Jan. 15, 2014
Complete Release in PDF Format 
TIP OFF: The University of San Diego women's basketball team (15-2, 4-2 WCC) will look to return to their winning ways on Saturday, as they host brigham Young University in a battle for second place in the WCC. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. inside the friendly confines of the Jenny Craig Pavilion.
LAST TIME OUT: The 24th-ranked University of San Diego women's basketball team dropped its second consecutive game of the season, a 79-50 decision to defending West Coast Conference champion Gonzaga Bulldogs Saturday afternoon at the McCarthey Athletic Center. With the loss, the Toreros fall to 15-2 overall, move to 4-2 in the WCC and lost back-to-back games for the first time all season. With the win, the Bulldogs improve to 14-3 overall and take over first place in the WCC at 4-1. Malina Hood led the team with 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the field, while dishing out two assists and pulling down three rebounds. The only other Torero to score in double figures was Amy Kame, who scored 11 points on 4-of-14 shooting form the field, while pulling down seven rebounds and dishing out four assists. As a team, USD shot 36.8% from the field, and were out rebounded for only the second time all season, 49-40.
A LOOK AHEAD: San Diego will remain home next week, as they host both Santa Clara University (Jan. 23) and San Francisco (Jan. 25) to conclude a three-game home-stand. Both games will be played in the Jenny Craig Pavilion.
LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION: Saturday's game against BYU will be aired live on theW.tv. This will be a full high definition broadcast, with Justin Alderson calling all the live play-by-play action, and Tracey Warren providing color commentary.
SCOUTING THE COUGARS: BYU enters the game with an overall record of 14-3, and they are tied with USD for second place at 4-2 in the WCC. The Cougars lead the all-time series at 6-0. Brigham Young is led by senior center Jennifer Hampsen, who is nearly averaging a double-double with 18.5 ppg and 9.8 rebounds-per-game. Senior guard Kim Beeston (11.8 ppg) and sophomore guard Lexi Eaton (15.4 ppg), are the only other Cougars averaging double figures. BYU is under the direction of 12th-year head coach Jeff Judkins. During his tenure in Provo, Jedkins has amassed an overall record of 245-118.
LAST TIME VS. BYU: The University of San Diego women's basketball team saw their four-game winning streak come to an end, with a heartbreaking 53-48 loss to Brigham Young University on Feb. 7, 2013 in a West Coast Conference game at the Merriott Center. With the Cougars clinging to a three-point lead at 51-48 with just 19 seconds left, San Diego turned to sophomore sensation Katelyn McDaniel. McDaniel in turn launched a 3-pointer with eight seconds left, only it was blocked by BYU's Keilani Unga, and USD then fouled the Cougars with five seconds left. BYU would hit a pair of free throws with five seconds left to seal the win for BYU at 53-48. Amy Kame led all scorers with 18 points on 6-of-15 shooting from the field, while also dishing out five assists. McDaniel was the only other Torero in double figures, as she had 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field. As a team, the Toreros shot .333 from the field, and were out rebounded 39-34.
STILL RECEIVING VOTES: The University of San Diego women's basketball team, under the direction of ninth-year head coach Cindy Fisher, has dropped out of the top-25 polls this week, but are still receiving votes in the latest Associated Press top-25 poll. The Toreros have surpassed any USD team before them, by beginning the season 15-0, then jumping into the top-25 on the week of Jan. 6 at No. 24 for the first-time in program history. San Diego has defeated four post-season teams from a year ago along the way in Northern Colorado, Idaho, San Diego State and Saint Mary's. USD has also knocked off Arizona State, who is currently ranked No. 19 in the top-25 this week. USD currently stands as one of ASU's two losses on the season, and the Sun Devils have knocked off the likes of No. 11 North Carolina, and No. 20 Syracuse.
