Jan. 15, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format
USF WELCOMES PORTLAND AND GONZAGA TO THE HILLTOP: San Francisco continues its four-game homestand when it welcomes Portland and Gonzaga to the Hilltop for week two of the West Coast Conference season. USF opens play Thursday night against the Pilots in a 7:00 PM contest and then tackle the defending league champion Bulldogs Saturday at 2:00 PM. The Dons kicked off WCC play in impressive fashion, dispatching preseason favorite San Diego 80-62 on Saturday, behind 23 points and seven rebounds from junior center Necolia Simmons. The Pilots and Bulldogs both swept the regular season series against the Dons in 2007. CARTER CONTINUES ASSAULT ON CAREER SCORING CHART: A three-time West Coast Conference First Team selection, senior guard Dominique Carter enters week two of the 2008 league schedule against Portland with 1,565 career points, good for fourth place on the USF career scoring list. With nine points at Nevada (12/30/07) Carter jumped into 13th place on the WCC career points chart. The Tracy native needs 31 points to pass USF Hall-of-Famer Margaret Walsh (1983-87), who currently owns the third spot with 1, 595 and is 55 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 18.9 points per contest and is seventh in rebounding (7.1). ROLLINS CONTINUES TO ROLL FOR THE DONS: Junior Shay Rollins continues to produce as a floor general and has helped USF to a strong start. A 2007 All-West Coast Conference Honorable Mention selection, Rollins poured in a career-high 22 points against Sacramento State (12/5/07). The Bay Area native poured in 18 points with four assists in 28 minutes in San Francisco's 80-62 victory against San Diego (1/12/07). On the year, Rollins ranks second on the team in scoring (12.0) and leads the team in assists (3.1) to go along with 3.5 rebounds per game. SMILES FOR SIMMONS: Junior transfer Necolia Simmons continues to impress in her first year with USF. The 2007 JC Kodak All-American is a force for the Dons, averaging 11.6 points and a team-high 7.3 rebounds per game this season. Simmons poured in a career-high 24 points with 10 rebounds in a triple overtime win at Colorado State (11/13/07) and added 23 points and seven boards against San Diego (1/12/08). IT'S RAINING THREES: In the preseason, head coach Tanya Haave challenged her team to improve its three point shooting. So far they've listened. Through 16 games of the 2007-08 season, USF has made 89 3-pointers - equalling last season's tally. The Dons are currently hitting threes at a .353 (89-252) clip, good for third place in the West Coast Conference standings. Last season San Francisco shot an anemic .254 from deep. Senior guard Dominique Carter leads the WCC from beyond the arc, shooting a sizzling .532 (25-for-47). USF DONS RETURN TO KUSF: USF women's basketball returns to the airwaves and cyberspace for the 2007-2008 season with all games available live at USFDons.com and at KUSF 90.3 FM. Join George Devine for the play-by-play in his 12th year behind the microphone. Former USF standout point guard Jamie Shadian and former head coach Mary Hile-Nepfel will add color commentary for selected games. Other features available 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. Road games will also be available at 88.7 FM with frequency subject to change depending on the venue. A LOOK AHEAD: USF hosts defending West Coast Conference regular season and tournament champion Gonzaga in a Saturday matinee on the Hilltop, continuing its four-game homestand. Tip-off against the Bulldogs is set for 2:00 PM at War Memorial Gym. San Francisco remains in the Bay Area the following week taking on ancient Bay Area and WCC rivals Saint Mary's and Santa Clara on the road. The Dons tackle the Gaels Thursday, January 24 at McKeon Pavilion and then take on the Broncos Saturday night at the Leavey Event Center. GAME #17 - SCOUTING PORTLAND: The Pilots enter the second week of West Coast Conference play with a 11-6 overall record and have won four of five after recording a home split in the opening weekend. Portland fell to Loyola Marymount (73-71) in the opener before bouncing back for a win against Pepperdine (60-56). UP has dropped consecutive games just once this season and has already surpassed its 2006-07 victory tally. Sophomore guard Laiken Dollente leads the Pilot offensive assault, averaging a team-high 15.8 points with 3.1 assists per game, while senior center Rachel Warren adds 10.89 points and 7.3 rebounds per contest. Through 17 games, Portland averages 74.1 points on .425 from the field, .290 (82-283) clip from 3-point range. Jim Sollars is in his 22nd season as the Pilots captain, owns a career record of 473-406 in 32 seasons and has posted a 296-324 slate on the Bluff. Sollars has directed the Pilots into four NCAA Tournaments.
