Feb. 3, 2004
SAN DIEGO HOSTS SANTA CLARA... San Diego (6-14; 1-6 WCC) played outstanding basketball last Saturday in Spokane before Gonzaga mounted a late rally to eventually win 61-58 and prevent USD from leaving its Northwest road trip with a victory. The Toreros now look ahead to Thursday night's 7pm home game with Santa Clara (6-14; 2-5 WCC). The match-up will be televised live locally on San Diego Channel 4.
MENUEZ LEADS TOREROS... Under the leadership of two-time WCC Coach of the Year Kathy Marpe, San Diego fields a team led by 6-foot-1 senior center Marta Menuez (14.7ppg/8.2rpg), one of the league's most dominant post players. Menuez currently leads the league in rebounding (8.2rpg). Menuez brings four consecutive double-double performances into Thursday's game with the Broncos.
THE OPPONENT... SANTA CLARA (6-14; 2-5 WCC)... The Broncos and Toreros have split every season series over the past five seasons, with each team winning at home. Thursday's game is the first meeting this year between the two schools. Santa Clara and 2nd-year head coach Michelle Bento have received 19 points per game from 5-9 junior guard Quinn Thomas over the past five games. 6-3 freshman forward Ashley Gonnerman scored 13 points in Santa Clara's most recent game (a 69-61 loss to Portland on the road). Santa Clara has lost three straight and five of its last six.
FIVE OF USD'S LAST SEVEN PLAYED AT HOME... After having lost its 10th consecutive WCC road game this past Saturday in Spokane, the Toreros have to be pleased to return to the Jenny Craig Pavilion to play Santa Clara this Thursday. Keep in mind that San Diego has a 5-4 home record this season, have beaten Santa Clara in five straight regular season games at home, and will play five of their last seven games at home this season. 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 17 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 rebound ...career rebound total has reached 543 (9th all-time)
IN THE GENES... 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.
HOT HAND... 5-foot-10 sophomore guard Lindsay Helvey leads the WCC in three-point shooting (15-27; 55%) through seven conference games this season. Helvey is also the league's top free-throw shooter, having hit all of her 14 free throws in WCC play. Helvey buried 3 treys at Portland last week. On the year, Helvey is USD's second leading scorer (8.4 ppg) and is tied with sophomore classmate Brandi Collato for the team lead in three-point accuracy (42%).
MENUEZ COMPLETES STELLAR MONTH... Marta Menuez, a senior from Bodega, California, was sensational for San Diego throughout the month of January. Menuez recorded her fourth consecutive double-double (points-rebounds) Saturday at Gonzaga! 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 against the Lions of Loyola Marymount. Marta cleared a career-high 15 rebounds January 31st at Gonzaga en route to joining the 500-career rebound club at USD.
USD HEAD COACH... 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. Santa Clara - (Thursday Feb. 5 - 7pm) T.V. (SD Channel 4) Webcast (WWW.USDTOREROS.COM)
San Diego Channel 4 will broadcast Thursday night's game live on local television with Jim Laslavic (play-by-play) and Krista Blunk (color-analysis) bringing you all the action. Former USD greats Paula Bott (play-by-play) and Susie Erpelding (color analyst) will also broadcast Thursday's game with Santa Clara on www.usdtoreros.com.
LAST TIME OUT... Gonzaga Women Comeback, Defeat USD The Gonzaga defense denied San Diego a field goal throughout the final 9 minutes and 56 seconds, winning 61-58, spoiling what had been an outstanding 30 minutes of basketball by the USD women Saturday night in Spokane. With 2:49 remaining and the score tied at 54, a basket by Raeanna Jewell gave the Bulldogs its first lead and Jewell converted a three-point play on the following possession as Gonzaga (13-7; 6-1 WCC) held on to defeat San Diego (6-14; 1-6 WCC) in West Coast Conference action at the Kennel.
San Diego led by as many as 12 on two different occasions and took a 54-44 advantage at the 9:56 mark on consecutive three-point baskets by sophomore Tiara Harris. Torero senior Marta Menuez grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds and Washington native Jamie Corwin scored 15 points. Menuez complemented her 15 boards with 11 points to register her fourth consecutive double-double.
Gonzaga used a 17-4 run to close out USD Saturday. Three Bulldogs scored in double-figures, led by Ashley Burke's 15. Jewell totaled 13 points and 9 rebounds, while Shannon Mathews scored 12.
SAN DIEGO PLAYS NATION'S BEST... The Toreros played the nation's then-No. 2 ranked team and current No. 9 Texas Tech at the Jenny Craig Pavilion December 30th. After upending Georgetown in the first round of USD's annual Surf 'N Slam Holiday Classic, San Diego squared off against unbeaten Texas Tech for the Tournament crown. The Red Raider's No. 2 ranking was the highest ranked team San Diego had ever faced on its home floor. Tech came away with an easy 95-47 win, snapping San Diego's three-game winning streak.
DONG LEADS WCC IN ASSISTS... San Diego's sophomore point guard Polly Dong is tied for the league lead in assists at 4.7 per game (Shannon Mathews of Gonzaga). With 94 on the season, Dong needs just six 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 6.9 boards per game. Her rebounding numbers are among the best in the West Coast Conference and she ranks 7th in the league 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.
