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NEXT OUTING: The Dons return to the court Thursday, as they travel across the Bay to Moraga to face Saint Mary's at 7 p.m. Saturday, San Francisco will return to the Hilltop, hosting the newest member of the West Coast Conference, Brigham Young, at 2 p.m.
LAST OUTING: A block by Katy Keating in the final seconds of the game led the University of San Francisco women's basketball team to a 61-59 win at Loyola Marymount Saturday afternoon. The win marked the first West Coast Conference win of the season for the Dons, who earned their first road conference win since 2009.
LOOKING AHEAD: USF will take to the road next weekend, making their annual WCC trip to the Pacific Northwest. The Dons will face No. 24 Gonzaga Thursday in Spokane at 6 p.m. before taking on Portland, Saturday at 2 p.m. in the Rose City. The game against the Zags will be aired on TV locally in the Spokane market, on SWX.
BARBOUR STEPS INTO CENTRAL ROLE: Recently, junior Bailey Barbour has stepped into a central role as a reserve for the Dons. In the past five games, the junior forward as recorded 7.8 points, 7.0 rebounds with 1.4 blocks per outing as a reserve. She has sent multiple career-highs during the span, including new scoring marks twice. At Ohio, Barbour scored 10 points to set a career-high, just the better the mark with a dozen in the win at Loyola Marymount. Against Cal State Fullerton, on December 20, Barbour came through in the clutch defensively with 11 rebounds – a personal best. During the five games, the native of Los Angeles has also led the Dons twice in rebounding and once in scoring.
KEATING RANKS NATIONALLY: This weekend, Katy Keating moved nationally into the top-20 for 3-point field goal percentage. Currently the senior sits 17th in NCAA Division I women's basketball, shooting at a .430 clip. She also ranks 58th nationally in 3-point field goals made with 2.5 per game.
ALE JOINS ELITE COMPANY: Senior Rheina Ale joined an elite group of Dons at Colorado. With 1:26 remaining in the first half against the Buffaloes, Ale went to the line for two free throws. After missing the first, the native of Carson, Calif. sank the second to become the 19th player in USF (1-7) women's basketball history to score 1,000 or more points. The captain entered Wednesday's game with 990 career points. Ale reached the illustrious mark in 95 career games played. Her team-high 23 points against the Buffaloes also moved Ale into the all-time scoring ranks with 1,013 to rank 17th in program history. She now holds spots in five all-time USF career categories. Currently, Ale boasts 1,125 career points, recently passing Lindsey Huff (1997-02) into 15th place.
ALE POSTS CAREER NIGHT: In her only collegiate game against her little sister - freshman Kristen Ale from Cal Poly - Rheina Ale tallied a career night. Against the Mustangs, the senior guard went off for a career-high 27 points with a dozen rebounds for her first career double-double. The 27 points also marked the first time in her career the native of Carson, Calif. has posted 20-plus points in consecutive games. At San Jose State, Ale posted a team-high 23 points as the Dons earned their first victory of the 2011-12 season. Ale has posted double-digits in the past 10 games for USF.
KEATING BOOSTS HER SPOT IN THE RECORD BOOK: Thanks to an attack from deep over the opening weekend of play, senior Katy Keating as propelled herself into third place in the all-time USF record book for 3-point baskets made. Keating, who entered the season with 113 baskets from beyond the arc, tallied five 3-point baskets against the Matadors and four more against the Spartans on the opening weekend to launch herself into a tie for third. At UC Davis, Keating tallied 18 points thanks to six baskets from deep. The mark fell one short shy of the single game school record, but narrowed the difference between her and second place. To date, Keating has hit 150 3-point baskets, recently moving into sole possession of second place, passing Lundset Huff (1997-02), who has 146. The school record for career 3-point field goals made is 205, held by Shay Rollins (2005-09).
