Jan. 13, 2009

Complete Release in PDF Format

THIS WEEK: The USF women’s basketball opens the home slate of the 2009 West Coast Conference season, welcoming Portland and Gonzaga to War Memorial Gym. The Dons and Pilots will square off Thursday at 7 p.m. on the Hilltop, before USF takes on Gonzaga, a team receiving votes in the national polls, Saturday at 2 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT: Last week, San Francisco opened WCC action, dropping a pair of decisions to San Diego and Saint Mary’s. Thursday at Jenny Craig Pavilion, Vania Singleterry, Shay Rollins and Rheina Ale all posted 10 or more points for the Dons but it wasn’t enough as USF dropped a hard fought 69-62 battle to the Toreros. Saturday the Dons returned to the Bay Area as Necolia Simmons posted a double-double in 89-62 loss to Saint Mary’s in Moraga.

LOOKING AHEAD: USF will continue a three-game home stand next week as they host one game on the Hilltop. The Dons will face-off with Bay Area rival Santa Clara Saturday Jan. 24 at 2 p.m. at War Memorial Gym.

ROLLINS RANKS IN TOP-10 IN NCAA DIVISION I: Senior guard Shay Rollins currently ranks in the top-10 in Division I in 3-pointers per game with 3.0, to sit in seventh place nationally. The all-time USF 3-point record holder is shooting at a .296 clip from beyond the arc this season. Leading the nation with treys per game is Janae Stokes of South Florida with 3.3.

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.

SENIORS MAKE WAVES IN CAREER RECORD BOOKS: Seniors Shay Rollins and Necolia Simmons continue to make waves in the USF career record books as the wrap-up their playing careers on the Hilltop. Rollins currently ranks 13^th in career scoring with 1,145 total points and is also the program’s all-time 3-point leaders with 176 baskets from beyond the arc. Simmons is listed fourth the rebounds per game category, averaging 8.04 boards per game.

WRIGHT CONTINUES TO MAKE A STRONG IMPACT: Junior transfer Danesha Wright has made an immediate impact to the Dons this season. The guard has appeared in 15 games, making 14 starts, averaging 10.3 points, going 45-for-127 (.354) from the field, including 24-for-66 (.364) 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. Against Wyoming, to close out non-conference play, Wright recorded a career-high eight rebounds while recording six points and three assists. 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.

USF RANKS NATIONALLY IN 3-POINT FIELD GOALS PER GAME: Heading into the week, USF ranked 25th in the NCAA Division I in 3-point field goals per game with 7.0. The Dons 7.0 treys per game currently leads the WCC, as San Francisco is shooting at a .326 clip from beyond the arc. Freshman Rheina Ale paces the Dons 3-point attack, shooting at a .420 clip (21-for-50) from deep, while senior Shay Rollins has sank 48 3-pointers. Earlier this season, USF posted a season-high clip of .650 at Cal Poly, where the Dons posted a school-record 13 threes.

OKEREKE DOUBLES CAREER-BEST: Against Iona on Dec. 31, 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 Dec. 19, 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. Against Wyoming on Jan. 3, the freshman saw 12 minutes of playing time, draining a pair of three’s for six points. The freshman continued to add off the bench for USF during the opening weekend of WCC play thanks to four rebounds, two against USD and two against SMC, while also earning a personal-best four steals against the Gaels. Keating has proven to be a leading threat off the bench this season, averaging 3.0 points and 2.8 rebounds an outing.

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 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 17.6 ppg, 38 assists (2.38 apg) and 34 steals (2.13 spg). To date, Rollins has scored in double figures in all 15 of 16 games this season and, dating back to a year ago, has scored 10 or more points in 21 of 22 contests. Saturday’s game at Saint Mary’s marked the first time since Feb. 14 2008 that Rollins failed to post double-figure scoring.

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 SETS USF 3-POINT RECORD: Thanks to four 3-pointers against Oregon State on Dec. 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 48 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 176. For her career, in 102 games played, Rollins shoots .306 (176/575) from beyond the arc, averaging 1.7 3-pointers a game. This season, the senior is shooting .296 from 3-point territory, averaging 2.6 threes a game. Against San Diego, Rollins took 13 3-point attempts, marking a school record.

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.

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 1,145 career points, including 282 so far this season, to stand as the 13th most prolific scorer in USF history. With her seven points at Saint Mary’s, Rollins passed Linda Walsh (1980-84) who was listed 13th with 1,143 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.

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.

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.