WIJENBERG COMING ON STRONG: Senior forward Felicia Wijenberg has been playing extremely well as of late. The Maple Ridge, British Columbia native scored a career-high 28 points in USD's first loss of the season this past Thursday to Portland. She scored her 28 points on 11-of-16 shooting. That marked the fifth consecutive game that Wijenberg had scored in double figures, and second time this season that she had scored 20 or more points. Wijenberg is now USD's third leading scorer with an average of 11.8 ppg, and she is the active leading rebounder at 7.5 ppg.
RPI RELEASED: The NCAA released their latest RPI rankings for the 2013-14 season on Jan. 13, and USD's RPI dropped six spots to No. 28 after a pair of losses this past week. Of USD's opponents this season, three are ranked ahead of them, in Arizona State (#9), Gonzaga (#10) and Saint Mary's (#22). USD is 2-1 against these three teams, having defeated Arizona State (61-53) and Saint Mary's (80-70), while dropping a 70-50 decision to Gonzaga.
BRACKETOLOGY: O.K. so maybe its way to early to talk about this, however, ESPN.com released their most recent bracketology report, and in the bracket, they have the Toreros listed as a No. 10 seed in the Stanford Regional squaring off against Michigan State (7 seed) in Seattle. Of course, this is all speculation, but still fun to see the respect the Toreros have received to this point in the season.
MOVIN ON UP: Senior guard Amy Kame continues to move her way up the all-time scorers list at USD. She currently sits at No. 6 overall with 1,229 points, and is just four points behind Marta Menuez, (2000-04) for fifth all-time. However, Kame's game is not limited to scoring, as she is currently third all-time in career steals with 181, and ninth all-time in career assists at 265.
EDERAINE'S RISE IN PLAY: Since the season-ending injury to Katelyn McDaniel, there have been several players that stepped up their game, but Sophia Ederaine has been one of the stand outs. Since the start of conference play, Ederaine's numbers have jumped up. Over the last six games, Ederaine has led the WCC in blocked shots with 22, she has the second leading field goal percentage (.571), and she is averaging 8.5 ppg.
TOREROS IN HOME GAMES: San Diego has truly made the Jenny Craig Pavilion, one of the toughest venues for opponents to play. USD is a perfect 10-0 while playing at home this season, and they are currently riding a 15-game winning streak dating back to last season. This season however, USD is out scoring their opponents by a margin of 17.2 ppg (766-594), while shooting .477 from the field and holding their opponents to just .377 shooting. USD is out rebounding the opposition by a 11.8 boards per game (444-326). Three different Toreros are averaging double figures paced by Amy Kame's 15.6 ppg, followed by Malina Hood's 13.4 ppg and Felicia Wijenberg's 11.3 ppg. Sophia Ederaine is also impressive at home, averaging 9.8 ppg, and 2.8 blocks per game.
WHERE THEY ARE NATIONALLY: Entering the week, the Toreros ranked 11th nationally in rebounding margin at 11.1, 31st nationally in scoring defense at 51.8, and 41st nationally in scoring margin at 14.1.
ABOUT THE RECORD: San Diego is 15-2 overall, marking the best start in program history. The Toreros have set the record for the best start of any sport at USD in the Division I era at 15-0. The 15 wins in a row also happens to set a program record for longest winning streak.
W.TV BROADCASTS: The West Coast Conference has announced its 2013-14 women's basketball broadcast schedule on its dynamic new platform, TheW.tv. USD will be featured on two of the five broadcasts, and both contests will be home games. TheW.tv delivers West Coast Conference live games, regular studio programming, and exclusive live coverage from every WCC championship free of charge, featuring the tagline, "All the action. Anytime. Anywhere." The first women's basketball broadcast on TheW.tv will take place on Saturday, January 18 when BYU visits San Diego at 2 p.m. PST. The following day, defending West Coast Conference champion Gonzaga plays at Santa Clara, and on January 30, BYU travels to Saint Mary's. February's featured match-ups include Pacific at Saint Mary's (Feb. 8) and Gonzaga at San Diego (Feb. 13).
