Oct. 24, 2013
SAN DIEGO, Calif. - The University of San Diego women's basketball team was tabbed to finish second in the West Coast Conference, according to a poll of the league's coaches. Gonzaga, the defending WCC champion, was picked to finish first, while Saint Mary's was picked to finish third and BYU fourth. WCC newcomer Pacific was picked to finish fifth, with Loyola Marymount picked sixth, while Portland, San Francisco, and Santa Clara were tied for seventh and Pepperdine was picked to finish 10th, respectfully. The poll and all-conference team were announced Thursday at Time Warner Cable Sports studios as part of the Third Annual West Coast Conference Basketball Tip-Off event, streamed live on TheW.tv.
The Toreros, who received one first place vote, are coming off their second consecutive 20-win season, as they posted a 22-10 overall record a year ago, advancing to the second round of the WNIT. USD's senior guard Amy Kame and sophomore guard Maya Hood were both selected to the preseason All-WCC team.
Kame, a 6-0 junior guard from Grand Junction, Colo., paced the team's scoring effort last season with an average of 15.1 ppg, while shooting 40.2 percent from the field, en route to a first-team All-WCC distinction. Kame was named the WCC Player of the Month for November, and took home one WCC Player of the Week award this past season. Kame scored 20 or more points in seven games last season, and scored in double figures in all but seven of the 32 games she has played in.
Hood, a 5-10 guard from San Diego, was tabbed the WCC Newcomer of the Year after an impressive freshman campaign in which she was the team's second leading scorer with 10.3 ppg, while leading the team in field goal percentage at 54.3 percent. Hood was named the WCC Player of the Week once this past year and managed to score in double figures in 18 of the 31 games she played in. Hood quickly went from bench player to starter just 10 games into the season. Hood will be redshirting this season, and will return next season with three years of eligibility left.
The Toreros will open their 2013-14 campaign with a road game on Nov. 9 at Northern Colorado, who was a WNIT team this past season as well. USD will then open their home schedule on Nov. 13 with a 5:15 p.m. game against Arizona State. Conference play gets underway on Saturday, December 28, and the 2014 West Coast Conference Basketball Championships will return to the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas from March 6-11.
2013-14 WEST COAST CONFERENCE PRESEASON POLL
Team (First Place Votes) Points1. Gonzaga (9) 812. San Diego (1) 693. Saint Mary's 634. BYU 625. Pacific 466. Loyola Marymount 387t. Portland 277t. San Francisco 277t. Santa Clara 2710. Pepperdine 10
2013-14 PRESEASON ALL-WEST COAST CONFERENCE TEAM
Player School Yr. Pos.Zhané Dikes San Francisco So. GSunny Greinacher Gonzaga Jr. FJennifer Hamson BYU Sr. CMaya Hood San Diego So. FAmy Kame San Diego Sr. GDanielle Mauldin Saint Mary's Sr. FJackie Nared Saint Mary's Sr. GHaiden Palmer Gonzaga Sr. GHazel Ramirez LMU Sr. GJazmine Redmon Gonzaga Sr. G
