Feb. 8, 2002

SAN FRANCISCO HOSTS LIONS AND WAVES IN BIG HOME GAMES AT WAR MEMORIAL: USF hosts Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount in a pair of important West Coast Conference games this Friday and Saturday at War Memorial Gym. The Lady Dons look to avenge a road sweep suffered in Los Angeles in the first meeting against the Lions and Waves. San Francisco has yet to lose during league play in the friendly confines of War Memorial Gym and have not lost a home game since December 21 against Long Beach State. LMU and Pepperdine played twice against each other last week. The Lions clawed out a 75-67 win at Firestone Fieldhouse last Thursday, but the Waves won the re-match at Gersten with a 67-62 victory at Gersten Pavilion last Saturday. League-leading Pepperdine enters the contest with the Lady Dons with a 16-5 overall record and a 7-1 record during WCC play. The Waves have won 13 of their last 14 games and had a 12-game winning streak snapped by LMU. Pepperdine downed USF 81-69 in Malibu in the opening weekend of the 2002 WCC campaign. The Lions face Saint Mary's on Friday in Moraga.

PEPPERDINE Probable Starters - (2/4/02):

G. #25 Damaris Hinojosa, 5-10, Jr. (13.2 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 3.9 assists) G. #30 Shandrika Lee, 5-6, So. (9.9 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 2.5 assists) G. #12 Tamara McDonald, 5-7, Jr. (10.4 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.8 assists) F. #21 Keani Christianson, 6-2, Jr. (7.5 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 0.7 blocks) F. #44 Nadja Morgan, 6-2, Sr. (10.4 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 0.7 blocks)

USF Probable Starters - 2/4/02:

G. #2 Toni Russell, 5-3, Fr. (6.4 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.0 assists) G. #22 Lindsey Huff, 5-6, Sr., (9.7 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 2.5 assists) G. #4 Lisa Whiteside, 5-9, Jr. (8.7 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 2.3 assists) C. #5 Leeane Jensen, 6-3, Fr. (3.5 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 0.4 assists) F. #42 Carey Sauer, 6-0, So. (10.9 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 0.9 assists) KEY RESERVES: G. #31 Melanie Turner, 5-10, Sr. (6.5 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 1.2 assists) G. #13 Alicia Hernandez, 5-7, Jr. (9.1 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 2.7 assists)

GAME #22 - Pepperdine Waves: SCOUTING PEPPERDINE: League-leading Pepperdine continues their tear through the West Coast Conference and have won 13 of their last 14 games en route to a 16-5 overall record with a 7-1 conference mark. The Waves built a 13-game winning streak before falling to Los Angeles and WCC rival Loyola Marymount (75-67) last Thursday at Firestone Fieldhouse. Junior two-time All-WCC selection Damaris Hinojosa leads the way for the Waves in scoring (13.2) and assists (4.0), while junior guard Tamara McDonald rates second in scoring (10.4). Senior forward Nadja Morgan leads the team in rebounding (8.2) and is the second leading scorer (10.4), while sophomore guard Shandrika Lee also nearly averages double-figures (9.9) in scoring and leads the squad in steals (1.7). On the season, Pepperdine averages 73.1 points per game to rate second in team scoring and limit opponents to 67.3 points per contest. The Waves are coached by Mark Trakh, in his ninth season in Malibu. Last season, Trakh guided Pepperdine to their fourth consecutive 20-win season and third straight post season appearances with an WNIT showing in 2001. In eight seasons with the Waves, Trakh has compiled a 153-99 record and in the last four league seasons has posted a .781 (50-14) winning percentage.

SERIES RECORD: USF leads Pepperdine 22-20 in the all-time series.

LAST MEETINGS: at Pepperdine 81, USF 69 (1/12/02).

GAME #23 - Loyola Marymount Lions: SCOUTING LOYOLA MARYMOUNT: LMU travels to the Bay Area after recording a split against league leading Pepperdine last week. The Lions beat the Waves at Firestone Fieldhouse, snapping Pepperdine's 13-game winning streak. LMU plays a resurgent Saint Mary's team Friday in Moraga before squaring off against USF on Saturday. A pair of seniors run the Lions backcourt. Bryn Britton is the leading scorer for the Lions (14.6), while Rosa Bernasconi rates fifth (6.4), less than a year removed from season-ending ACL surgery last season. Sophomore center Adrienne Slaughter leads the team in rebounding (7.2) and ranks third in scoring (10.6), while junior forward Kate Murray is second on the team in scoring (13.7) and rebounds (6.1). The Lions are coached by two-time West Coast Conference Coach of the Year Julie Wilhoit, who is in her seventh season in Los Angeles. Last season, she guided the Lions to the best record in program history (21-10/10-4), including their inaugural berth in the post season with a trip to the 2001 WNIT Tournament. In her seven seasons at the helm for LMU, Wilhoit has posted a 73-115 mark. Last season, the Lions swept the season series with USF, winning 76-75 at Gersten and took a 74-71 victory at War Memorial Gym. In the 2001 WCC Tournament, LMU beat the Lady Dons for the third time, winning in the semifinals 73-56, handing USF their first second round tournament loss.

SERIES RECORD: USF leads all-time series 23-13 vs. LMU.

LAST MEETINGS: at LMU 76, USF 58 (1/11/02).

