Nov. 18, 2009

Complete Women's Basketball Release in PDF Format

WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE: The University of San Diego women's basketball team (1-1) will head to the Windy City this week as they compete in the Maggie Dixon Classic. hosted by DePaul University. On Friday, the Toreros will take on Tennessee State University on a 3:30 p.m. game. Then on Saturday, San Diego will either take on DePaul or Cornell University, depending on the outcome of USD's game with TSU and the DePaul Cornell match-up.

LAST TIME OUT: The University of San Diego women's basketball team dropped a 79-52 decision to cross-town rival San Diego State University Tuesday evening in a non-conference game at the Viejas Arena. Dominique Conners led the Toreros offensively as she scored 16 points on 7-for-14 shooting form the field, including going 2-for-3 from beyond the arc. Sam Child was the only other Torero in double-figures as she recorded 10 points on 5-for-13 shooting from the floor. As a team, the Toreros shot 48 percent form the field and was outrebounded 39-18. SDSU had four players in double-figures paced by Jessika Bradley and Jane Morris, who both had 14 points a piece. As a team, the Aztecs shot 50.9 percent from the floor, including hitting on 8-of-11 from the 3-point line. In the first half, the Aztecs (2-0) grabbed the early momentum and never let up, as they used runs of 10-2, and 10-0 to grab a 20-point midway through the period. The Aztecs would eventually build their lead up to as many as 26 at 45-19 going into the break. The second half the Aztecs quickly built up a 34-point lead, but San Diego (1-1) began to find its rhythm offensively midway through the half. Trailing by 34 at 53-19, a Emily Hatch jumper sparked a 7-3 USD run that was capped on a Conners lay-up to move the score at 56-26 in favor of SDSU with 13:07 to go in the game. The two teams then traded basket for basket over the next several minutes with the Aztecs maintaining about a 30-point advantage throughout the remainder of the period before setting for a 79-52 win.

SCOUTING THE TIGERS: Tennessee State enters the game with an overall record of 0-1 after dropping its season-opener to Jackson State, 74-63. This will be the first meeting between the two programs. The Tigers had a pair of players record double figures in the season-opener, as senior forward Obiageli Okafor recorded a team-high 12 points, while pulling down five rebounds. The second player in double figures was senior guard LaDona Pierce, who dropped in 10 points. The Tigers are under the direction of sixth-year head coach Tracee Wells. During her time at TSU, Wells has posted an overall record of 49-95.

SCOUTING THE BLUE DEMONS: DePaul University enters the week with an overall record of 2-0 after despatching both Central Michigan and North Dakota State last week. The Toreros are 0-1 all-time against the Blue Demons, with the lone meeting coming back in the 1982-83 season, with the Blue Demons claiming a 66-57 win in San Diego. The DePaul offense is led by Deirdre Naughton, who has averaged 19.5 ppg through the first two games, while also pulling down 7.5 boards per game. Jennifer Juergens (14.5 ppg), Sam Quigley (12.5 ppg) and Keisha Hampton (12.0 ppg) are the other three Blue Demons averaging double figures. DePaul is under the direction of 24th-year head coach Doug Bruno. During his tenure in Chicago, Bruno has posted an overall record of 439-252.

SCOUTING THE BIG RED: Cornell enters the week with an overall record of 1-1 after dropping its season-opener to Duquesne, 74-69, before bouncing back with a 84-51 win over Ithaca last week. If these two teams meet, it will be the first meeting in program history. The Cornell offense is led by Virginia McMunigal, who has a team-leading 13.0 ppg average. Lauren Benson (11.0 ppg) and Clare Fitzpatrick (10.0 ppg) are the two other Big Red player averaging double figures. Cornell is under the direction of eighth-year head coach Dayna Smith. During her time at Cornell, Smith has posted an overall record of 73-119.

OPENING THE HATCH: Junior forward Emily Hatch had a big bang to start the 2009-10 season, as she dropped in a career-high 20 points in the season-openeing win over UC San Diego this past Saturday. Hatch served as the catalyst for the Toreros offensive serge in the first half as she scored 18 of her 20 points in the opening frame. In the first half, she shot a perfect 9-for-9 from the field, including 2-for-2 from 3-point range. Hatch's previous career-high was 13 points that she scored in a win over Long Island University in the championship game of the Maggie Dixon Surf N Slam Classic on Dec. 30, 2008.

CONNERS LOOKING GOOD: Sophomore guard Dominique Conners also had a great start to the season, as she recorded 15 points, and had a career-high seven steals in Saturday's season-openeing win over UC San Diego, then followed that up with a team-leading 16-point performance in the loss to San Diego State on Tuesday. Conners leads the USD offense with a 15.5 ppg average.

