Jan. 25, 2002

USF HOSTS GONZAGA AND PORTLAND IN CRUCIAL GAMES: San Francisco begins an important West Coast Conference homestand this weekend when they host the Bulldogs of Gonzaga and the Pilots of Portland in league play at War Memorial Gym. USF, fresh off a split against Bay Area Saint Mary's last weekend, sits at 1-3 in the WCC standings along with Gonzaga and Portland (who plays Saint Mary's on Friday in Moraga). The Zags come to town after a couple of tough home losses to Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount. Gonzaga pushed the Lions to the limit in overtime before falling 76-74 and dropped a 77-69 contest against the Waves. Portland earned a split against LMU and Pepperdine, pounding the Lions 84-70 in the Chiles Center and lost a tough game to Pepperdine, 51-49. San Francisco swept Gonzaga last season, but lost at home to Portland, after defeating the Pilots in the Rose City.

GONZAGA Probable Starters - (1/22/02):

G. #21 Trianna Allen, 5-5, Jr. (4.2 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 2.5 assists)) G. #10 Shannon Mathews, 5-6, Fr. (9.5 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 3.8 assists) G. #35 Bernice Stime, 5-8, Sr. (7.4 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 3.2 assists) F. #24 Jessica Malone, 5-10, Sr. (17.0 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 2.6 assists) F. #13 Ashley Burke, 6-1, Fr. (12.3 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 1.2 assists)

USF Probable Starters - 1/22/02:

G. #2 Toni Russell, 5-3, Fr. (6.2 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 2.9 assists)

G. #13 Alicia Hernandez, 5-7, Jr. (9.8 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 2.5 assists)

G. #4 Lisa Whiteside, 5-9, Jr. (8.5 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 2.4 assists)

C. #44 Celeste Farmer, 6-3, Fr. (5.5 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 0.6 assists)

F. #42 Carey Sauer, 6-0, So. (9.9 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 0.9 assists)

KEY RESERVES:

G. #22 Lindsey Huff, 5-6, Sr., (9.5 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 2.5 assists)

G. #31 Melanie Turner, 5-10, Sr. (6.0 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 1.2 assists)

GAME #18 - Gonzaga Bulldogs: SCOUTING GONZAGA: Gonzaga comes to the Bay Area toting more wins (10) than they have collected since the 1997-98 team finished 11-16. In the opening weekend of West Coast Conference play, the Zags won a league game on the road at San Diego - their first since downing San Francisco at War Memorial Gym in 1999-2000. Last weekend they dropped a pair of closely contested games in The Kennel to Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount, dropping by two, 76-74, in overtime in their last outing against the Lions. The Bulldogs are led by one of the premier players in the WCC, senior forward Jessica Malone, who leads the Bulldogs and the league in scoring at 17.0 per game and is an impressive long range shooter. Malone currently ranks 13th in the NCAA career 3-point field goal list with 276 and counting and has converted on .436 (68-156) from long distance this season. (For comparison, USF's all-time leader is current Lady Don senior Lindsey Huff, who has connected on 125.) Freshman forward Ashley Burke shares the load with Malone and rates second on the team in scoring at 12.3 per game and rates second in rebounds with 5.4 an outing. Freshman Raeanna Jewell averages 9.8 points and leads the team with 6.3 boards a game, while freshman guard Shannon Mathews averages 9.5 points and a team-leading 3.8 assists per outing for the Bulldogs. Kelly Graves is in his second year at the helm in Spokane after building a powerhouse at Saint Mary's College. Graves has posted a 15-31 record with the Bulldogs and has an overall record of 81-57.

SERIES RECORD: USF leads all-time series 19-10 versus Gonzaga.

LAST MEETINGS: at USF 88, Gonzaga 60 (2/10/01), USF 72, at Gonzaga 52 (1/11/01).

HUFF MAKING A RUN AT 1,000: Fifth-year senior guard Lindsey Huff entered the 2001-2002 campaign with 801 career points. After a season-high 17 points at Saint Mary's, Huff now has 963 in four seasons on the Hilltop and is just 37 points shy of becoming the 14th player to reach 1,000 points in the Green and Gold. Huff currently sits in 14th place on the all-time USF scoring list and needs 40 points to pass Kim Bachman (1978-83), who scored 1,002 points in her career. The last Lady Don to surpass the grand milestone was Sarah Wanless in the 1999-2000 season, finishing with 1,086.

STRUGGLING FROM THE FIELD: A year removed from converting on .435 of field goal attempts, USF currently ranks last in the West Coast Conference in field goal percentage, connecting on just .398 of their shots. Meanwhile, USF is allowing opponents to convert at a .417 clip from the floor, the second highest percentage allowed in the WCC this season. During league action, the Lady Dons have connected on just .381 (91-239) of their attempts, while WCC foes are hitting at a .471 (104-221) clip.

HEAD COACH MARY HILE-NEPFEL: USF women's basketball legend Mary Hile-Nepfel enters her second season as sole head coach of the Lady Dons and her 15th season at the controls of the women's basketball fortunes on the Hilltop. Hile-Nepfel was named sole head coach of the University of San Francisco following the 1999-2000 season, taking charge of a program she directed to national prominence with her husband Bill Nepfel for 13 seasons. Last season was the 25th Anniversary of Lady Dons basketball and Hile-Nepfel also reached several impressive milestones of her own during the silver anniversary year. With a convincing 105-51 pasting of UC Riverside in the 2000-2001 season opener, Hile-Nepfel became the all-time winningest coach in program history with her 197th victory. When the Lady Dons downed Cal Poly, Hile-Nepfel became just the third coach in USF athletics history to surpass 200 career wins. An 88-60 West Coast Conference win against Gonzaga was the 100th league win for Hile-Nepfel, who became just the fourth coach in league history to eclipse the century mark.