EXCELLING AT THE CHARITY STRIPE: USF has continued a three-year trend this season by shooting well at the free throw line. On the year, the Lady Dons have connected on .720 (290-403) of their attempts to rate third in overall contests this season. During league play, San Francisco has been even more deadly, hitting at a sparkling .804 (119-148). Surprisingly, USF does not lead the league in free throw percentage during WCC action and rates second in WCC play. Gonzaga currently leads with an amazing .811 (120-148) percentage at the charity stripe. Sophomore Carey Sauer leads the WCC in league games at a perfect 28-of-28. On the season, Sauer has converted on .932 (55-59) at the stripe. The last miss for Sauer came against Long Beach State last Dec. 21 where she missed the second shot of a one-and-one.

SAUER CRANKING UP THE OFFENSE: Sophomore forward Carey Sauer has returned to the form which earned her All-West Coast Conference Honorable Mention selection as a freshman during the 1999-2000 season at Portland. Sauer also pulled down a team-high 12 rebounds against Cal Poly and added a pair of blocks and converted on a perfect 9-of-9 from the charity stripe. Sauer scored 18 and 14 points respectively in USF's back-to-back victories against Gonzaga and Portland and followed it up with a team-high 17 points in USF's win at San Diego. On the season, Sauer leads the team in scoring (10.9) and is converting on .571 (20-35) of her long distance attempts and is .440 (77-175) overall. Sauer elevated her game for league play and averages a team-best 14.1 points in WCC games to rank eighth among league leaders. Sauer also has yet to miss at the free throw line in league action and is 28-28 at the charity stripe.

MORE TURNOVERS THAN A BAKERY: USF's high-pressure defense has forced 456 turnovers through 21 games this season, for an average of 21.9 miscues per game. In back-to-back victories against Washington and Cal, the Lady Dons forced 27 against the Huskies and 30 against the Golden Bears. Washington's previous season-worst was 19. San Francisco forced a season-high 31 turnovers against UC Irvine in the season opener. In the opening weekend of West Coast Conference play, the Lady Dons forced 43 turnovers, including 22 at Loyola Marymount and committed 46 miscues with 23 in each loss. In the Lady Dons' road win at San Diego, USF forced 23 turnovers, marking the 14th time San Francisco has caused at least 20 miscues in a contest. In the USF's second meeting against the Gaels in Moraga, the Lady Dons forced a season-low 11 turnovers. USF averages 20.5 gaffes per game. Remarkably, San Francisco has coughed up the ball a season-high 29 times in two games this season and won both (Cal and Portland).

HUFF 14th MEMBER OF GRAND LADY DONS CLUB: Fifth-year senior guard Lindsey Huff entered the 2001-2002 campaign with 801 career points. A baseline jumper in the second half at San Diego gave her 1,000 career points en route to 16 points against the Toreros. Huff was dominant early against USD and scored 10 straight points to open the game. Huff currently owns 13th place on the all-time USF scoring list after passing Kim Bachman (1978-83), who scored 1,002 points in her career. Huff has scored 1,005 points in her career with 402 points coming from beyond the 3-point arc. Next up on the scoring list is former teammate Sarah Wanless (1995-2000), who scored 1,086 career points during her tenure in the Green and Gold.

WHITESIDE DRIVES, BOARDS, STEALS & DISHES: Junior guard Lisa Whiteside has emerged for USF offensively and defensively in her third season on the Hilltop. Whiteside entered the season with a 2.8 career scoring average, but has turned that on its ear in the early going, scoring in double-figures seven times this year, two of them USF victories. Whiteside had a career day in a loss at Pepperdine with a career-high 22 points to go along with 10 rebounds for her first career double-double. In USF's win against Gonzaga, Whiteside collected her second double dip to lead the team in the category with a 12 point, 11 rebound day versus the Bulldogs. Whiteside turned in a solid outing against Utah, scoring eight points to go along with five rebounds, five assists and four steals in 31 minutes. In USF's loss at San Diego, Whiteside scored nine points and pulled down five rebounds. On the season, Whiteside rates fourth on the team in scoring (8.7) and assists (2.3) and rates second in rebounds (4.6).

RUSSELL = RELENTLESS DEFENSE: Freshman guard Toni Russell has made an impact for USF at both ends of the floor in the early going of her Division I career. Russell built a reputation as a defensive specialist during her prep career and is living up to it this season. Russell hit a pair of free throws to ice the game against Cal with two seconds remaining and helped doom the Huskies with clutch charity shots down the stretch. Russell's pressuring defense and a career-high 15 points sparked USF to a thrilling win against Saint Mary's, and a key steal and a pair of clutch free throws sealed the USF victory. The game marked the fourth time this season she has extended USF's lead at the charity stripe with the game on the line. Russell finished with a career-high 15 points to go along with five rebounds, seven steals and four assists. In USF's win against Portland, Russell scored nine points and pulled down a career-high eight rebounds. On the year, Russell averages 6.4 points, 3.3 rebounds and leads USF in assists (3.0) and steals (2.8). Her steals tally ranks second in the West Coast Conference.

SCORING DURING LEAGUE PLAY: After entering league play with just one player scoring in double figures, USF is receiving solid offensive contributions from three players in the early going of West Coast Conference action. Sophomore forward Carey Sauer leads the team during league tilts (14.1) and ranks fifth among WCC leaders, while converting on .493 (37-75) from the field - including an impressive .688 (11-16) from beyond the 3-point arc. Junior forward Lisa Whiteside rates second (10.3), while senior guard Lindsey Huff ranks third on the team in scoring in league contests (10.1).

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.