Jan. 16, 2003

USF ON THE ROAD (STILL) - DESTINATION PACIFIC NORTHWEST: USF women's basketball continues their eight game road trip - the longest in program history - when they travel to the Pacific Northwest for West Coast Conference action at Gonzaga and Portland. Winners of their last four contests, the Lady Dons are approaching the finish line of their eight-game road odyssey looking to pull off an unprecedented fourth consecutive road sweep of the Bulldogs and Pilots. Gonzaga is one of the most improved teams in the West Coast Conference, while Portland has shown flashes of brilliance this season. USF last played a home contest in a 53-44 loss to Southern Mississippi Dec. 17.

LADY DONS AMONG NATIONAL LEADERS: Two Lady Dons rank in the top-15 among NCAA Division I statistical leaders, as released Jan. 13. Junior forward Carey Sauer, who finished the 2001-2002 season ranked third in free throw percentage at .918 (90-98), currently ranks seventh at .920 (46-50). Sophomore guard Toni Russell is tied for 11th in steals per game with 3.9 swipes per outing.

LONG ROAD AHEAD FOR THE LADY DONS: San Francisco continues the longest road trip (eight games) in program history when they travel to the Pacific Northwest for a pair of games at Gonzaga and Portland. The road odyssey concludes against the Pilots at the Chiles Center Saturday, Jan. 18. The Lady Dons will not play a contest in the friendly confines of War Memorial Gym until the third week of West Coast Conference action when they host Bay Area rival Santa Clara Friday, Jan. 24.

USF ON THE RADIO AND THE NET: USF women's basketball begins its seventh season on the radio and in cyberspace for the 2002-2003 season. All 28 USF Lady Dons regular season games will be broadcast this year on both the air (KUSF, 90.3 FM) and the web, courtesy of YahooBroadcast. Women's hoops fans can access the internet broadcasts from their personal computers from the official website of the USF Athletic Department, www.usfdons.com. George Devine, the Dean of women's basketball broadcasters in the West Coast Conference returns for his seventh season of bringing all the exciting play-by-play from his position courtside.

SCOUTING GONZAGA: The Bulldogs are off to a 9-8 start after suffering a pair of road setbacks in the LA area against Pepperdine (78-63) and Loyola Marymount (58-42) in the opening weekend of West Coast Conference play. The Zags have been impressive at home, posting a 7-1 record, with their only setback in the Kennel coming against Weber State (52-49) Dec. 21. Sophomore forward Ashley Burke leads three players in double-figure scoring at 13.8 points to go along with a team-high 5.9 rebounds. Sophomore guard Shannon Mathews (niece of USF men's basketball coach Phil Mathews) adds 12.2 points and leads the WCC in assists with 5.5 dishes per night. Senior guard Triana Allen averages 10.1 points. The Zags aren't shy about shooting the three and have made 103 in 15 games, averaging 6.9 treys per game and convert at a .339 (103-304) clip from long distance. Gonzaga shoots well from the floor in general, converting on .431 (429-996) on the season. Kelly Graves is in his third year, where he has posted a 25-49 record with the Bulldogs. Graves owns a 91-75 overall record and spent three seasons at league rival Saint Mary's.

SERIES RECORD/STREAK: USF leads 21-10/USF five wins

LAST MEETINGS: at USF 73, Gonzaga 58 (1/25/02); USF 72, at Gonzaga 67 (2/23/02)

TEAM COMPARISONS (AS OF 1/12/03): Team PPG Margin FG% 3-FG% FT% RPG APG TOPG SPG BPG USF 59.6 -2.3 .389 .331 .712 34.3 11.5 16.5 9.3 2.2 Gonzaga 66.6 +6.7 .431 .339 .696 37.8 17.2 19.6 8.4 4.1

LAST TIME AGAINST THE LADY DONS: USF continued to roll, posting their fifth consecutive win at Gonzaga, completing the West Coast Conference Pacific Northwest sweep for the third consecutive season with a 72-67 victory at the Martin Centre. Junior guard Alicia Hernandez scored a game-high 19, while senior guard Lindsey Huff added 15 in her final regular season league contest. The victory secured a share of second place in the WCC standings at 9-5.

SCOUTING PORTLAND: The Pilots are off to a 6-9 start and have lost their last three heading into the second week of West Coast Conference play. Portland dropped a pair of league contests last weekend in LA falling at Loyola Marymount (78-57) and Pepperdine (88-54). The Pilots own a 4-3 record at the Chiles Center, although the Lady Dons have won three straight in the Rose City. The Pilots shoot the ball at a .395 (336-850) clip from the floor and average 63.9 points per night. Junior forward Khalila O'Rielly-Williams leads the way, averaging 15.3 points and 7.4 rebounds per contest. Freshman guard Michaela Dalgleish adds 10.8 points and dishes out 2.6 assists per game. Jim Sollars is in his 17th season as the head coach at Portland, where he has posted a 246-229 record. The four-time WCC Coach of the Year guided the Pilots into five postseason appearances with four berths in the NCAA Tournament.

SERIES RECORD/STREAK: USF leads 21-13/USF won two

LAST MEETINGS: at USF 71, Portland 60 (1/26/02); USF 52, at Portland 49 (2/21/02)

PRIOR TO USF: Host Saint Mary's (7-7, 0-1 WCC) Thurs., Jan. 16.

TEAM COMPARISONS (AS OF 1/12/03): Team PPG Margin FG% 3-FG% FT% RPG APG TOPG SPG BPG USF 59.6 -2.3 .389 .331 .712 34.3 11.5 16.5 9.3 2.2 Portland 63.9 -8.0 .395 .353 .668 29.2 14.5 17.8 10.4 2.1

LAST TIME AGAINST THE LADY DONS: San Francisco won their fourth straight West Coast Conference game with a 52-49 victory at Portland. Sophomore forward Carey Sauer scored a game-high 17 points to lift the Lady Dons to the win. USF trailed 25-22 at the half, but posted a rally in the second half. San Francisco owned a 37-28 rebound advantage, which helped offset 24 turnovers.