Feb. 12, 2004
SAN DIEGO (6-15; 1-7 WCC) is hoping to break a string in which the Toreros have lost nine of ten when Pepperdine (12-10; 6-3 WCC) comes to San Diego Thursday night for a West Coast Conference game scheduled for 7pm at USD's Jenny Craig Pavilion. The Toreros have fell victim to a series of second half comebacks and have seen its conference mark move to 1-7. Senior Marta Menuez (14.5ppg/8.3rpg) and her Torero mates will try and curb that trend this weekend. Following the Pepperdine match-up Thursday, Loyola Marymount (17-5; 8-1 WCC) makes its annual trip to San Diego for a game Saturday at 7pm.
THE OPPONENTS
PEPPERDINE (12-10; 6-3 WCC)... The Waves have bounced back from a slow start to the 2003-04 season -beginning the year losing six of their first nine. Pepperdine now owns a 6-3 conference record and enter the week locked into a second place tie with Gonzaga in the WCC standings. During the Waves last outing Shandrika Lee scored a season-high 28 points and buried five treys to allow Pepperdine a 73-62 win over the Zags at home. Lee averages a team-high 14.1 points per contest for 11th-year head coach Mark Trakh. Pepperdine defeated San Diego 90-49 in Malibu earlier this season.
LOYOLA MARYMOUNT (17-5; 8-1)... The first place Lions swept Gonzaga and Portland last week at home and sit atop the league standings with an 8-1 record. The 70-58 win over the Zags avenged LMU's only conference loss this season. Senior forward Kate Murray (15.6ppg/6.5rpg) has twice been named the WCC Player of the Week this season. Murray leads the league in 3PT FG (44%), free-throw shooting (90%) and ranks second in scoring average (15.6ppg). LMU has an eight-game winning streak entering the week, a school record.
HALL OF CHAMPIONS HONORS MENUEZ
San Diego's 6-foot-1 senior center Marta Menuez (14.5ppg/8.6rpg) was honored as a San Diego Hall of Champions Star of the Month for her outstanding athletic achievements during the month of January. Menuez, a senior from Bodega, California, recorded four consecutive double-double (points-rebounds)... She is arguably the best low-post player in the WCC- out-dueling Saint Mary's star and San Diego native Triola Jackson (limiting her to well below her point and rebound averages) during San Diego's West Coast Conference win over the Gaels on Jan. 22nd (a game televised live on San Diego Channel 4). On January 15th, Marta became just the eighth player in school history to reach the 1,000-point plateau during a league match-up Loyola Marymount. Marta cleared a career-high 15 rebounds January 31st at Gonzaga en route to joining the 500-career rebound club at USD.
FIVE OF USD'S LAST SEVEN PLAYED AT HOME
After having lost its 10th consecutive WCC road game two weeks ago in Spokane, the Toreros return home to play five of its last seven in the Jenny Craig Pavilion. Keep in mind that San Diego has a 5-5 home record this season, beating LMU last year in the JCP 65-61, and are in the midst of hosting five of their last seven games to wind up the 2003-04 regular season. The Toreros have combined to win over 20 games in the JCP over the past three seasons. Included in those wins are key post-season victories over both St. Mary's and San Francisco in the 2003 WCC Tournament. Other notable home performances by USD, a 79-51 rout of UCLA (12/5/01) and a 69-67 overtime loss to then-No. 4 Iowa State (12/30/01).
MENUEZ RANKS AMONG USD'S BEST EVER
6-1 senior center Marta Menuez (Bodega, CA)...
SCORING: ... became just the 8th player in USD history to score 1,000-points
.... currently ranks 6th all time in scoring at USD with 1,082 points
.... needs just 6 more points to eclipse Kerri Nakamoto (5th all-time)
... Susie Erpelding holds the all-time scoring record (1,510)
REBOUNDING: ... 11th player in USD history to clear 500th rebounds
...career rebound total has reached 552 (9th all-time)
IN THE GENES
USD senior forward Melissa Padgett comes from a family rich in basketball tradition. Melissa is the daughter of former Nevada-Reno star Pete Padgett. Melissa's younger brother David Padgett is a freshman at Kansas averaging 7.0 points per game and 5.3 rebounds in 17 games and 12 starts this season. Her uncle Chris played basketball at New Mexico and her grandfather Jim played at Oregon State.
HELVEY STEPPING IT UP
USD's 5-foot-10 guard Lindsay Helvey leads the WCC in three-point shooting (19-36; 53%) through seven conference games this season. Helvey led USD in scoring last week against Santa Clara, scoring 12 points. The sophomore from Anaheim is USD's second leading scorer (8.6 ppg) and is tops on the team in three-point accuracy (42%). Helvey has set career highs in virtually every statistical category this season after an injury limited her to just 10 appearances and eight minutes per game as a freshman.
