Nov. 17, 2008

Game Notes in PDF Format

 

THIS WEEK:The USF women's basketball team opens the home slate of the 2008-09 regular season Tuesday when they host Academy of Art at War Memorial Gym. The Dons and Urban Knights will tip-off at 7 p.m. Live stats and live audio of the contest can be found at www.USFDons.com. Tickets are available by calling (415) 422-2USF.

LAST TIME OUT: USF opened the 2008-09 regular season dropping a 68-39 decision to No. 6 Tennessee Saturday in Knoxville. The Dons came out strong in the opening half, trailing by just eight at halftime. The Lady Dons then used a 24-4 run to open the second half and capture the victory. Shay Rollins led all scorers with 17 points, while Necolia Simmons pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds for San Francisco.

LOOKING AHEAD: USF will hit the road Friday as it travels to Cheney, Wash. to face Eastern Washington at Reese Court. Tip-off between the Dons and Eagles is scheduled for 7 p.m. San Francisco will then return to Northern California for a tilt at UC Davis on Tuesday, November 25.

DONS GO UNDFEATED IN EXHIBITION PLAY: 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.

SIMMONS NAMED 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. In the season opener, Simmons pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds while chipping in six points.

USF IN HOME OPENERS: Since 1976, the USF Dons have amassed a 24-7 record in home openers. Last season, San Francisco dropped a 66-48 decision to Colorado to open the home slate of the schedule. Prior to last season, the Dons had won its past four home openers thanks to victories over Colorado State, William and Mary, South Carolina State and Nevada.

ROLLINS RETURNS TO PACE OFFENSE: Senior guard Shay Rollins entered 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. Against Tennessee, Rollins once again led the Dons offense, scoring a game-high 17 points with an assist, three steals and three rebounds.

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. Wright earned a starting nod against the Lady Vols, recording six points and five rebounds in a team-high 39 minutes. Okereke came off the bench to see eight minutes of action Saturday, pulling down one rebound and recording a block.

DONS BREAK DOWN LADY VOLS' DEFENSE: In the season opening tilt with No. 6 Tennessee, San Francisco held their own against one of the toughest defenses in the nation. Last season, the Lady Vols did not allow fewer than 12 turnovers in a single game - Saturday, the Dons committed only 10. On the other hand, USF forced 16 Tennessee turnovers. The 10 San Francisco turnovers also marked the lowest for the Dons since a 74-70 loss to Gonzaga on January 19, 2008. THE COUNTDOWN TO 1,000: Senior guard Shay Rollins enters the second game of 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 881 career points, leaving her 119 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.

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. Four freshmen saw playing time against Tennessee, with Ale and Singleterry earning starting nods. The rookies were led by Keating in the contest, who pulled down six rebounds, while dishing out two assists and a steal.

SIMMONS EARNS FIRST WCC NOD: As a junior last season, Necolia Simmons earned her first West Coast Conference accolade, being awarded 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. Saturday, Simmons recorded her ninth double-digit rebound of her career with 10 boards at No. 6 Tennessee.

ROLLINS ON PACE TO SET USF RECORD: Senior guard Shay Rollins enters Tuesday's game 15 3-pointers shy of recording the most career treys in USF history. Currently, Rollins holds second place in the career record books with 131 threes. Lindsey Huff (1997-2002) sits a top the record book with 146 3-pointers made. For her career, Rollins shoots .307 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. Saturday at Tennessee, USF shot .154 from 3-point range, with Rollins leading the squad with three. Senior guard Alexis Musante was the only other Don to sink a three in the contest.

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.