This Week in Toros Women's Basketball
December 19, 2005

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Last Week’s Recap

• BU: Against Biola the Toros scored a season high 95 points with Tameka Blue dropping 25 points on the visiting Eagles. Behind Blue was Alana Bailey with her second 22-point performance of the season. Brittney Blankenship came out of her recent slump and chipped in 13 points and six rebounds while the Toros would connect for 52.1% from the field, hitting five 3-point shots for good measure. Michelle Kribell would have one of her best games of the season, chipping in eight points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots. The Toros would use the large lead as an opportunity to get their entire roster in the game, with 15 different players seeing action, 10 of them scoring points.
• TAMUK:Against Texas A&M-Kingsville, the Toros offense would be slowed considerably from the night before, only scoring 54 total points. However, the Toros would step up their defense and hold the visiting Javelinas to a subpar 31.9 shooting percentage, and just 43 points on the evening. Blankenship would continue her inspired play, leading the Toros with a double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds. Kribell would once again come up big on the defensive end, recording her second-straight three-block performance, chipping in six points and four rebounds. Blue and Liang would also contribute nine and eight points, respectively.

News, Notes, & Other Toro-Bits

The Supporting Cast: A large part of the Toros success this season is due to a strong supporting cast coming off the bench, all of whom work hard without getting much glory. Their stats may not be as impressive as the starters' stats, but their steady contributions each game have given head coach Van Girard consistency off the beach. Leading the second team is Ree Browne, with 4.4 points and nearly two rebounds per game. Browne has scored in every game this season, while shooting an impressive 9-of-10 from the free throw line. Next off the bench is speedy freshman Aujanee Baldwin, who is averaging 2.7 points and is always a burst of energy once she enters the game. Adiana Vega-Howard is quickly becoming an outside threat off the bench, as she has nailed four 3-pointers in her last four games. Freshman Danielle Rodgers has given Girard a solid player who can play defense and hit the boards in the post. She is averaging nearly 3 rebounds per game, has more offensive than defensive rebounds this season, and has done this averaging less than nine minutes a game. The final player to see action in every game this season is redshirt freshman Ashley Johnson, who has provided solid defense at the forward position and, when given the minutes, has put up some nice numbers off the bench.

Quietly Emerging As A Star: Sophomore guard Jessica Liang is slowly emerging as a quiet star on the 2005-06 team. As a freshman last season, Liang averaged 22.4 minutes and 5.3 points while starting in only three games. This season, however, is a different story as Liang has started all seven games, averages a team-leading 33 minutes, and is scoring 9.0 points per game. Consistency has been key to her success this season as Liang has hit at least one 3-point shot in every game so far this season. She also is leading the team with 13 3-point shots made, and has committed less than half the fouls of any other starter on the team.

Blankenship Busts Out: This season has been a conundrum of sorts for sophomore Brittney Blankenship thus far. Before this weekend it appeared that Blankenship may have been feeling the effects of the proverbial "sophomore slump." In her first two games, she grabbed 11 and 10 rebounds, respectively, but fell off that pace considerably over her next three contests, grabbing a total of 10 boards. Additionally, her offensive performance had been inconsistent at best. After scoring just three points in her first game, she exploded for 15, but then followed that performance with four, nine, and back down to two before this weekend. However, in her last two games, Blankenship showed she's regaining the form that made her one of the go-to players last season, busting out with a total of 27 points and 17 rebounds in wins over Biola and Texas A&M Kingsville.

Last Week’s Top Toros (Two Games)

• Points - Week Total (Season Avg.)
  • Tameka Blue - 34 (17.3)
  • Brittney Blankenship - 27 (8.6)
• Rebounds - Week Total (Season Avg.)
  • Brittney Blankenship - 17 (6.9)
  • Michelle Kribell - 12 (5.6)
• Assists - Week Total (Season Avg.)
  • Tameka Blue - 7 (5.3)
  • Jessica Liang - 7 (2.7)
• Steals - Week Total (Season Avg.)
  • Tameka Blue - 6 (2.6)
  • Brittney Blankenship - 4 (1.0)

Toros Statistical Leaders:

• Scoring:
  • Tameka Blue (17.3),
  • Alana Bailey (14.1),
  • Jessica Liang (9.0)
• FG Pct. (30 min):
  • Alana Bailey (.507),
  • Tameka Blue (.447),
  • Brittney Blankenship (.400)
• Rebounding:
  • Brittney Blankenship (6.9),
  • Alana Bailey (6.6),
  • Michelle Kribell (5.6)
• Assists:
  • Tameka Blue (5.3),
  • Jessica Liang (2.7),
  • Brittney Blankenship (2.4)
• Steals:
  • Tameka Blue (2.6),
  • Jessica Liang (1.8),
  • Alana Bailey (1.3)
• FT Pct. (20 min):
  • Tameka Blue (.875),
  • Alana Bailey (.694),
  • Michelle Kribell (.667)
• Min. Played:
  • Jessica Liang (33.0),
  • Tameka Blue (29.9),
  • Brittney Blankenship (27.0)
• Blocked Shots:
  • Michelle Kribell (7),
  • Alana Bailey (3),
  • Aujanee Baldwin (1),
  • Adiana Vega-Howard (1)
• 3-Point Pct:
  • Tameka Blue (.360),
  • Jessica Liang (.342),
  • Adiana Vega-Howard (.250)

He’s a Photographing Foo...!:
Toro fans, log on to www.michaelfoo.com/buy.htm throughout the year to purchase exciting CSUDH basketball photographs from the Toros’ official athletics photographer.

Blue’s Quest for Career Points Leader
Games Left: 19 - Needs to avg. 17.9 ppg.

Toros Continue 2005-06 Basketball Web Cast Schedule With Waldcast.net: CSUDH and Waldcast.net continue their broadcast schedule for the Toros 2005-06 women’s basketball seasons. A total of 10 more games remain on the women's schedule, with the next web cast scheduled for Friday, January 6, when the Toros host Cal State Baksersfield. All the Webcasts can be heard here on the Cal State Dominguez Hills Athletics Website. See the complete Webcast schedule.

Longtime southland broadcaster Ronnie Wald, who begins his third year as the basketball broadcast voice of the Toros, will be calling the play-by-play.