Nov. 12, 2008

Game Notes and Stats in PDF Format

This Week: The USF women’s basketball team opens the 2008-09 regular season this Saturday as the Dons travel to Knoxville, Tenn. to face nationally ranked and two-time defending national champion Tennessee. The Dons and No. 6 Lady Vols will tip-off at 10:00 am (PT) at Thompson - Boling Arena. The game will be televised on Fox Sports Net South, while live audio and live stats can be found on www.USFDons.com.

Last Time Out: The Dons posted an unblemished 2-0 record in exhibition play prior to Saturday’s contest with the Lady Vols. USF opened preseason play with a 69-59 victory over San Francisco State at War Memorial Gym on Nov. 5, before downing Showtime Basketball 67-61 at home on Nov. 9. Senior guard Shay Rollins led USF in the preseason games, averaging 22.5 points and 6.0 rebounds. Senior center Necolia Simmons recorded double-doubles in both contests thanks to 25 total points and a team-leading 32 rebounds.

Looking Ahead: The Dons will return to the Hilltop Tuesday, Nov. 18 for their regular season home opener. USF will welcome the Academy of Art to War Memorial Gym at 7 p.m. Tickets are available by calling (415) 422-2USF. Following the match-up with the Urban Knights, the Dons will hit the road, traveling to Cheney, Wash. to face Eastern Washington University on Friday, November 21 at 7 p.m.

Simmons Name Preseason All-WCC: Senior center Necolia Simmons has been selected as a preseason All-West Coast Conference selection by a vote of the league’s head coaches. Simmons, the Dons’ starting center, earned WCC Honorable Mention accolades last season after posting a team-high 7.3 rebounds per game. She returns for her senior campaign as USF’s second leading scorer from a year ago, when she averaged 11.0 points per game.

USF In Season Openers: Since 1976, the USF Dons have amassed a 13-19 record in season openers. Last season, San Francisco dropped at 75-51 decision at Northern Colorado to open the year. The last time USF opened the season with a victory was during the 2000-01 campaign, when they defeated UC Riverside 105-51 at War Memorial Gym. USF last won a season-opening game on the road was 1998, when they defeated host San Diego State 54-42. San Francisco has only opened the season against a ranked foe twice, dropping a 76-58 decision at then-No. 19 Colorado State in 2002 and falling 80-62 to then-No. 16 Minnesota in 2005.

Rollins Returns To Pace Offense: Senior guard Shay Rollins enters the 2008-09 campaign as the Dons top scorer from a season ago. As a junior, Rollins averaged 12.7 points per game thanks to double-digit scoring in 21 contests. Last season, Rollins ranked second in the WCC in three pointers with 75, shooting at a .379 clip from beyond the arc, while also ranking 11th in assists with 86. The native of Alameda, Calif. is a two-time West Coast Conference honoree, being named to the All-Freshman Team in 2005-06 and earned honorable mention accolades as a sophomore.

Transfers Look to Make Immediate Impact: The 2008-09 USF roster is highlighted by a pair of juniors who transferred to the Dons this season. Nnenna Okereke, a 5-10 forward, and Danesha Wright, a 5-2 guard, transferred to San Francisco this season from Porterville College and Ohlone College, respectively. At Porterville, Okereke averaged 22 points, 14 rebounds and five assists per game en route to a first-team All-Central Valley selection. At Ohlone, Wright was named the Coast Conference MVP in 2007-08 and was awarded First Team All-State accolades. Prior to playing collegiate basketball, both Dons were members of the Berkeley High School varsity basketball team.

Five Freshman Join Dons: The University of San Francisco welcomes five freshmen to this season’s roster; all from the State of California. Rheina Ale, a 5-8 guard, joins the Dons from Bishop Montgomery High in Carson where she was a three-time Del-Rey League honoree, including being named the MVP as a senior. Hailing from Santa Rosa, Heidi Anton, a 5-9 guard, comes to the Hilltop after averaging 16.3 points, 6.0 assists and 5.0 rebounds at Elsie Allen High. Kim Crandall, a 6-0 forward/center, joins the Dons from Liberty Christian in Redding, where she was a three-time All-North State and two-time All-State basketball selection. Katy Keating, a 6-0 forward from Santa Monica, comes to USF after leading Santa Monica High to four straight league championships, while Vania Singleterry, a 5-11 forward/center from Murrieta, was a four-time All-Southwestern League and All-Valley honoree at Vista Murrieta HS.

