ON TAP: USF returns to War Memorial Gym this weekend to host San Diego and Saint Mary's. Thursdays tip against the Toreros is scheduled for 7 p.m., while Saturday's game will start at 2 p.m. Saturday is the annual Pink Zone game and the Dons are encouraging fans to wear pink to bring awareness to breast cancer.
LAST TIME ON THE FLOOR: USF women's basketball held their own, until midway through the second half, against league-leading Gonzaga Saturday but it wasn't enough as the Dons fell 93-53 at the McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane. Three Dons scored in double-digits for USF, including a career-high 11 by Heidi Anton.
NEXT ON THE SCHEDULE: San Francisco will take their final road trip of the season, flying south to Los Angeles to face Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount.
USF HOSTS PINK ZONE SATURDAY: The USF women's basketball team will host its annual "Pink Zone" game, Saturday against the Gaels. Fans are encouraged to join the Dons and Lions in the unified effort to raise breast cancer awareness by wearing pink to the game. As part of the event, USF and SMC will sport pink shooting shirts during warm-ups. The USF coaching and support staff will recognize the event by wearing pink, while the officials will use bright pink whistles. The Women's Basketball Coaches Association began the WBCA "Pink Zone", formerly known as "Think Pink", in 2007 as an initiative to raise breast cancer awareness in women's basketball, on campuses and in the community. In 2007, over 120 schools unified for the effort, helping to make the inaugural year a success.
DONS LOOKING TO STOP SKID: Saturday, the Dons will be looking to break a 13-game losing streak when they open the second half of WCC play. The 13 game skid is a school record for consecutive losses. The previous record of eight games was accomplished twice - once during the 1998-99 season and the other in 1988-89.
OKEREKE POST CAREER NIGHT IN PORTLAND: Senior guard/forward Nnenna Okereke posted a career night Thursday in Portland, setting (or tying) personal records in three categories. Okereke tied a personal best with eight points, a feat she also accomplished against Sacramento State (1/5/10). Thursday, the native of Berkeley also tied a personal best with one assists, while setting a career-high with a pair of steals.
FRESHMAN GAIN VALUABLE EXPERIENCE: This season, USF's roster features four freshman, who are earning valuable playing time in their first season on the Hilltop. Three of the four have earned the starting nod at some point this season, while as a group, they average 10.9 minutes a game. Mel Khlok, a guard from Sacramento, has earned four starts this season, averaging 4.4 points and 3.1 boards a game. Forward Bailey Barbour has been a force down low for the Dons, earning two starts, averaging 2.4 rebounds in conference play. Whitney Daniels, a forward from Southern California, earned her first career starts last weekend, averaging 2.4 boards against WCC foes. Ashley Boggs, a guard from Petaluma, averages 2.4 points, 2.1 rebounds a game as a reserve for the Dons.
DONS, BRONCOS JOIN TO AID HAITI RELIEF EFFORTS: In response to the devastating earthquake last month in Haiti, the Dons and Broncos teamed up two weeks ago to help raise money to fund relief efforts in Haiti. Both teams agreed to initiate a fund-raising drive prior to the local rivalry game Saturday, January 23 at Santa Clara's Leavey Center. Donations were accepted at the main entrances and additional checks were mailed directly to the SCU women's basketball office. In total, the Dons and Broncos collected over $4,200. In conjunction with $2,500 raised by the USF men's basketball team, the Dons basketball programs have raised $6,700 towards Haiti relief.
ALE CONTINUES TO PUT UP DOUBLE DIGITS: Sophomore guard Rheina Ale has posted double-digits in the past nine games and in 15 of the past 17. The run includes three games with 20-plus points, including a career-high 25 points, 24 in the second half at Pacific. As a freshman, Ale posted 17 games with 10-plus points, including the final four games of the 2009 campaign. In games where she scores 10-plus points, Ale averages 15.8 points per outing.
