CSUDH Women's Basketball Weekly Release
December 3, 2001

THIS WEEK IN TOROS WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
December 7 Chico State Chico, CA/Acker Gymnasium, 6:00 p.m.
December 8 UC Davis Davis, CA/Recreation Hall, 6:00 p.m.

TOROS GEAR UP FOR CONFERENCE OPENER The Cal State Dominguez Hills women's basketball team will have a couple of weeks off before opening their 2001-02 CCAA season with a road trip up north to face Chico State on Friday, December 7, and UC Davis on Saturday, December 8. Tip-off in each of those stilts is slated for 6 p.m.

HEAD COACH VAN GIRARD Coach Girard enters his fourteenth season at the helm of the Toros basketball program. In this time, Girard has posted a 177-173 record. He has led CSUDH to two consecutive CCAA conference titles (1994-96), and has been named CCAA Coach of the Year five times, including three in a row (1993-1996). Girard has coached one All-American, two All-West Region players, three CCAA MVP's and 29 all-conference players. His first win at the collegiate coaching level came on November 25, 1988, when he led CSUDH to a 82-68 victory against Incarante Word.

PROBABLE STARTERS

2001-02 CCAA Standings

A LOOK AT THIS WEEK'S TEAMS

SCOUTING CHICO STATE (4-0):
The Wildcats have opened their 2001-02 strong with a perfect 4-0 record. Chico State is led on the season by senior center Jennifer Kern, who is averaging a team-leading 16.2 points per game.
The Last Time We Met: The last time that these teams faced off was on February 10, 2001, when the Wildcats defeated the Toros 79-62.
The Series: Chico State leads the series 13-5.
Girard vs. University of Southern Colorado: Van Girard is 1-9 against Chico State.
Wildcats Head Coach: Head coach Mary Ann Lazzarini is entering her 12th season at the helm of the Chico State women's basketball program. She holds a school and career record of 182-140.

SCOUTING UC DAVIS (3-0): The Aggies have opened up the season with three wins. They are led by junior post Sarah Allen, who is scoring a team-high 16.7 ppg, and senior post Janae Henning, who is pulling down 9.3 boards per game.
The Last Time We Met: These teams last met up on February 9, 2001, when the Toros suffered a 49-69 loss to the host Aggies.
The Series: CSUDH trails in the series 3-16.
Girard vs. UC Davis: Van Girard posts a 1-14 record vs. UC Davis.
Aggie Head Coach: Head coach Sandy Simpson is starting her fifth season at UC Davis. She holds a school and career record of 87-26.

THE TOROS LAST TIME OUT:
CS DOMINGUEZ HILLS def. UNIV. OF SOUTHERN COLORADO 74-67 The Cal State Dominguez Hills women's basketball team broke into the win column for the first time this year in three tries with a 74-67 non-conference win over visiting Southern Colorado Friday night in the Torodome. The Toros were led by junior center Kendra Tease (Banning HS) who poured in a game-high 28 points on 11-15 shooting from the floor.The Toros found themselves down by as many as 10 points in the first half 41-31 with less than a minute remaining. Senior point guard Fercia Rambacal's (Mark Keppel HS) steal and layup sent CSUDH into intermission down by single digits 41-33. Cal State Dominguez Hills would come out hot in the second period beginning the half with a 15-6 run taking the lead 48-47 on a free throw by senior Tracee Lewis (St. Bernard HS) with 15:45 remaining.Two lead changes later, the Toros would take the lead for good when Lewis hit a 12-foot jumper with 9:55 left making it 55-53. The Thunderwolves kept it close over the next four minutes and were down 62-60 after Nadia Fercha made a free throw converting a three point play with 5:05 left. But CSUDH would go on 12-5 run from there to seal the win. Tease scored 16 of her game-high 28 points in the second half as the Toros outscored Southern Colorado 41-26 in the second period. Lewis also scored in double figures for CSUDH knocking in 16 points on the night. Senior Bryanna Norton (Rancho Buena Vista HS) pulled down a team-best eight boards. For Southern Colorado, Nadia Fercha paced the squad with 20 points and eight rebounds. Micki Smith and Shawana McElroy poured in 15 and 10 points respectively. USC, who shot a blazing 61% from the floor in the first half, finished the game making 49% of their shots. Cal State Dominguez Hills is now 1-2 on the year while the Thunderwolves drop their first game of the season. USC is now 3-1 on the young campaign.

TOROS NOTES

• A LOOK AT THE 2001-02 TOROS ROSTER CS Dominguez Hills returns eleven players from last year's squad that went 9-17 overall and 5-17 in the CCAA conference. There are a total of six new recruits, three coming from strong junior college programs. This season's roster features five seniors, seven juniors, three sophomores and three freshmen. The Toros are also taller this season, with seven players at six feet tall or over.
• CS DOMINGUEZ HILLS STRONG ON THE BLOCK The Toros are leading their opponents in blocks. CSUDH has recorded nine blocks on the season, for an average of three blocks per game. The Toros are more than doubling their opponents blocks stats with nine, compared to the four posted by the foes. Junior forward Muñeca Bush is leading the team with one block per game.
• TOROS LEAD OPPONENTS ON THE BOARDS Cal State Dominguez Hills is starting out strong on the boards. Last season, the Toros were out-rebounded by their opponents 38.5 to 40.2. In three games this season, CSUDH is stepping up and pulling down 40 boards per game, compared to the 38 grabbed by their opponents. The Toros have out-rebounded their opponents in two of three games this season.
• TEASE IS EMERGING AS TEAM'S OFFENSIVE LEADER Junior Kendra Tease, a 6-1 center transfer from LA Southwest College, has shown early why she is a valuable addition to the 2001-02 Toros roster. The junior is averaging a team-high 16.7 points per game. She is leading the team in field goal percentage making 55% of her shots. Tease is also second on the team in rebounding with 6.0 boards per game. Tease poured in a game-high 28 points and was 11-15 from the field to led the Toros to their first victory of the season.
• CS DOMINGUEZ HILLS STEALS ITS WAY TO VICTORY The Toros are stealing their way into the win column. CSUDH had 16 steals in their win over the University of Southern Colorado on Friday. On the season, they are averaging 12.3 steals per game, compared to their opponents who are grabbing 10.7. The Toros have posted more steals than their opponents in two of their three games so far this season. Senior Fercia Rambacal is leading the charge. The guard has 13 steals on the season, picking up 4.3 steals per game. Rambacal has tied the school record this season for steals in a single game with eight versus Cal Baptist.
• LEWIS BREAKS INTO THE CAREER CHARTS With her performance this past Friday, senior guard Tracee Lewis has become one of the top ten scorers in Toros basketball history.Lewis scored 16 points in CSUDH's first win of the season over Southern Colorado, to bring her all-time scoring mark to 790 points. Lewis is currently ninth in career scoring. Lewis is also trying to etch her name into the the points per game charts. In her last two seasons, Lewis has averaged 12.5 points per game. Early into this season, Lewis is second on the team in scoring, with 13.0 ppg.
• TOROS IN CONFERENCE OPENERS Cal State Dominguez Hills will open its 2001-02 CCAA season on Friday December 7, when they travel to take on the Wildcats of Chico State. The Toros are 5-14 in CCAA openers. The last time that CSUDH won a CCAA season opener was on January 11, 1997, when the Toros posted a 68-58 win over UC Riverside.