenged her team to improve it's three point shooting. So far they've listened. Through 14 games of the 2007-08 season, USF has made 80 3-pointers - almost as many as they collected all last year (89). The Dons are currently hitting threes at a .348 (80-230) clip, good for second place in the West Coast Conference standings behind only Santa Clara (.414). Last season San Francisco shot an anemic .254 from deep. Senior guard Dominique Carter leads the WCC from beyond the arc, shooting a sizzling .558 (24-for-43).