AZZI NOMINATED FOR NAISMITH MEMORIAL HALL OF FAME: Jennifer Azzi, head coach of the University of San Francisco women's basketball team, has been nominated for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, as announced over the weekend. The Class of 2012 ballot marked the first time Azzi was eligible to be nominated for the Hall. Azzi is one of two NCAA Division I women's basketball head coaches to be nominated this season. Teresa Weatherspoon, head coach at Louisiana Tech, is in her third season with the Lady Techsters. In 2011, Azzi's collegiate and National Team coach, Stanford's Tara VanDerveer, was inducted into the Hall. To become a finalist for the Hall, a candidate must receive seven of nine votes from a screening committee – five of seven for women – during a vote in late-January or early-February. Results are scheduled to be announced February 24, 2012 during All-Star weekend in Orlando. Candidates that make the cut will be judged by a separate committee in late-February or early-March and need at least 18 of 24 votes to be inducted. Inductees will be announced at the 2012 Final Four in New Orleans.
SAN FRANCISCO POSTS HIGH AND LOW MARKS: San Francisco women's basketball has amassed some lofty numbers this season, hitting highs – and lows – that haven't been reached in years. Against Sacramento State, the Dons posted 35 field goals for a .538 shooting percentage. USF hit 35 or more FGs last, on December 1, 2010 at Sacramento State, when they also hit 35 baskets. Also against the Hornets, USF dished out 20 assists, marking the first time since December 29, 2010 they hit the 20 –assist mark. Last season, USF dished out 26 against Academy of Art. The last time USF shot .538 or better was against Cal Poly when the Dons shot .558 in San Luis Obispo in December of 2008. The USF Dons hit some pretty notable numbers at San Jose State, sinking 25 free throws. The last time San Francisco hit 25 or more free throws was in 2007, when it sank 29 against Cal Poly at War Memorial Gym. Wednesday, November 30, at Colorado, the Dons also posted some lofty and low numbers. San Francisco grabbed 12 steals while only committing nine turnovers. The dozen steals marks the most since USF grabbed 14 on February 14, 2009 at Gonzaga. The last time the Dons had nine or fewer turnovers was when USF committed nine mishaps against Loyola Marymount, March 5, 2010, during the West Coast Conference Tournament.
JENNIFER AZZI ERA: This season marks the second season as women's basketball legend Jennifer Azzi as head coach. Azzi, who was named to the helm of the program in April of 2010, 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: Senior guard Rheina Ale enters the 2011-12 WCC season looking to gain ground in the USF career-record books. The native of Carson, Calif., currently holds five spots in the career top-10 record books. Ale sis third in free throw %, shooting at a .803 (302-376) clip from the line, Carey Sauer (1999-04) holds the record, shooting 87.4% (382-437). The two-time captain, Ale, is fourth all-time in 3-pointers made, with 143 – three shy of a tie for second place. Against UC Davis, Ale hit two baskets from deep to bypass Amy Touli ('89-'93), who was in fourth with 122. Touli started the season in third, but has been passed by both Ale and Katy Keating this season so far. More recently, Ale scored 23 points at Colorado to earn a spot in the All-time scoring ranks. Currently, Ale sits in 15th place with 1,1125 points. Thanks to a pair of starts last week, Ale now sits ninth in games started with 97. Assuming Ale maintains her starting role for the remainder of the season, she will finish with at least 112 career starts to rank fourth all-time. Ale also recently moved into the top-10 in minutes played, amassing 3,259 minutes of action to date.
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. It's a great place to catch up on links, news and everything else to do with USF women's basketball.
USF BASKETBALL RETURNS ONLINE: USF women's basketball returns online for the 2011-12 season with all games available on USFDons.com. Join George Devine for the play-by-play in his 16th 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.
FOLLOW THE DONS ON YOUR SMART PHONE!: This season, all USF women's basketball home games will be available for live streaming on your computer - and one your mobile phone! For stats away from your monitor, please visit USFStats.com. The link will also feature live video from all of the Dons' home games this season!
TICKETS TO SEE THE DONS PLAY LIVE: For season tickets and single game tickets to the rest of the Dons' home games this season, please visit USFDons.com and click on Tickets. Last year the Dons ranked season in the West Coast Conference for home attendance, averaging over 1,000 fans each home game!
