Last Week In The Big West
UC Riverside came out on top of last week’s “Judgement Week” in the Big West, winning both of its contests to claim a half-game lead in the standings. One of those wins was against UC Davis, but the Aggies kept pace with a win earlier in the week. Cal Poly was in charge heading into the week, but the Mustangs fell twice to Cal State Fullerton and UC Santa Barbara to drop to a game behind the Highlanders.
Tournament Seeding on the Line in Women's Hoops
The final week of a topsy turvy regular season is upon us with all eight spots in the Big West Tournament up for grabs.
The top three will for certain be UC Riverside, UC Davis and Cal Poly, but the order of the trio has yet to be determined. UCR has a single conference game at home against Long Beach State, while Cal Poly wraps up its season-ended three-game road swing with a matchup against UC Irvine. UCD will welcome a pair of opponents to the Pavilion as Cal State Northridge and Cal State Fullerton come calling.
Speaking of LBSU, they can go from missing the tourney to clinching a bye into the quarterfinals but a loss and some other results can mean a four-way tie for fourth place in the league standings. It would come down to numerous tiebreakers in that scenario.
Finally, Pacific is in a prime position for the last tournament spot as they hold a one-game lead over Cal State Northridge. Either a PAC win or a CSUN loss would seal it for the Tigers, while the Matadors would need two wins, including one over Pacific Saturday, and two Tiger losses for the #8 seed.
Lets Figure Out this Title
The Big West regular season title is coming down to the wire and three clubs have a chance to stake a claim as the best in the league. UC Riverside holds the top spot at 11-4, but a win in its finale won’t give it the top seed in the Big West Tournament. The inside track actually belongs to UC Davis. Assuming the standings remain as they are, two wins by the Aggies and the title top seed is theirs thanks to the club’s 2-0 mark against Long Beach State. Cal Poly can tie for the regular season title, but can not achieve the top seed. If UCD, loses twice, UCR loses and the Mustangs win, there would be an 11-5 tri-championship. The top seed would still go to the Aggies and the Highlanders would still claim the #2 position. Thus Cal Poly is pretty much locked into the #3 slot, the same position the club was in a year ago when it advanced to the Big West title game.
Margaritis Nabs 100th Win at UCR
John Margaritis saw his club win a key Big West contest last weekend at home against UC Davis, but the win also gave him a career milestone. The victory gave Margaritis his 100th win at UC Riverside, the second coaching milestone achieve by Margaritis in 2009-10. Previously, UC Riverside’s 74-61 win over Cal State Northridge not only secured the Highlanders their first Big West victory of the season, but lifted head coach Margaritis to his 200th career victory.
Why Even Try?
Mekia Valentine has given plenty of UCSB’s opponents apprehension about venturing into the paint, as her 101 blocks would attest. Hitting triple digits in the blocks category is something that hasn’t been done too often in Big West Lore, as Valentine became just the 11th player in league history to reach the number. She is also the first since athlete since Long Beach State’s Rhonda Smith achieved the feat in 1999-00.
30? No Problem
UC Irvine might be in the middle of the pack offensively in the Big West at 63.3 points per outing, but the Anteaters have collected a bunch of 30-point efforts from a pair of players. Jade Smith-Williams has hit 30 or more on three occasions, while Mikah Maly-Karros has come up with 30+ in a pair of contests. They are the only teammates in the league that have reached 30 points this season.
Under the Radar Stars
Everyone who follows Big West basketball knows the marquee names around the league..players such as Cal Poly's Kristina Santiago, Long Beach State's Karina Figueroa, UC Riverside's Alyssa Morris and UC Santa Barbara's Mekia Valentine. But there have been plenty of players around the league which have made their mark outside of the spotlight.
Cal State Fullerton's Lyndsey Grove might be overshadowed by teammates Megan Richardson and Jasmine Scott, but Grove’s 11.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 85.6% accuracy from the foul line earns her plenty of merit. Another star out of the spotlight is Cal State Northridge’s Katrina Thompson, a senior who leads her club in assists (79) and steals (47), shoots 41.9% from downtown and pours in 9.4 points and 5.8 assists per outing.