PORTLAND PROBABLE STARTERS (As of 1/15/08) 2007 SERIES MEETINGS: at Portland 54, USF 52 (2/22/07); Portland 64, at USF 61 (1/27/07) SERIES RECORD/STREAK: USF leads 24-20/UP won two GAME #18 - GONZAGA SCOUTING GONZAGA: The Bulldogs finish week two of the West Coast Conference slate with a 12-6 overall record and are leading all league teams at 3-0 in conference play. In week one, the Bulldogs took down Pepperdine (68-56) and dispatched Loyola Marymount (81-65). On Tuesday they beat San Diego 83-76. Gonzaga began the season with a four-game winning streak, including their first ever victory (91-72) over Pac-10 foe Washington. Sophomore forward Heather Bowman leads the Zags with a team high 19.2 points and 8.7 rebounds per game, while junior guard Jami Bjorklund averages 10.6 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. Through 18 games, Gonzaga averages 76.4 points on .444 from the field, and a .725 (211-295) clip from the free-throw line. Kelly Graves is in his 8th year at the helm for the Bulldogs. He owns a 120-93 record at Gonzaga and a 10-year overall record of 186-119. Graves has led the Bulldogs to two consecutive first place league finishes (05-06, 06-07). TEAM COMPARISONS - 2007-2008 SEASON (As of 1/18/08): Team PPG Margin FG% 3-FG% FT% RPG APG TOPG SPG BPG USF 69.6 +1.2 .426 .352 .705 39.2 13.5 17.5 5.4 2.2 Gonzaga 76.4 +7.9 .444 .348 .725 41.5 17.9 18.0 8.4 1.8 GONZAGA PROBABLE STARTERS (As of 1/18/08) F. 30 Heather Bowman, 6-2, So. (18.6 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 1.2 spg) F. 44 Vivian Frieson, 6-0, So. (8.6 ppg, 4.7 rpg) G. 21 Courtney Vandersloot, 5-8, Fr. (9.5 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 5.5 apg) G. 31 Michelle Elliott, 5-11, Sr. (11.2 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.0 apg) G. 32 Jami Bjorklund, 5-11, Jr. (10.5 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 2.1 apg) 2007 SERIES MEETINGS: Gonzaga 59, USF 38 (3/3/07, second round WCC Tournament Game); at Gonzaga 57, USF 37 (2/24/07); Gonzaga 58, at USF 53 (1/25/07) SERIES RECORD/STREAK: USF leads 24-18/GON won three BULLDOGS AND DONS - THE SERIES: - USF fell to Gonzaga in the second round of the 2007 West Coast Conference tournament 59-38 to end their 2006-07 season. - Junior forward Dominique Carter averaged 8.3 points and 4.3 rebounds per game against the Bulldogs last season. - USF holds a 14-6 edge against Gonzaga in games played at War Memorial Gym ON THE AIR/ON THE WEB: - Portland swept the 2007 regular season series for the first time since 2004. Dominique Carter NAMED WCC PLAYER OF THE MONTH (DECEMBER): Junior guard Dominique Carter, paced the West Coast Conference in scoring with 22.6 points per game en route to leading San Francisco to a 6-1 record during the month of December. For her efforts, Carter earned WCC Player of the Month honors for December as announced by the league office. A three-time All-WCC First Team pick, Carter shot an incredible .600 (60-for-100) from the field to rank second in the WCC, and led the league by shooting at a .630 (17-for-27) clip from beyond the arc. Carter also ranked ninth in the conference with 7.1 rebounds per game, and collected WCC Player of the Week honors twice during the month. Carter scored a career-high 32 points in a win over San Jose State on December 9, and set another career standard with 14 rebounds in a USF win over Cal Poly on December 15. The Tracy native posted a pair of double-doubles during the month, and led San Francisco to its first