Dons Prepare For WCC Tournament

March 3, 2009

USF Women's Basketball WCC Tournament Guide

THIS WEEK: San Francisco travels to Las Vegas this week for the West Coast Conference Tournament at the Orleans Arena. The Dons landed the seventh seed in the tournament and will face sixth-seeded San Diego in the opening round. Tip-off between the Dons and Toreros is slated for 30 minutes following the conclusion of the No. 5 Saint Mary's/No. 8 Santa Clara game scheduled for Noon.

LAST TIME OUT: USF hosted Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine in the final regular season games at War Memorial Gym. Thursday, the Dons completed a season-sweep of LMU as they came out with a vengeance during a 65-61 victory. USF shot 52.2 percent in the first half and were led by Shay Rollins, who tied a career-high with 23 points. Saturday against Pepperdine, four Dons scored in double digits, led by Vania Singleterry with 14 points, as San Francisco fell 55-47 to the Waves.

LOOKING AHEAD: The winner of the USF/USD game Friday will advance to take on third seeded Pepperdine in the quarterfinals Friday afternoon.

ROLLINS NAMED TO ALL-WCC FIRST TEAM: Senior guard Shay Rollins has been named to the All-West Coast Conference First Team, as announced by the conference office Monday. With the honor, Rollins becomes just the fifth player in San Francisco history to earn league honors three or more times in her career. Selections for all-conference are selected by a vote of the league's eight head coaches, who were not permitted to vote for their own student-athletes. Rollins joins Dominique Carter, Toni Russell, Carey Sauer and Brittany Lindhe as the lone Dons to have earned WCC honors three or more times in their career. Prior to her first team selection this season, the Alameda native earned All-WCC Freshman accolades in 2006, and WCC honorable mention honors in 2007. Rollins paced San Francisco during West Coast Conference play this season with 14.8 points, 2.4 assists and 4.0 rebounds per game. An everyday starter, Rollins scored in double-digits in all but two league contests and posted five games with 20-plus points.

DONS TAKE TWO FROM LMU: Thursday, thanks to a 65-61 victory over Loyola Marymount, USF captured its first season-sweep over the Lions since 2002-03. Shay Rollins scored a career-high 23 points against the Lions Thursday, while Vania Singleterry added a personal-best 18 with five rebounds. Earlier in the season, at Gersten Pavilion in Los Angeles, USF upset LMU 58-56, snapping a 10-game losing streak to the Lions that dated back to 2003. The streak was San Francisco's longest losing skid to any West Coast Conference team. The victory also marked the first time that USF has defeated LMU since 2003, the same year as the previous USF sweep.

ROLLINS RANKS IN TOP-25 IN NCAA DIVISION I: Senior guard Shay Rollins currently ranks in the top-20 in Division I in 3-pointers per game with 2.6, to sit in 19th place nationally. The all-time USF 3-point record holder is shooting at a .294 clip from beyond the arc this season. Leading the nation with treys per game is Slade Logan of Robert Morris with 3.5. A year ago, Rollins finished her junior year ranked 21st in the nation with 2.6 3-pointers a game.

SINGLETERRY CONTINUES STRONG FRESHMAN CAMPAIGN: Freshman forward Vania Singleterry has posted strong outings down the stretch for USF. The Murietta native capped her strong play in West Coast Conference action in Los Angeles, averaging 13.0 points and 8.0 rebounds a game. At Pepperdine, Singleterry earned her first career double-double with 14 points and a career-best 11 rebounds. Singleterry continued to roll at LMU, thanks to 14 points, five rebounds, an assist, a block and one steal. Upon returning to War Memorial Gym, the forward posted a double-double against San Diego, with 14 points and 10 boards. In the final weekend of the regular season, Singleterry posted a strong weekend, earning a career-high 18 points with five rebounds against the Lions, before posting a 14 point, 11 rebound double-double in the regular season finale against the Waves.

