CSUDH Women's Basketball Weekly Release
January 15, 2002

NEXT UP IN TOROS WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Jan. 18 CS Stanislaus Turlock, CA/ Warrior Gymnasium, 6:00 p.m.
Jan. 19 CS Bakersfield Bakersfield, CA/ Centennial Garden, 5:30 p.m.

TOROS HEAD TO CENTRAL CAL FOR CCAA GAMES The Cal State Dominguez Hills women's basketball team will head to central California this weekend to take on Cal State Stanislaus and Cal State Bakersfield. The Toros will take on the Warriors on Friday at 6:00, followed by first-place the Roadrunners on Saturday night at 5:30 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 WARRIORS Cal State Stanislaus (5-9, 2-7 CCAA): The Warriors were split in action last week, posting a win over Chico State, but suffering a loss to UC Davis. Shannon Donnelly is averaging 14.9 ppg.
The Last Time We Met: The last time that these teams met was on February 3, 2001, when the Warriors defeated the Toros 62-56.
The Series: CSUDH leads the series 8-7.
Girard vs. CSUS: Van Girard is 8-7 against CSUS.
Warrior Head Coach: Mike Raugust is in his first season with the Warriors.

SCOUTING THE ROADRUNNERS CS Bakersfield (12-2, 8-1 CCAA): CSUB is coming off four straight CCAA wins, including a 80-54 victory over nationally ranked UC Davis. The 'Runners are led on the season by Diane Dittburner and Heather Garay who are tallying 23.6 and 22.7 ppg, respectively.
The Last Time We Met: The last time that these teams met was on February 2, 2001, when the 'Runners defeated the Toros 68-58.
The Series: CSUB leads the series 2-0.
Girard vs. CSUB: Van Girard is 0-2 against CSUB.
'Runner Head Coach: Tim La Krose is in the first season at Cal State Bakersfield.

THE TOROS LAST TIME OUT

Sonoma State def. Cal State Dominguez Hills 57-47 The Cal State Dominguez Hills women's basketball team dropped its seventh game of the season and fifth CCAA matchup Friday night as they fell to the visiting Cossacks of Sonoma State University 57-47. The Toros were on a three-game win streak as they entered Friday's game, and looked that way, as they outshot and out-rebounded their opponent in the first twenty. In fact, the Toros held the lead the entire first half, mostly sparked by the six points recorded by CSUDH's Nakeisha Perkins (Grant HS). The Toros connected on 40% of their shots from the field in the first, with Perkins making three of three from the baseline. The tide changed the second half. Sonoma State came out of the locker room and went on a 15-0 run. The Toros would only go on to score six points in the first ten minutes of play, while the Cossacks poured in 20. A bright spot for the Toros Friday was the play of sophomore Tomica Coleman (John Muir HS). The guard nailed three three pointers on the night, all of the Toros scoring from long range. The Toros were led on the night by Coleman, who tied a team-high and tallied a personal season-best nine points, all off threes.

CS Dominguez Hills def. San Francisco State University 68-61 The Cal State Dominguez Hills women's basketball team picked up a 68-61 victory Saturday over the visiting Gators of San Francisco State. On the way to posting the win, senior guard Tracee Lewis (St. Bernards HS) set two new school records from the free throw line, most free throws (13) and best free throw percentage (1.000), as well as posting game-high points with 22. The first half was a story of turnovers, with each team trying to keep possession of the ball. Within the first three minutes of the tip, there were a total of nine turnovers combined. The Toros took a 5-0 lead in the first three minutes, before Jennifer Kutz answered for the Gators with a two point hoop.Tracee Lewis led the Toros scoring drive with nine points, six coming from the charity stripe, and she nailed a trey at the 13:25 mark. The story of the second half was the free throw line. CSUDH posted a perfect 9-9 from the stripe, seven of those belonging to Lewis, while the Gators were only 5 of 9 (55%). Lewis continued to be prefect from the line, while adding to her numbers by pouring in six points from the field. Lewis scored 13 points in the final twenty. Another bright spot for the Toros Saturday was the play of junior Moneisha Washington. The guard posted double-figures with a personal-best ten points, including being a perfect 2 for 2 from downtown. She also saw a season-high 11 minutes. Cal State Dominguez Hills was led on the night by Lewis, who racked up 22 points,with 13 of those coming from the free throw line.

TOROS NOTES

• LEWIS HAS RECORD BREAKING WEEKEND Not only did senior guard Tracee Lewis score game-high points in the Toros win over San Francisco State, she also scored a place in the Toros Record Books. Lewis broke the single-game records for most free throws made (13) and best free throw percentage (1.000). Lewis surpassed the old record of 11 for free throws made in a contest. The record was held by three players, including current teammate Fercia Rambacal. Lewis's performance from the line that night was an indication of how things have been going all season. She was a perfect 8 of 8 in the Toros loss to Cal Poly Pomona, and the senior is 57 of 71 (80%) on the season, which is a squad -high.
• MAKING THE MOST OF HER TIME Junior Moneisha Washington is making the most of her courttime. The guard saw 11 minutes of action, her most all season, and in that time scored a season-best 10 points, including being a perfect 2 of 2 from downtown.
• TEASE REACHES 100 Junior Kendra Tease is the second Toro to have reached the century mark in scoring. Tease has scored 118 points on the season, and is averaging 9.8 ppg. She poured in a personal-best and team season-best 28 points in the Toros first win of the season over Southern Colorado.
• SOLID STARTS Only two players have started every game this season for the Toros. Tracee Lewis and Nakeisha Perkins have started all of CSUDH's 12 games this season, including all eight CCAA contests.
• SENIOR LEADERS The Cal State Dominguez Hills women's basketball team's scoring drive is being led by their senior class. The Toros four seniors, Tracee Lewis, Bryanna Norton, Fercia Rambacal and Christina Tucker are averaging 7.2 ppg.
• ALMOST THERE Junior center Nakeisha Perkins is almost at the 100 rebound mark. Perkins, the Toros top rebounder, has pulled down 93 boards to average 7.8 rpg. Look for Perkins to reach a century when the Toros travel to CS Stanislaus on Friday night.
• TOROS FORCING TURNOVERS Cal State Dominguez Hills is forcing turnovers. The Toros have forced 272 turnovers on the season, including stealing the ball away 122 times. CSUDH is turning the ball over 19.4 times per game, compared to their opponents who are giving the ball away 22.7 times per contest. The Toros are also recording 10.2 steals per game, almost two more per game then their foes.
• CS DOMINGUEZ HILLS STRONG FROM LONG RANGE The Toros hit a season-high number of field goals from three point range on Saturday night. They knocked down five hoops from long range. Moneisha Washington was a perfect 2 of 2 from behind the arc that night, while Monique Marquez, Fercia Rambacal and Tracee Lewis nailed one apiece.