Pacific might have the league's best-kept secret in Christina Thompson, a sophomore post player. While the Tigers are known for their affection for the three, Thompson is actually their leading scorer at 11.1 points a game and is one of two regulars in the Pacific lineup that is hovering around the 50% from the field mark. The most impressive thing about Thompson is that she is not a full-time starter and plays 18.9 minutes per outing, making her the league’s top scorer among reserve players.
Sub...No? Alright I’ll Stay In
Next time you’re at a UC Santa Barbara game, check and see if Emilie Johnson actually looks over at the scorer's table when the horn goes off or even if she even knows which bench is hers. Johnson leads the Big West with 998 minutes played for an average of 37.0 minutes per night over UCSB's 27 games. She has played 40 or more minutes nine times this season, played all 50 minutes of a double overtime road game against Cal State Fullerton and has played in 91% of UC Santa Barbara’s 1,095 minutes this season. She would actually have 10 games of 40+ minutes, but head coach Lindsay Gottlieb gave her a few seconds of rest in a matchup against Cal Poly on January 28.
Pretty Good These Last Few Years
UC Riverside has been a consistent contender for the Big West title over the past four seasons and its performance in league play is a big reason why. With its 11 conference wins so far this season, the Highlanders are the only team in the Big West to post double-digit conference wins in each of the last four league seasons. UC Santa Barbara also has won double-digit conference games over the past three seasons, but the Gauchos cannot reach that number this season.
I'll Be Taking That
UC Davis is a club that prides itself on its sum-of-all-parts system, but the Aggies have a couple of parts that have shown a proficiency for taking the ball away from opponents. Haylee Donaghe, a sixth-year (we believe) senior and Hana Asano, a sophomore, rank second and fourth in the Big West in steals, respectively. The duo is the only pair of teammates who rank in the top 10 in the conference in steals and are responsible for 119 of the Aggies’ league-leading steals total of 306.
UC Santa Barbara Tabbed Preseason Favorite
The Gauchos of UC Santa Barbara were selected to claim their third consecutive, 14th overall, Big West Conference women’s basketball regular season title, as voted on by the media. The Gauchos captured 10 of a possible 20 first-place votes and 162 total points. They were closely followed by second place UC Davis, who received six first-place nods and 155 points. Rounding out the top three was Cal Poly with three first-place selections and a point total of 146.
Two-time Big West Champion UC Riverside was selected fourth with one first-place vote and a total of 112 points. Garnering the fifth slot in the preseason poll with 99 points is Long Beach State, who begins a new era under first-year head coach Jody Wynn. Pacific earned the sixth spot after acquiring 87 points and was followed by Cal State Fullerton (59), Cal State Northridge (41) and UC Irvine (39).
Long Beach State Showcases New Face At The Helm Of Its Program
Jody Wynn, who spent the last five seasons as the senior assistant, recruiting coordinator and head of scouting at USC, becomes the sixth head coach in LBSU women’s basketball history. Wynn comes to LBSU with 13 years of collegiate coaching experience under her belt. While at USC, she was in charge of bringing in four nationally-ranked recruiting classes, including the No. 1-ranked group in 2006.
Foster Takes Over Reins At Fullerton
Former associate head coach Marcia Foster at Cal State Fullerton was promoted to head coach after Dr. Maryalyce Jeremiah relinquished her duties at the end of last season. Foster begins her seventh year with the Titans women's basketball program. She also spent one year as head coach at Cal Tech and six years as an assistant at Cal Poly.
Teams Showcase New Lineups
With the departure of such a large group of talented women's basketball players, fresh faces will be seen on the court this year. Three teams with the tough task of constructing a successful lineup this season are UC Riverside, UC Santa Barbara and Pacific. The Highlanders must start from scratch after losing all five of their starters to graduation. The Tigers and Gauchos aren’t far behind, welcoming back just one starter from last season.
Honda Center To Become Official Home Of Big West Basketball Tournament Beginning in 2011
Honda Center has announced a five-year partnership with the Big West Conference to host its annual men’s and women’s post-season basketball tournament beginning in 2011. The Big West and Honda Center have teamed up for "March Madness" and "The Road To The Final Four" on numerous occasions including men's basketball regionals in 1998, 2001 and 2003 and first and second round action in 2008.
In addition, the Big West and Honda Center was selected as host of the 2011 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball West Regional.