THIS WEEK: USF returns from the Holidays this week to host Academy of Art and Mount St. Mary's to wrap-up the 2010-11 non-conference schedule and calendar year. The Dons will welcome the Knights to the Hilltop Wednesday, Dec. 29 at 7 p.m. before hosting The Mount for a New Years Eve matinee. The two teams will tip at 3 p.m. Friday at War Memorial Gym.
LAST OUTING: War Memorial Gym was the site of a historic milestone on Wednesday night as one of the largest crowds on the Hilltop in more than decade witnessed Stanford's Tara VanDerveer coach her 800th career victory. Then No. 8/8 Stanford handed San Francisco a 100-45 loss before breaking for the Holidays.
LOOKING AHEAD: The Dons will return to the court in the New Year, to open West Coast Conference play, January 8 against Santa Clara at War Memorial Gym. Tip is scheduled for 2 p.m.
JOIN THE DONS IN SHARING THE HOLIDAY SPIRIT: Last week, USF hosted it's annual team holiday party. As part of the festivities, the Dons competed in a heated gingerbread house competition. The Dons would like you to help decided the winners of the competition! Photos of the gingerbread houses can be viewed on the Official University of San Francisco women's basketball fan page on Facebook. Voting will continue through the Holidays!
PACK THE HOUSE VS. THE CARDINAL: Wednesday, Dec. 22, USF hosted No. 8/8 Stanford in the annual "Pack The House Challenge". That night, WMG hosted 3,441 fans as the Dons fell to the Cardinal, handing head coach Tara VanDerveer her 800th win. The crowd marks a decade long program-high for the USF women's program, while marking the third time in a dozen years USF women's basketball has hosted a crowd of over 3,000 for a home game. Last season, USF faced Tennessee on the Hilltop as 3,255 watched on. In the 1999-2000 season opener, USF played Stanford at War Memorial Gym in front of 3,212.
OFFENSE HEATS UP: San Francisco and its opponents scored a combined 175 points in the games with Rhode Island and Sacramento State. That's just 47 more points than what the Dons scored in the first four games of the season. USF put up 87 points against Rhode Island November 27 as part of the Holiday-Inn Express Midtown Tournament in Albuquerque, just to be bettered by 88 points December 1 at Sacramento State. The 88 points is the most points for USF since the Dons defeated Santa Clara 88-73, Feb. 23, 2008. The program record for points in a game is 105, 101 when playing on the road.
DONS FALL JUST SHORT OF SCORING RECORDS: At Sacramento State, the Dons and the Hornets combined to scored 194 points, as USF fell 106-88. The 194 total points fell six points shy of the school record for combined points of 200. USF and BYU combined to score 200 points on Nov. 23, 1984 as the Dons fell 119-81. The 194 points marks the most points scored in regulation since the record scoring game. Against Colorado State in 2007, USF and the Rams combined to score 197 points, but in three overtime periods, as CSU prevailed 101-96. In addition the 88 points scored in the loss Wednesday, marked the most points scored in a loss since San Francisco fell to US International, 93-91, during the 1985-86 season.
BIG SECOND HALF LIFTS DONS OVER RAMS: USF scored 55 points in the second half of the contest against Rhode Island, falling just five points shy of the school record for second half points. The program mark for second half points – 60 – was set Jan. 12, 1980 against Pennsylvania. USF has surely been a second half team this season, scoring sixty more points total in the second half than they have the first half. The Dons have scored 122 first half points and 185 in the second half.
2010-11 VIRTUAL MEDIA GUIDE RELEASED: The University of San Francisco women's basketball team is proud to unveil the 2010-11 USF Women's Basketball Virtual Media Guide. The guide, which features videos and slide shows, can be accessed at USFDons.com or by visiting the following link: http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/8cf2aeee#/8cf2aeee/1.
KEATING POSTS CAREER NIGHT FOR DONS: Katy Keating turned in one of the greatest games in her career against San Jose State, setting a career-high for points scored with 20. The junior was hot from the get-go, hitting two three-point baskets in the opening five minutes. The native of Santa Monica finished the contest with six baskets from beyond the arc, connecting on all but one attempt. The six trey's fell one basket short of the school, and War Memorial Gym, record of three-point baskets made in a game. Keating also added six rebounds, an assist and two steals against the Spartans.
JENNIFER AZZI ERA: This season marks the beginning of a new era on the Hilltop, as women's basketball legend Jennifer Azzi begins her appointment as head coach. Azzi, who was named to the helm of the program in April, brings an unprecedented wealth of basketball experience to the program. The 2009 Women's Basketball Hall of Fame inductee played five seasons in the WNBA, was a founding member of the American Basketball League (ABL), played overseas and enjoyed an All-American collegiate career at Stanford. Internationally, Azzi was a member of the USA Basketball Senior National Team from 1990-91 and 1993-98. A key member of the United States gold medal-winning 1996 Olympic Team that concluded a perfect 60-0 season with an 8-0 record during the Olympic Games in Atlanta, Azzi played on 13 USA National Teams, compiling a mark of 114-14. She also medaled three times at the World Championships, claiming gold in 1998 and 1990, while earning a bronze in 1994.
ALE GAINING GROUND: Junior guard Rheina Ale enters the 2010-11 season looking to gain ground in the USF career-record books. The native of Carson, Calif., currently holds three spots in three career top-10 record books. Ale sits third in free throw %, shooting at a .807 (188-233) clip from the line, Carey Sauer (1999-04) holds the record, shooting 87.4% (382-437). The 2010 captain, Ale, is sixth in 3-pointers made, with 104. She just surpassed Toni Russell (2001-05) and is on pace to break Shay Rollins (2005-09) school record of 205.
FOLLOW THE DONS ONLINE: Fans, make sure to become a friend of the University of San Francisco women's basketball team on Facebook! The Dons' facebook page features photos, videos and much much more from behind the scenes of the season. Its a great place to catch up on links, news and everything else to do with USF women's basketball.
USF BASKETBALL RETURNS TO KUSF: USF women's basketball returns to the airwaves and cyberspace for the 2010-11 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 15th year behind the mic for the Dons. Other features on USFDons.com include live stats with live play-by-play and streaming video of all home games courtesy of Yahoo Broadcast. This season's online video stream will feature a new look featuring multiple camera angles from throughout War Memorial Gym.