USF IN THE WEST COAST CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT: USF owns an 8-11 overall record in the West Coast Conference Tournament. The Dons won the event during three consecutive seasons - 1995, 1996 and 1997. Since winning the event in 1997, San Francisco has gone 3-10 in the event. USF's last victory at the Tournament was a 80-69 victory over San Diego in the opening round in 2007. Since the victory, the Dons have dropped the past two games.

USF V. WCC - TOURNAMENT SERIES RECORDS: Gonzaga 2-1, Loyola Marymount 3-1, Pepperdine 2-2, Portland 4-0, Saint Mary's 2-1, San Diego 1-1, Santa Clara 0-6

USF IN THE 2008 WCC TOURNAMENT: USF secured the No. 7 seed to the Tournament in San Diego. In the opening round, the Dons nearly played the role of upset but failed to come away with the victory, falling to second-seeded Santa Clara 89-84. Santa Clara went on to fall in the semifinals, 72-66, to eventual chamion San Diego.

TAYLOR STEPS UP, MAKES STRONG SOPHOMORE STRIDES: Sophomore forward Donnisha Taylor has made major strides in the past weeks, as she has stepped into the role of a starter for the Dons. Taylor has appeared in 26 games this season, earning a dozen starts, including the past 10 games. In the past month, Taylor has posted career-highs in rebounds, bettering her previous high in three consecutive outings. Against Santa Clara on Jan. 24, the native of Oakland recorded a then-career-high seven rebounds, before bettering the feat with 10 rebounds, Thursday, Jan. 29 at Pepperdine. Saturday Jan. 31, Taylor exploded for 11 rebounds and fell one point shy of a double-double with nine tallies against LMU. In recent weeks, Taylor has also set career-highs for steals with three against SCU. Saturday, in the season finale for USF, Taylor recorded a career-high 10 points against Pepperdine.

DONS' EIGHT TURNOVERS MARKS 10-YEAR LOW: San Francisco committed just eight turnovers against Santa Clara on Jan. 24, marking the lowest amount of turnovers for the Dons since they committed eight against Gonzaga on Jan. 19, 2008. Prior to the game against the Zags, the last time USF committed less than eight turnovers was on Jan. 17, 1998 when the Dons had seven turnovers in a 76-60 loss at Pepperdine.

USF STEALS AWAY: Against Saint Mary's on Jan. 10, the Dons combined to earn 17 steals against the Gaels. The 17 steals marked the most steals in a single game for USF since a 20 steal effort at Gonzaga (W, 72-52) on Jan. 11, 2001. Leading San Francisco against the Gaels earlier this season were Shay Rollins and Katy Keating who each earned four steals. Rheina Ale, Vania Singleterry, Nnenna Okereke, Necolia Simmons and Danesha Wright all also earned steals on the afternoon in the loss to SMC in Moraga. The school record for steals in a game is 25, set against Lethbridge on Dec. 5, 1980. San Francisco posted another strong steal effort Saturday at Gonzaga, grabbing 14 from the Zags, including five from senior Shay Rollins.

SENIOR MAKES WAVES IN CAREER RECORD BOOKS: Senior Shay Rollins continues to make waves in the USF career record books as she wraps-up her playing career on the Hilltop. Rollins currently ranks ninth in career scoring with 1,322 total points and is also the program's all-time 3-point leaders with 202 baskets from beyond the arc. At Gonzaga, Rollins' 20 points propelled the Alameda native past Teri Hunt (1984-87) on the all-time scoring charts to move into eighth place. The senior will most likely remain there for her career, as seventh place and Joy Boyenga (1988-92) are 75 points away with 1,397. In addition, Rollins currently is ranked eighth in the all-time assists list with 324 and is in sole possession of eighth place in the steals ranks with 182, five shy of a tie for seventh place. Rollins just surpassed Lisa Baptista (1979-83) on the assist list, while Kim Bachman (1978-83) is listed seventh with 346. Joy Boyenga (1988-92) is just ahead of Rollins in the steals ranks with 187. Rollins also ranks third in total minutes with 3,543, will move into a seventh place tie for games played Friday with 115, and ranks seventh in starts with an even 100.

