CSUDH Women's Basketball Weekly Release
December 11, 2001

THIS WEEK IN TOROS WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Dec. 14 CS San Bernardino San Bernardino, CA/Coussoulis Arena,CA 5:30p.m.
Dec.15 Cal Poly Pomona Pomona, CA/Kellogg Gymnasium, 6:00 p.m.

TOROS LOOK TO PICK UP CONFERENCE WINS ON ROAD THIS WEEK The Cal State Dominguez Hills women's basketball team will continue their conference schedule this week, as they take on local CCAA rivals Cal State San Bernardino and Cal Poly Pomona. The Toros will face the Coyotes on Friday, December 14. First tip is slated for 5:30 p.m. CS Dominguez Hills will then take on the host Broncos of Cal Poly Pomona. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 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 the Coyotes
CS San Bernardino (5-1, 1-1 CCAA): The Coyotes opened the CCAA season with a split, picking up a 71-61 win over CS Stanislaus, and dropping a 68-88 game to CS Bakersfield. CSUSB is led on the season by Amber Easter who is leading the the team with 12 ppg.
The Last Time We Met: The last time that these teams faced off was on February 17, 2001, when the Coyotes defeated the Toros 53-44.
The Series: CSUDH leads the series 14-10.
Girard vs. CS San Bernardino: Van Girard is 13-13 against the Coyotes.
Coyote Head Coach: Head coach Kevin Becker is entering his sixth season at the helm of the CS San Bernardino women's basketball program. He holds a school record of 70-66 and a career record of 303-119.

Scouting the Broncos
Cal Poly Pomona (4-1, 2-0): The defending National Champion Broncos started the CCAA season with two conference wins over CS Bakersfield and CS Stanislaus. Their only loss so far has come at the hands of North Dakota State. Lauri McIntosh is leading the squad with an impressive 28.0 ppg. In the win over CS Bakersfield, McIntosh scored a game-high 46 points.
The Last Time We Met: These teams last met up on February 16, 2001, when the Toros suffered a 71-82 loss to the host Broncos.
The Series: CSUDH trails in the series 7-44.
Girard vs. CPP: Van Girard posts a 8-22 record vs.
Cal Poly Pomona Bronco Head Coach: Head coach Paul Thomas is in his eighth season with CPP. He holds a 140-59 school record and a 137-109 career record.

THE TOROS LAST TIME OUT

Chico State def. CS Dominguez Hills 64-52 The Cal State Dominguez Hills women's basketball team fell to 5-15 in CCAA openers this weekend after falling to the host Wildcats of Chico State. The contest was dead-even at the half at 22 apiece. The Wildcats then stepped up their game in the second half, pouring in 42 points, compared to the 30 dumped in by the Toros. The Toros suffered from poor shooting, making only 30% of their shots from the field, compared to 49% posted by their opponents. Senior guard Tracee Lewis (St. Bernard's HS) had a strong showing, tallying a team-high 16 points, while senior guard Fercia Rambacal (Mark Keppel HS) had a strong night from behind the arc, making three of four three point shots. Junior forward Nakeisha Perkins (Grant HS) and senior forward Christina Tucker, tied a game-high eight boards for the Toros. CSUDH was 19-64 from the field, 4-12 from behind the arc, and 10-15 from behind the charity stripe. They picked up 35 boards, two blocks and five steals. The Toros dropped to 1-3 overall and 0-1 in conference action.

UC Davis def. CS Dominguez Hills 65-59 The Toros were looking to pick up their first conference win of the season, but dropped the second game of their road series, 65-59 to the host Aggies of UC Davis. CSUDH had two players, Lewis and Tucker, score in double-figures. Lewis scored a team-high 17, while Tucker contributed a personal season-best 11. The Toros out-shot the Aggies, making 42% of their shots, compared to the 36% downed by UCD. The game was a tight one, with the score tied at 32 at the half, and 11 lead changes throughout the game. The Toros bench outscored the Aggies bench 14-12. As a team, the Toros were 23-55 from the field, 2-7 from behind the three-point line, and 11-16 from the free-throw line. They collected 37 rebounds, one block and 11 steals. CSUDH dropped to 1-4 on the season and 0-2 in CCAA action.

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.
• OFF THE BENCH The Toros bench has played a strong role in Cal State Dominguez Hills scoring this season. The bench has scored 78 of the Toros 303 points so far, accounting for 26% of the Toros scoring. CSUDH's bench has outscored their opponents benches in two out of their five games this season.
• STEALING THEIR WAY TO VICTORY Cal State Dominguez Hills is stealing its way to victory. The Toros have tallied 53 steals on the season, compared to the 49 taken away by their opponents this season. The Toros are currently ranked tenth in the conference in steals. Senior Fercia Rambacal is leading the charge. The guard has 16 steals on the season, picking up 3.2 steals per game, posting her name third in individual conference stats. Rambacal has tied the school record this season for steals in a single game with eight versus Cal Baptist.
• LEWIS STEPS UP Tracee Lewis stepped up this weekend in the opening games of the CCAA season. The senior guard poured in 33 points in the last two games to average 16.5 ppg on the weekend. On the season, the Los Angeles native is recording 14.4 points per game, scoring 72 points. She has scored team-high points in three out of the Toros five games this season. Her personal- best came when she tallied 17 points this season in losses to Cal Baptist and UC Davis. Lewis is currently ranked fifth on the squad in field goal percentage (36%), third in free throw (71%), first in field goals attempted (69) and field goals made (25), and first in three-point attempts (5).
• TOROS IN CONFERENCE STATISTICS Cal State Dominguez Hills is making their mark in the latest CCAA statistics. The squad is in the upper half of the CCAA in offensive rebounding and steals. A couple of the Toros players are also making their presence known in the conference. Junior center Kendra Tease is leading the Toros charge, with her name appearing in three statistical categories: scoring, rebounding and offensive boards. Senior Fercia Rambacal is ranking an impressive third in steals, while Tracee Lewis and Tease are among the conference leaders in scoring.