MO' MONEY: The lone senior on the roster is Morgan "Mo" Henderson, and she was money for the Toreros in the season-opener, as she scored 16 points, with 12 occurring in the second half, and grabbed nine boards. Henderson went 5-for-12 from the field and a perfect 5-for-5 from the charity stripe. On the season, Henderson is averaging 11.5 ppg.

SWEET CHILD O'MINE: Junior guard Sam Child was the fourth Torero in double figures in the win over UC San Diego this past Saturday. Child poured in 11 points on 5-for-12 shooting from the floor. Child then followed that performance up with her second consecutive double-figure game in the loss to San Diego State this past Tuesday. She is now averaging 10.5 ppg.

A LOOK AHEAD: The Toreros will return to the friendly confines of the Jenny Craig Pavilion next week as they begin a four-game home stand against Cal State Northridge on Tuesday Nov. 17 at 7 p.m. USD will then host Arizona on the day after Thanksgiving in a 7 p.m. game and conclude the week against UC Santa Barbara on Sunday with a 2 p.m. game.

CONNERS NAMED TO ALL-WCC PRESEASON TEAM: Dominique Conners was the lone Torero selected to the preseason All-WCC team. Last season, Conners had a solid rookie season as USD's starting point guard. Conners started off slow, but once December hit she found her stride. For the season, she was USD's third leading scorer with a 10.2 ppg. average. She scored a career-high 20 points in a win against Portland on March 8 in the WCC semi-final game, and over the final seven games of the regular-season, she scored in double figures in all of them and averaged 13.9 ppg during this stretch. She then helped lead USD into the championship game of the WCC Tournament and was the only freshman selected to the All-WCC Tournament team.

WCC CHAMPIONSHIPS RETURN TO VEGAS: The West Coast Conference will return to Las Vegas in 2010 for the Zappos.com WCC Basketball Championships on March 5-8 at Orleans Arena. Tickets for the event will go on sale to the public on Friday, November 13. The West Coast Conference made a successful debut in Las Vegas last year when it sold out the Orleans Arena for the 2009 WCC Basketball Championships. The 2009 championship, which was the WCC's first-ever at a neutral site, set conference records for both total championship attendance (33,320) and single session championship attendance (7,845). In conjunction with the success, the WCC made two major announcements relating to the basketball championships in the off-season. The WCC first signed a three-year extension with the Orleans Arena to keep the event in Las Vegas through 2012. The West Coast Conference (WCC) and its multi-media rights partner, IMG College, later announced Zappos.com as the official title sponsor of the WCC Men's and Women's Basketball Championships. The three-year deal, effective through the 2011-12 season, marks the WCC's first-ever title sponsorship.

MEET THE COACH: Head coach Cindy Fisher is entering her fifth season at the helm of the Toreros program. She was named the program's third head coach on April 19, 2005 after taking over for Kathy Marpe, who stepped down after directing the program for 25 years in 2005. In 2008, Fisher led USD to the WCC Tournament championship and back into the NCAA Tournament for the first time in eight seasons. In only her second season at the helm of the program, Fisher orchestrated the biggest turn around in school history, a 12-game improvement from 9-19 in the 2005-06 season to a 21-9 record in 2006-07 season. The turn around was the fourth best in the nation. Under her tutelage, the Toreros placed three players on the All-WCC lists highlighted by Amanda Rego being named the WCC Co-Player of the Year. For her efforts, Fisher was named the 2007 WCC Co-Coach of the Year.

TOREROS TABBED SIXTH IN WCC PRESEASON POLL: The USD women's basketball team was picked to finish sixth by the WCC head coaches in the WCC preseason coaches poll. The Toreros, who won three games in three days at the WCC Tournament last year to reach the title game, received 22 points. Gonzaga was chosen as the favorite to claim the WCC women's basketball title for the second straight year in the 2009-10 preseason coaches poll. The Bulldogs, who received the maximum seven first place votes for a total of 49 points, won the WCC Tournament and earned their second-ever bid to the NCAA Tournament. As a 12th seed, Gonzaga upset No. 5 seeded Xavier in the first round, 74-59, before nearly accomplishing the same feat against No. 4 seeded Pittsburgh, losing 65-60. Loyola Marymount received the remaining first place vote and totaled 39 points to come in second in the voting. Pepperdine was tabbed third with 34 points, Portland was fourth with 61 points, Saint Mary's checked in at No. 5 with 29 votes, while both Santa Clara and San Francisco tied for seventh with 10 points a piece.