FOUR DONS POST CAREER-HIGHS AGAINST HORNETS: Rheina Ale, Brittany Brumfield, Heidi Anton and Nnenna Okereke each posted career highs as the Dons fell to Sacramento State last week. Ale earned nine rebounds, bettering her previous personal-best by one rebound. Ale had recorded eight rebounds against Loyola Maryland. Brumfield recorded a dozen points, to improver her previous career-high of nine points set in the Dons' last outing, Loyola Maryland. Okereke posted two career highs thanks to eight points and an assist. Anton rounded out USF players with career nights, pulling down two boards.
3,255 SETS DECADE-HIGH ATTENDANCE MARK: December 22, when the Dons hosted nationally-ranked Tennessee, 3,255 fans packed into War Memorial Gym. The attendance marked the highest total this decade for a women's basketball game. The only other time since 1999 that USF cracked the 3,000 mark for a women's game when 3,212 watched the Dons fall 75-64 to regional foe Stanford (11/19/99) in the season opener. On the flip side, the crowd marked the smallest attendance for a Tennessee game, either home or away, since January 31, 2008, when the Lady Vols played at Ole Miss in front of 3,120 fans.
ALE ERUPTS IN THE SECOND HALF, FALLS SHORT OF RECORD: Rheina Ale erupted in the second half of the contest at Pacific, scoring 24 points in the final 20 minutes. Ale posted just one point in the first half, after only playing three minutes due to two early fouls. The 24 second half points is one point shy of the school record for points in the second half, set by Dominique Carter in 2008. Ale was a perfect 6-for-6 from the field, including five 3-pointers, to mark the second time in her career the native of Carson has been perfect from the field in her career.
DONS' VIKING VOYAGE: San Francisco took its game overseas in May, embarking on an 11-day, five game tour of Scandinavia. During the trip, the Dons visited Stockholm, Sweden, Oslo, Norway and Copenhagen, Denmark, facing off against some of the top's women's basketball programs in the region. USF finished the trip with a 3-2 record, including a victory against the top team in Norway and two victories against the Danish National Team.
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 14th 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. Devine also serves at the host of the WCC "The Road To Las Vegas" weekly webcast, which features highlights, player interviews and previews of WCC match-ups.
SCOUTING SAN DIEGO: The Toreros head into the weekend with a 12-9 record, including a 4-3 mark in WCC action. They are paced by Dominique Conners, who averages 15.0 ppg with 4.5 rebounds. In league play, Conners posts 17.1 post per game while pulling down 6.1 boards. The Toreros are coached by Cindy Fisher who is in her fourth year with San Diego.
SERIES RECORD/STREAK: San Diego holds a 28-22 edge over the Dons in the all-time series, including taking the past five straight contests. When playing on the Hilltop, the Dons hold a 14-10 advantage.
LAST MEETING: San Francisco women's basketball played a hard fought battle, but fell short, dropping a 54-47 decision to San Diego Sunday afternoon at the Jenny Craig Pavilion in San Diego. Rheina Ale highlighted three Dons who posted double-digit efforts.
SERIES NOTES: • The Toreros have won the past five straight meetings, but had gone 5-5 in the previous 10 tilts.
SCOUTING SAINT MARY'S: The Gaels head into the weekend with a 15-7 overall record, 6-1 in league play. SMC is paced by Louella Tomlinson, who averages 17.8 points, 10.2 rebounds and 6.8 blocks per game. Tomlinson is currently 15 blocks shy of the NCAA Division I career blocks record and 17 short of the single season mark. Saint Mary's is coached by Paul Thomas, who in three years with SMC has a 40-50 record.
SERIES RECORD/STREAK: The Gaels hold a 29-22 all-time advantage over San Francisco, including winning the past ffive straight contests. When playing in San Francisco, the Gaels hold the edge 11-12.
LAST MEETING: San Francisco women's basketball opened the 2010 West Coast Conference season Friday, dropping a 76-64 decision to Saint Mary's at McKeon Pavilion in Moraga, Calif. Rheina Ale and Vania Singleterry paced the Dons with double-digit scoring efforts.
SERIES NOTES: • The Gaels have won 11 of the past 12 meetings between the two programs, with the USF victories coming on Jan. 24, 2008 (80-68 @SMC) and Jan. 27, 2005 (54-52 @USF).
• Heading into the weekend, the Gaels' Louella Tomlinson is 15 blocks shy of the NCAA Division I career record for blocks.
