CSUDH Women's Basketball Weekly Release
February 12, 2002

NEXT UP IN TOROS WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Feb. 15 UC San Diego San Diego, CA/ RIMAC, 5:30 p.m.
Feb. 16 Grand Canyon Phoenix, AZ/ Antelope Gym, 6:00 p.m.

TOROS HIT THE ROAD FOR FOUR GAME TRIP The Cal State Dominguez Hills women's basketball team will hit the road this weekend as they begin a four-game road trip. The Toros will travel south on Friday to take on UC San Diego, followed by a visit to Phoenix where they will take on the 'Lopes of Grand Canyon University.

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 TRITONS
  UC San Diego (11-10, 7-9 CCAA): The Tritons were split in competition last week, posting a win over CSUS and a loss to CSUB. They are led on the season by Ali Gin who is averaging 14.8 ppg.
  The Last Time We Met: The last time that these teams met was on January 5, 2002 when CSUDH handed the UCSD 56-46 loss.
  The Series: CSUDH leads the series 12-1
  Girard vs. UCSD: Van Girard is 12-1 vs. CPP.
  Triton Head Coach: The Tritons are under head coach Judy Malone.
• SCOUTING THE 'LOPES
  Grand Canyon University(2-19,0-16CCAA): GCU is looking for their first CCAA win. They are led by Elizabeth Watson who is averaging 12.7 ppg.
  The Last Time We Met: The last time that these teams met was on January 4, 2002, when the Toros defeated the 'Lopes 67-59 for their first CCAA win.
  The Series: CSUDH leads the series 14-3.
  Girard vs. GCU: Van Girard is 14-3 vs. the 'Lopes.
  'Lope Head Coach: Head coach Kip Drown is in his first season at GCU.

TUCKER HELPS TOROS TOUGH OUT WIN Senior Christina Tucker, who has been quiet for the Toros most of the season, came alive when the Toros needed her most. In the win over CSUSB, Tucker had a 10 points, making her one of the three Toros that scored in double-figures in the win. Tucker was 4 of 8 from the field, including nailing two from long range.

TEASE BRINGS THEM DOWN FOR THE WIN Junior Kendra Tease had a big night on the boards. The center pulled down a personal- best and team -high 16 boards in the win over CSUSB. She had five offensive and 11 defensive boards. She pulled down 10 more than any other Toro in the game.

RAMBACAL IS ALMOST PERFECT Not only did senior Fercia Rambacal have the game winning shot and a team-high 13 points. The guard was almost perfect from the floor. She was 5 of 6, and the only shot she missed was from long range. Rambacal was also a perfect 2 of 2 from the line.

PERKINS REACHES A CENTURY, AGAIN Junior Nakeisha Perkins has reached the century mark again. With her 12 points in the win over CSUSB, Perkins has brought her season total to 100. She hit the 100 mark earlier this season when she pulled down 100 rebounds. So far, she has grabbed 151 boards.

ASKEW SEEING SOME TIME Redshirt freshman Octavia Askew is seeing some courttime. The forward played 16 minutes in Friday's game vs. CPP and 20 minutes on Saturday in the Toros win over CSUSB. Although she was held scoreless in Saturday's contest, she did break up a Coyote pass in the final seconds of play to secure the one point win for the Toros.

LEWIS PUTS UP BIG NUMBERS VS. POMONA Senior guard Tracee Lewis had a big night in the loss to Cal Poly Pomona. Lewis tied a season-best 22 points in the game. She was 7 of 17 from the floor, including being 2 of 5 from downtown. Lewis was also 6 of 7 from the line. This was the second time on this season that she has scored above 20 points. On the season, she is averaging 12.5 ppg.

LINE LEADER Tracee Lewis is leading the Toros from the free throw line. The senior guard is 79 of 102 (77%) from the charity stripe. Earlier this season, Lewis set a new school record for free throws made in a game (13) and free throw percentage (1.000) in the Toros victory over San Francisco State.

EIGHT TOROS TAKING THE BALL AWAY Eight members of the Cal State Dominguez Hills women's basketball team are posting double-figure steals. Fercia Rambacal is leading the charge with 30 steals on the season, while Lewis is close behind with 28. Christina Tucker, Kendra Tease, Monique Marquez, Adrianna Mendez, Nakeisha Perkins and Tomica Coleman are the other Toros tallying double-figure steals this season.

TOUGH ON THE OFFENSIVE BOARDS The Toros are one of the top teams on the offensive boards. CSUDH is outrebounding their opponents on the offensive boards 291-232 in all games, and dominating in conference games 223-188. Nakeisha Perkins is leading all players on the offensive boards with 98 rebounds overall and 42 boards in CCAA games.

LEWIS CONTINUES TO BE OUT IN FRONT Tracee Lewis continues to be the top Toros scorer, by far. Lewis is the only player tallying double-figure points per game with 12.5. She has scored 249 points on the season and is also the only Toro scoring in the 200 range. The next closest player is center Kendra Tease, who has scored 184 points on the season and is averaging 9.2 points per game.