Simmons Earns First WCC Nod: As a junior last season, Necolia Simmons earned her first West Coast Conference accolade, being awarded to the league’s Honorable Mention honor. Simmons, a transfer from Joaquin Delta, earned honorable mention accolades after a stellar campaign on the Hilltop. The Deer Valley, Calif. Native posted 11.0 ppg, 87 assists and shot .704 (81-for-115) from the free throw line, while leading the Dons with 218 (7.3 pg) rebounds. Simmons posted four 20-plus scoring nights and five double-doubles for the season.

Rollins On Pace To Set USF Record: Senior guard Shay Rollins enters the season 18 3-pointers shy of recording the most career treys in USF history. Currently, Rollins holds second place in the career record books with 128 threes. Lindsey Huff (1997-2002) sits a top the record book with 146 3-pointers made. For her career, Rollins shoots .309 from beyond the arc, averaging 1.5 3-pointers a game. Dropping Threes: Prior to last season, head coach Tanya Haave challenged the Dons to improve on its shooting from beyond the arc. The Dons responded to the challenge. In 30 games, the 2007-08 squad hit 177 3-pointers to nearly double its total of 89 from the 2006-07 season. A year ago, USF led the West Coast Conference with a .362 mark from 3-point territory. Current senior Shay Rollins heads returnees for the Dons when to comes to 3-point shooting, hitting 75-of-198 for a .379 clip last season.

The Countdown to 1,000: Senior guard Shay Rollins enters the season on pace to become the 17th member of USF history to record 1,000 or more career points. During her three-years on the Hilltop, Rollins has amassed 864 career points, leaving her 136 points shy of the 1,000 mark. Mary Hille (1977-81), a member of the USF Athletics Hall of Fame and a “Legend of the Hilltop”, holds the Dons’ record for career points with 2,324.

Dons Looking To Fill Shoes: San Francisco heads into the 2008-09 season looking to fill voids after losing six letterwinners, including four starters, from last season’s 14-16 overall, 5-9 West Coast Conference team. The biggest holes were left by the graduation of three seniors – Dominique Carter, Nykia Peace and Lisa Olden. Carter, who now plays professionally in Israel, graduated as one of the most prolific scorers in program history. The forward finished her career with 1,800 points to rank second all-time at USF and third all-time in the WCC. Carter was just the second women’s basketball player in conference history to be named to the league’s first team for four consecutive seasons.

Three Dons Earn WCC All-Academic Honors: Three USF women’s basketball players were recognized for their academic achievements last season. San Francisco’s three selections marked the most of any WCC women’s basketball program. Senior Dominique Carter became the Dons’ first three-time academic honoree since Toni Russell (2003-05) after being awarded the distinction for the third straight season. Carter was also named to the ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA District VIII All-Academic Third Team. Senior center Lisa Olden earned her second straight award, while also being named to the CoSIDA All-Academic Second Team. Sophomore forward Heidi Heintz rounded out Don accolades, being awarded the honor for the first time.

San Francisco Adds Marrin, Adams to USF Coaching Staff: Two new faces will grace the sidelines of USF games this season, as the Dons have added Molly Marrin (Regis, 2003) and Venice Adams (Denver, 2006) to their coaching staff. Marrin was named assistant coach for the Dons have a year at North Dakota, where she served as the recruiting coordinator. Marrin was a four-year letterwinner at Regis, where she helped to lead the Rangers to two NCAA Division II Tournament appearances. As a senior, she was named the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Preseason Player of the Year and ranked among NCAA leaders in free throw and 3-point field goal percentages. Adams joins USF as the Director of Basketball Operations after playing for USF head coach Tanya Haave at Denver. With the Pioneers, Adams was a three-time Sunbelt Conference Honor Roll honoree, including being named to the All-Sunbelt third team in 2005-06. Following her collegiate career, Adams played professional overseas for two seasons.

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, courtesty of CSTV.com with live play-by-play and streaming video of all home games courtesy of Yahoo Broadcast.

Dons Plan To Take Show Abroad: Following the 2008-09 regular season, the Dons will travel to the Nordic countries of Europe for a competitive, as well as sightseeing, tour. The itinerary includes stops in Copenhagen, Denmark, Oslo, Norway and Stockholm, Sweden. The trip is the first for the USF women’s team since a 2004 trip to the Czech Republic, Hungary and Austria. The 2009 tour will be the fifth taken by a Dons’ team all-time.

War Memorial Gym Turns 50: Home of the USF Dons since 1958, War Memorial Gym celebrates it 50th anniversary this year. The facility has hosted a wide variety of events from concerts to political debates, from basketball games to boxing matches. “The House that Russell Built” has enjoyed a rich history. The facility served as one of the home arenas when the Philadelphia Warriors of the NBA moved to the Bay Area and most recently, served as a host venue for the 2008 International Children’s Games.