USD HEAD COACH Kathy Marpe
Kathy Marpe is now in her 31st year as a head coach and her 24th season leading the USD women's basketball program. In her career Marpe has reached milestones aspiring coaches can only dream of; 370 career coaching victories, 111 West Coast Conference wins, two WCC coach of the year awards, two conference tournament championships and two NCAA Tournament teams. As a Torero, Marpe has coached 12 First Team All-West Coast Conference players, and more importantly, 30 of Marpe's players have been honored as WCC Scholar Athletes. Her 1999-2000 team matched a school record of 17 overall wins featuring future professional players Susie Erpelding and Jessica Gray. The 1999-2000 Toreros ran through the WCC Tournament, beating the number one seeded Pepperdine Waves 68-51. San Diego was awarded the automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament, becoming the second San Diego team Marpe would lead into the big dance. On February 3, 2001 Marpe became just the fourth coach in WCC history to reach 100 conference victories. By season's end and now entering the 2003-04 campaign, Marpe now owns 106 WCC wins, ranking her third all-time in WCC career coaching victories.
TOREROS ON THE AIR
USD vs. Pepperdine - (Thursday Feb. 12 - 7pm)
USD vs. Loyola Marymount (Saturday Feb. 14 - 7pm)
Webcast (WWW.USDTOREROS.COM)
Former USD great Paula Bott (color analyst) will join Jack Murray (play-by-play) to bring you Thursday's game with Pepperdine. Bott and USD's all-time leading scorer Susie Erpelding will team up to broadcast Saturday's game with LMU. San Diego women's basketball can be heard throughout the 2003-04 season live on the Internet. All USD home games and selected road contests can be accessed live on www.usdtoreros.com.
LAST TIME OUT
SANTA CLARA DEFEATS SAN DIEGO 60-52
(San Diego, CA) - The visiting Santa Clara Broncos (7-14; 3-5 WCC) handed the host USD Toreros (6-15; 1-7 WCC) a 60-52 setback this evening before 438 fans at the Jenny Craig Pavilion. Bronco guard Quinn Thomas scored 12 of her game-high 14 points in the second half as Santa Clara overcame a 25-20 halftime deficit. Jennie Rondel added 12 points off the bench and starter Ashley Graham chipped in with 11 points and 5 assists. USD was paced by Lindsay Helvey's 12 points (4-9 treys) and Marta Menuez with 11 points and 9 rebounds.
The Toreros, who fell behind early by the score of 9-2, fought back to take the 5-point lead at halftime. Nine different Toreros scored in the first 20 minutes of action with Marta Menuez leading the way with 5 points and 5 rebounds. In the 2nd half USD extended their lead to 6 twice, the last at 30-24 on a jumper by Jamie Corwin with 17:28 left. Over the next ten minutes the Broncos went on an 18-4 run to take a 42-34 lead with 7:56 to go. USD made one last run to get within 5 points at 47-42 on a Lindsay Helvey trey with 3:27 left, but SCU outscored USD 13-10 the rest of the way for the final 60-52 score.
The Toreros held the edge in rebounding, 37-32, but turned the ball over 20 times. The Toreros will be off now until next Thursday's home game with Pepperdine.
DONG ONE ASSIST AWAY FROM 100
San Diego's sophomore point guard Polly Dong leads the league in assists at 4.7 per game. With 99 on the season, Dong needs just one more to reach 100 for a single-season, something only nine other Toreros in school history have achieved. On two different occasions this season Dong has dished out nine assists, a career high, most recently against Oral Roberts on December 22.
PADGETT DOING INTANGIBLES
Melissa Padgett is having a stellar senior season. She has emerged as one of San Diego's leading rebounders, clearing 7.0 boards per game. Her rebounding numbers are among the best in the West Coast Conference and she ranks among the league leaders in blocked shots (.89 bpg). Padgett pulled down 14-rebounds, setting a career-high, against New Mexico State earlier this season. Padgett has recorded a pair of double-doubles and has turned in season and career-high performances in both scoring and rebounding.
USD STILL HOPES TO CURB ROAD WOES
The Toreros are in the midst of a ten-game road losing streak in conference play dating back to last season. The Toreros last WCC road win came against San Francisco (61-57) on January 24, 2003. USD is 1-9 overall in road contests this season, defeating city rival's San Diego State (65-60) on December 10th. San Diego dropped a pair of road conference games this past week to both Portland and Gonzaga. The good news is USD plays five of its last seven games in the JCP, with road dates at Santa Clara (2/19) and San Francisco (2/21) remaining on the schedule.