KEATING GAINS TIME AS A FRESHMAN: Forward Katy Keating continues to be a solid attribute to the Dons this season, as the freshman continues her strong play heading into the Tournament. Keating, who has appeared in all 28 games, garnering 16 starts, was a force for USF in Southern California, finishing the trip with an average of 7.0 ppg and 5.0 rpg. The native of Santa Monica also posted three assists and three blocks for San Francisco against LMU, while taking away a steal. Last weekend the forward helped to shut down the Lions with eight points and seven rebounds. For the season, Keating averages 3.8 points and 3.9 rebounds a game, while posting 4.1 points and 4.9 rebounds per outing against league opponents.

SIMMONS, WRIGHT SUSPENDED: Senior forward Necolia Simmons (Pittsburg, Calif.) and junior guard Danesha Wright (Oakland, Calif.) of the USF women's basketball team have both been suspended for the remainder of the 2008-09 season due to a violation of team rules.

USF TIES SCHOOL RECORD: Feb. 26 at Loyola Marymount, USF committed just nine fouls trying a school record. The single-digit fouls marked the third time in school history the Dons have not committed 10 or more fouls. San Francisco also accomplished the feat on Dec. 5, 2007 at Sacramento State and on Feb. 18, 2007 against Santa Clara.

DONS SET SINGLE GAME 3-POINT MARK: Against Cal Poly on December 7, San Francisco hit 13-of-20 3-pointers to shoot at a .650 clip. The 13 baskets from beyond the arc set a new program single game record. The previous mark was 12 three's, set twice, most recently on Mar. 1, 2008 against Pepperdine and prior to that on Dec. 1 against Massachusetts. Earlier this season, the Dons snuck up on the mark, but fell just short with 11 treys at UC Davis. Against the Mustangs, three Dons hit three's, while Shay Rollins paved the way with six.

ROLLINS SETS USF 3-POINT RECORD: Thanks to four 3-pointers against Oregon State on Dec. 3, Shay Rollins has become the all-time USF 3-point record holder. Heading into the season, Rollins ranked second with 129 treys. With her 74 baskets from beyond the arc this season, Rollins surpassed Lindsey Huff (1997-2002) as the Dons all-time 3-point shooter. Huff finished her career with 146 treys, while Rollins currently stands at 202. For her career, in 114 games played, Rollins shoots .303 (202/666) from beyond the arc, averaging 1.8 3-pointers a game. This season, the senior is shooting .294 from 3-point territory, averaging 2.6 threes a game. Against Stephen F. Austin, Rollins took 15 3-point attempts, marking a school record, while her six treys at Cal Poly marked the highest for any player in the WCC this season.

Rheina Ale TIES DONS RECORD: Freshman guard Rheina Ale scored a career-best 21 points on perfect 9-for-9 shooting against Northern Colorado on November 29. Ale's 9-for-9 shooting, 3-for-3 from the beyond the arc, ties a program-best single game shooting percentage record. The native of Carson, Calif. became just the second Don in San Francisco history to record a perfect 1.000 shooting percentage from the field. The lone other member of USF history to record a perfect game was Teri Hunt, who hit 11-for-11 against Loyola Marymount on Jan. 25, 1986. Hunt's record also stands as a West Coast Conference all-time best. In addition to her 21 points, Ale also added five rebounds, three assists and a steal.

ROLLINS REACHES 1,000: Against Cal Poly, senior guard Shay Rollins became the 18th member of USF history to record 1,000 or more career points. With a 3-pointer at the 4:07 mark in the first half against the Mustangs, the Alameda native surpassed the benchmark.

DONS POST LARGEST WIN MARGIN SINCE 2005: Thanks to a 30-point (80-50) victory over Academy of Art on November 18, the Dons posted their largest win margin since the 2005-06 season, when San Francisco defeated Rider by 36 points (80-44, 11/25/05) as part of the odwalla Classic. A year ago, the largest victory margin for USF was a 23-point, 74-51, victory over San Jose State. The school record for victory margin is 76 points, thanks to a 98-22 victory over Stanislaus on Nov. 27, 1978.

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 13th 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.