Aggies String Together Victories
UC Davis enters the week riding a season-long and conference-best four-game win streak. Sitting a top the Big West standings with a 5-3 record, the Aggies look to extend their win streak with two road games at Yale and Seton Hall.
Close...But No Cigar
In the young season, the Big West Conference members have played 16 contests that were decided by five points or less. Unfortunately the league has been on the losing end of most of the games, posting a 5-11 mark. UC Irvine is the lone school that has posted multiple nail-bitting victories, defeating Loyola Marymount, 65-62, and Seattle, 60-59. On the other end of the spectrum, Cal State Fullerton lost three games by a grand total of 11 points last week.
California Showdowns
Two schools are facing competition from the Golden State this week with UC Santa Barbara entertaining both UCLA and Pepperdine and Cal Poly visiting Loyola Marymount (12/19). The Gauchos host the Bruins Tuesday, Dec. 15 at noon and the Waves in a Sunday matinee. The Mustangs are 4-0 this season against schools hailing from California, while the Gauchos own a 2-2 record. As a whole, the Big West is 15-17 against its fellow local universities.
Valentine Leads Gauchos, Big West Offensively And Defensively
Junior transfer Mekia Valentine paces the Gauchos squad and the Big West Conference in field goal percentage with a .632 clip while also topping the charts in blocked shots with a 4.4 average. Her rebounding average of 7.3 paces UC Santa Barbara and ranks third in the league.
Richardson High Point For Fullerton Offense
Sophomore guard Megan Richardson has been on fire in 2009-10, leading the Titans in scoring in five contests this year. Richardson, who recorded a season-high 29 points in the season-opening game versus San Jose State, has reached double figures in seven of the team's nine games this season. She is averaging 15.1 points per contest, tying her for fourth place in the league.
Home, Unsweet, Home
Only two schools own a winning record when playing in front of their hometown fans this season with UC Davis and Cal Poly both posting 3-2 records. Of the nine conference schools, seven teams have recorded at least one victory on their home court. Cal State Fullerton, who just played its first home contests of the season last week, and Cal State Northridge are winless at home this season, each owning a 0-3 mark. The Matadors get another shot of recording their first W at home this week when they welcome Miami (Ohio) to The Thunderdome Sunday afternoon. Cal State Fullerton's next home contest is Monday, Dec. 21 versus Eastern Washington.
Cal Poly Records Impressive Win
On Sunday, Dec. 13 Cal Poly downed San Francisco, 73-52, posting its first victory over the Dons since Dec. 15, 1981. In fact, it was just the second win at San Francisco all-time for the Mustangs.
Figueroa Returns To Old Form
Prior to suffering a season-ending injury which caused her to redshirt last season, Long Beach State's Karina Figueroa seems to have returned to her old form as she paces the 49ers on offense. She is averaging 18.3 points per game, ranking her second in the Big West and 44th nationally. Figueroa is also dishing 6.1 assists per contest to lead the Big West and sit among the top 20 in the country. Her team-best .853 free throw percentage is good enough for fifth in the league.
Mimnaugh Climbing the Ranks
Cal Poly head coach Faith Mimnaugh ranks sixth all-time in the Big West coaching records with a tally of 146 overall wins since coaching in the Big West Conference. Currently in her 13th season at the helm of the Mustangs program, Mimnaugh's 146 overall wins is the highest win total of all Big West active coaches.
Mark French, UCSB (1987-08) - 438
Jim Bolla, UNLV (1983-96) - 276
Dr. Maryalyce Jeremiah, CSF (1985-92, 03-09) - 176
Vince Goo, Hawaii (1987-96) - 179
Joan Bonvicini, LBSU (1985-91) - 169
Faith Mimnaugh, CP (1997-Present) - 146
Margaritis Eyes Coaching Milestones
UC Riverside head coach John Margaritis has his sights set on two coaching milestones in 2009-10. He is currently just two wins shy of capturing his 200th career win. Along with his overall victories, he is inching his way towards his 100th win at UC Riverside with an 88-72 mark. Margaritis, averaging 17.2 wins per season over a five-year span, has the 100th win well within reach.
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 womens 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 head coaching duties at the end of last season. Foster begins her seventh year with the Titans womens 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.
Reaching The1,000-Point Milestone
Playing in her first game since March 12, 2008, senior Karina Figueroa led the 49ers in their season-opening contest with a double-double, netting 23 points and dishing out a career-high tying 10 assists. Her 23-point performance assisted her in becoming the 100th Big West player to reach the 1,000-point plateau. Figueroa, redshirting last season due to injury, now has 1,167 career points, making her LBSU's 21st 1,000-point scorer.
The next closest conference player to reaching the elusive mark is Cal Poly's Kristina Santiago with 838 career points. Should the junior forward reach the four-figure mark this year, she would become the fourth Mustang to do so in as few as three seasons.
Live On The Net
The Big West Conference and the CBS College Sports Network are partnering to bring you exclusive coverage of Big West sports, press conferences, interviews and features into your home via the Internet! Now in its fifth year, BigWest.TV covers every home and conference contest in women's volleyball as well as men's and women's basketball. Also covered are select contests in men's and women's soccer, baseball, softball, and Big West Conference Championships. A monthly subscription of $9.95 or an annual subscription of $79.95 delivers exclusive coverage to you. If you can't make it to the gym or the field, you can still catch all the action on BigWest.TV!