six-game winning streak since 2001-02. Heidi Heintz BREAKS OUT: Sophomore forward Heidi Heintz is enjoying an outstanding year for USF. The Dons fourth-leading scorer (9.3), Heintz has poured in 149 points through 16 games after scoring 199 in 31 games as a freshman. A 2007 West Coast Conference Freshman Team pick, Heintz scored a career-high 23 points in the Dons thrilling 101-96 triple overtime win at Colorado State (11/13/07). USF IN WCC OPENERS: USF owns an 13-10 record in West Coast Conference openers after a 80-62 win against San Diego (1/12/08). The Dons took on Pepperdine for the first time in a 69-65 overtime victory Jan. 6, 2006. The win snapped a two-game losing streak for USF. The Dons fell at San Diego (52-45) lost at home to Santa Clara (49-48) in 2004 and Loyola Marymount (58-55) in 2005. THE DONS IN THE ODWALLA: San Francisco has a 6-4 record in the odwalla Classic's four seasons. Since the Classic's inception during the 2003-04 season, the Dons have played in all five championship games but only have won once. The victory came in the first year as the Dons defeated Kentucky, 67-59. SAN FRANCISCO PASSES ROAD WINS FROM 2006-07: With the win over Cal State Fullerton on November 19, San Francisco had two road wins in four games as many road victories as it collected all of last season. The Dons posted their third victory away from home at Oregon State (12/2/07). USF was 2-12 away from War Memorial Gym last year. FIRST TIME TO THREE OT: The Dons' 101-96 victory marked the first time ever in school history that USF had played into triple overtime. USF all-time has played in 23 single overtime and four double overtime contests. USF's all-time record in extra frames is 15-13. SURGING PAST THE CENTURY MARK: Against Colorado State, USF surpassed 100 points for the first time since the 2000-01 season when USF defeated UC Riverside, 105-51. In total, the Dons have eclipsed 100 points four times. In those games, USF is 4-0. THE Tanya Haave SHOW: Each Monday at 1:00 PM (PT) throughout the 2007-08 regular season, veteran USF Dons play-by-play man George Devine will sit down with USF head coach Tanya Haave to discuss the team, players and a scouting report on upcoming opponents. To access the broadcasts, log on to USFDons.com, click on the women's basketball page and click on the "Tanya Haave Coaches Show" link. Then select the date under the women's basketball heading on the Yahoo Sports Menu. Special thanks to Yahoo for hosting the Tanya Haave Show on USFDons.com. GAME DAY GREEN: The University of San Francisco Athletic Department in conjunction with the USF Bookstore and the USF Residence Life Office encourages all Dons supporters to wear "Game Day Green". To encourage fans to don "Game Day Green", the USF Bookstore will offer a 20 percent discount for all merchandise featuring green in it Saturday, January 19 prior to tip-off of the Gonzaga game at 2:00 PM. Regular store hours are from 10:00 AM-4:00 PM. This offer is only valid at the USF Bookstore's main location in the lower level of Phelan Hall. The USF Residence Life Office also is in full support of the initiative and staff members will wear "Game Day Green" on game days throughout the Winter Sports Season. DONS NOTCH PROGRAM VICTORY NUMBER 457: San Francisco picked up its 400th win with a 58-56 victory at Saint Mary's in the 2003 West Coast Conference opener. USF collected victory No. 457 in a 81-72 victory against San Diego (1/12/08).
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