2004 West Coast Conference Defender of theYear
GENERAL CAPSULE: One of the top five returningplayers in the league according to West Coast Conference coaches...exceptional all around player... aggressive offensively anddisruptive defensively... tremendous floor leader... can score andcreate for her teammates... relentless competitor.MISCELLANEOUS: Enters the season in second placeon the USF career steals list with 264, needing just seven tosurpass Tami Adkins (1989-93) as the all-time leader... ranks sixthon the career West Coast Conference steals chart and needs 55 topass Portland's Deana Lansing (1993-97) as the league's bestthief... enters senior year ranked fifth in career assists with375... 95 steals in 2002-2003 rates third on the USF single-seasoncharts, was the seventh-highest tally for a single-season in WestCoast Conference history and ranked 20th among NCAA Division Ileaders (3.3 spg)... owns three of the top-10 single-season stealstallies - third in 2002-03 (95), seventh in 2001-02 (78) and fifthlast season... first Don to lead the team in assists and steals inthree consecutive seasons since Adkins accomplished the feat1991-93. 2003-2004 SEASON (9.7 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 4.1 APG, 3.3SPG): Turned in a career year setting new marks in scoring(9.9), rebounds (3.7) and assists (4.1)... ranked second in theWest Coast Conference in steals in all games (3.3) and league games(3.5), ranked third in assists in overall contests (4.1) and wasfifth in WCC games (3.5)... recorded 10 steals for the second timeof her career this season against Gonzaga (1/15/04), the highestsingle-season tally in a WCC contest in league history... named tothe 2003 odwalla Classic All-Tournament Team after scoring 18points to go along with six assists and three steals in a winagainst Kentucky (11/29/03) in the title game... poured in acareer-high 28 points in a win at San Diego (1/24/04)...scored 19points in the Dons' upset win at Gonzaga (2/15/04) in the finalwomen's game ever played in the Martin Centre... scored 17 pointsand pulled down eight rebounds at BYU (1/3/04)... scored 17 pointsand dished out six assists against Portland (1/17/04)... averaged11.1 points per game during WCC play... ripped down a career-highnine rebounds against Colorado State (12/14/03)... matchedcareer-high with nine assists against Canisius (12/19/03)... ledthe team in scoring seven times, paced the team in assists 20 timesand set the steals standard 21 times. 2002-2003 SEASON (7.9PPG, 2.9 RPG, 3.7 APG, 3.3 SPG): Picked up where she leftoff during her standout freshman season, improving on mostoffensive and defensive categories... scored season-high 17 pointsin a victory against Pepperdine (3/1/03) and went 11-for-12 at thefree throw line... also went 11-for-12 at the stripe in win atPepperdine (1/31/03), finishing with 15 points... recorded acareer-high 10 steals at Long Beach State (1/2/03), one shy of theprogram single-game record... swiped six or more steals in sixcontests, including seven against Southern Mississippi(12/16/02)... scored 13 points, dished out six assists and addedfour steals in two-point loss to #6 Stanford (11/24/03)... dishedout a career-high nine assists at San Diego (2/22/03)... led orshared the team steals lead in 20 games and was tops in assists 18times. 2001-2002 SEASON (5.9 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 3.1 APG, 2.6SPG): Made an immediate impact in first season ofbasketball on the Hilltop... a dynamo on both ends of the floor,was named 2002 West Coast Conference Freshman of the Year afterapplying relentless defensive pressure and running the point forthe Dons... led the conference in steals (2.6) and was the teamleader in assists (3.1)... developed a reputation as a clutchperformer, sinking game-winning free throws against Washington(12/2/02), at California (12/5/01) and Fresno State (12/12/01)...scored 14 points to go along with five rebounds, four assists andseven steals in a win against Utah (12/30/01)... poured in aseason-high 15 points on 10-of-12 from the free throw line andadded four rebounds, three assists and three steals in a WCC winagainst Saint Mary's (1/16/02)... pulled down a season-high eightrebounds in a home victory against Portland (1/26/02)... matchedher season-high with seven steals in the first round of thePostseason WNIT against USC (3/13/02)... also scored 11 points,dished out three assists and pulled down six boards against theWomen of Troy... swiped five or more steals in five games... pacedthe Dons in assists 10 times. PREP CAREER:Completed a stellar four-year basketball career at Sacred HeartCathedral... MVP of the GPSL following her senior season... wasalso named to the All-Metro Team and the All-Power Bar Team...earned selection to the Northern California Division III FirstTeam... also a standout in track and field for the Fightin' Irish,earning three straight All-GPSL honors... took first place in thelong jump, triple jump and the 400 meters... an excellentstudent... won DePaul Scholar accolades four times... named CCSScholar-Athlete of the Year in 2001. PERSONAL:Toni Patrice Russell... goal for the season is to lead the teamwith heart to our best season ever... brother LyRyan Russell playedpoint guard on the USF men's basketball team... chose USF for theopportunity to play the sport she loves in front of her family andfriends... would like to be Allen Iverson for a day... favoritequote is "being average means you are as close to the bottom as youare to the top"... chose her jersey number in honor of former NBAstar Isaiah Thomas... favorite movie is Little Mermaid; favoritebook is The Coldest Winter Ever... nicknames are T-Bone andCapone... parents are Rudolph and Randi Russell... born August 3,1983 in San Francisco. STRAIGHT FROM THE COACHINGSTAFF: Toni is coming off her personal best season afterearning All Conference and Defender of the Year honors. In herfinal season, I know Toni wants nothing less than her team's bestwhich would be a conference championship. Toni's leadership on thecourt is essential to our success. Her experience and poise on thecourt will be instrumental to our team's performance. Toni's speedand quickness will continue to frustrate our opponents.