McDANIEL OUT FOR REMAINDER OF THE YEAR: The University of San Diego women's basketball program received disheartening news this week, that junior forward Katelyn McDaniel will have to miss the remainder of the 2013-14 season, after suffering a season-ending injury at practice this past Monday. McDaniel, a 6-1 junior from Littleton, Colo., had an MRI on Wednesday, revealing that she tore her ACL, in a routine practice drill on Monday. The projected recovery period is 8-to-12 months after surgery, which is scheduled in the next few weeks. McDaniel was just tabbed the West Coast Conference Player of the Week on Monday Dec. 16, after recording her fourth double-double in the past five games, with 11 points and a career-high 18 rebounds in a 68-51 win against Long Beach State on Dec. 13. She also dished out a season-high three assists and tied a career-high with three steals. McDaniel has been averaging 10.3 points-per-game, 8.1 rebounds-per-game, and is tied for fourth among WCC double-double leaders with four.
TOREROS TABBED TO FINISH SECOND IN PRESEASON POLL: The University of San Diego women's basketball team, who received one first place vote, 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. Portland, San Francisco, and Santa Clara were tied for seventh and Pepperdine was picked to finish 10th, respectfully.
Maya Hood TO REDSHIRT SEASON: Maya Hood, a sophomore guard for the University of San Diego women's basketball team, will redshirt during the 2013-14 season because she is expecting a baby in early November. Hood will return to action for the Toreros beginning with the 2014-15 season, and will have three years of eligibility left. Hood, a 5-10 guard from San Diego, Calif., was the West Coast Conference Newcomer of the Year as a freshman, in addition to being named All-WCC honorable mention. Hood managed to crack into the USD starting line-up just 10 games into the season, and remained in the starting line-up the rest of the way. Hood was USD's second leading scorer at 10.3 points-per-game, while leading the team in shooting at 54.3 percent from the field. Hood scored in double figures in 18 of the 32 games she played in, with a career-high of 21 coming in a win against Loyola Marymount on February 14, 2013. She also managed to record a pair of double-doubles this past season in scoring and rebounding.
A PAIR OF TOREROS SELECTED TO THE PRESEASON ALL-WCC TEAM: The Toreros had two players named to the preseason All-WCC team in the form of senior guard Amy Kame and sophomore guard Maya Hood.
--> 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.
GAMETRACKER AVAILABLE: All San Diego women's basketball home and select road games can be followed live via Gametracker on the Toreros athletic web site at www.usdtoreros.com. Gametracker is a service of CBS College Sports, the official web provider for San Diego athletics, and is a real time update of the action.
CAN YOU SEE ME?: All USD home games, as well as select road games, will be streamed live via video on the athletics department website. Fans can watch all the action live from the comfort of their home by logging onto usdtoreros.com. Former USD basketball standout Paula Bott provides all the live play-by-play this season. This service a free of charge for all who wish to watch the broadcast.
MEET THE COACH: Head coach Cindy Fisher is entering her ninth season at the helm of the Toreros program. She was named the program's third head coach on April 19, 2005. Last season, Fisher managed to do something no other coach in USD history could, she posted a second consecutive 20-win season, as USD advanced to the second roud of the WNIT, and posted a 22-10 overall record. The 2011-12 season was a historical one for the Toreros, as it is now the greatest season in program history. Under Fisher's tutelage, the Toreros soared to new heights, and were in uncharted waters. USD posted a program best 26-9 overall record, posted a 12-4 mark in WCC play (the most wins in WCC play in program history) and they recorded the program's first ever post season win. Not only was the first ever post season win, but the Toreros advanced all the way to the Final Four of the WNIT, before falling to eventual WNIT champions Oklahoma State. In 2008, Fisher led USD to the WCC Tournament championship and back into the NCAA Tournament for the first time in eight seasons. In only her second season at the helm of the program, Fisher orchestrated the biggest turn around in school history, a 12-game improvement from 9-19 in the 2005-06 season to a 21-9 record in 2006-07 season. The turn around was the fourth best in the nation. Under her tutelage, the Toreros placed three players on the All-WCC lists highlighted by Amanda Rego being named the WCC Co-Player of the Year. For her efforts, Fisher was named the 2007 WCC Co-Coach of the Year.
