Let The Games Begin: Big West Action Starts Saturday
With most of the nonconference portion of their schedules behind them, the nine Big West schools gear up for the start of Big West play, which begins Saturday, Jan. 2. Defending Big West Champion UC Santa Barbara has the honor of opening the new conference season when its hosts UC Irvine at 2:00 p.m. Both teams enter the matinee with a 3-9 overall mark and have struggled in recent weeks. The Gauchos have dropped four straight contests and the Anteaters posted back-to-back loses after going 2-1 in three contests prior.
Pacific, who just posted its first victory since Nov. 17, would like to tally its second consecutive win this weekend when it travels to Cal State Northridge to take on the Matadors at The Matadome. This could be a difficult task for the Tigers since they are winless on the road this year (0-5). Like Pacific, Cal State Northridge only has two wins thus far and is looking to find some success on its home court. Tipoff for the Tigers-Matadors showdown is schedule for 4:00 p.m.
UC Riverside at Long Beach State and UC Davis at Cal State Fullerton are the final two Big West matchups this weekend. The Aggies are one of two teams that enter conference play with a winning record at 7-5. Cal Poly, who sits atop the standings with a 7-4 mark, takes the weekend off before opening league play Monday, Jan. 4 when it welcomes UC Irvine to Mott Gym.
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).
Pacific Notches A Win
For the first time since the opening weekend of the 2009-10 season, the Pacific Tigers found themselves on the winning side of a basketball game. The Tigers' 70-63 victory over Saint Mary's on Dec. 29 snapped a seven-game slide. The win also came a week after Pacific posted its lowest point total (33), in a loss to Fresno State, since Dec. 11, 2004, when the Tigers fell to Illinois 74-31. The Tigers hope to add to their win total Saturday when they open conference play at Cal State Northridge.
A 3-1 Roadtrip Ends With Big Win For Cal Poly
In the final days of 2009, the Cal Poly women's basketball team registered its first victory against Santa Clara since Nov. 21, 1980 with a 63-55 win on Tuesday, Dec. 22. Leading the charge for the Mustangs that night were junior forward Kristina Santiago, who led all players with 21 points, and junior guard Rachel Clancy, who added 12 points and a team-high nine rebounds.
Struggles Continue In Santa Barbara
The defending Big West Champions, UC Santa Barbara, begins conference play this weekend on a four-game skid, its second of the season. The Gauchos, 3-9 overall, also kicked off the 2009-10 season with a four-game losing streak before posting their first win of the new season. This marks the worst Gauchos start to a season since 1983-84, a team that finished 3-25. The Gauchos look to turn things around Saturday afternoon when they welcome UC Irvine, also 3-9 in nonconference action, to The Thunderdome.
Close...But No Cigar
In the young season, the Big West Conference members have played 20 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 7-13 mark. UC Irvine is the lone school that has registered multiple nail-bitting victories, defeating Loyola Marymount, 65-62, and Seattle, 60-59.
Mimnaugh Climbing the Ranks
Cal Poly head coach Faith Mimnaugh ranks sixth all-time in the Big West coaching records with a tally of 147 overall wins since coaching in the Big West Conference. Currently in her 13th season at the helm of the Mustangs program, Mimnaughs 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) - 149
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 one win shy of capturing his 200th career win. His next opportunity to reach the elusive 200th career win comes on Saturday, Jan. 2 when UC Riverside faces Long Beach State in its Big West season-opener. Along with his overall victories, he is inching his way towards his 100th win at UC Riverside with an 89-76 mark. Margaritis, averaging 17.2 wins per season over a five-year span, has the 100th win within reach in 2009-10.
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.
Reaching The1,000-Point Milestone
Long Beach State's Karina Figueroa registered a 23-point performance to open the 2009-10 season that assisted in her in becoming the 100th Big West player to reach the 1,000-point plateau. Figueroa, redshirting last season due to injury, now has 1,202 career points, making her LBSUs 21st 1,000-point scorer.
The next closest conference player to reaching the elusive mark is Cal Poly's Kristina Santiago with 903 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.
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 arent far behind, welcoming back just one starter from last season.
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 womens volleyball as well as mens and womens basketball. Also covered are select contests in mens and womens 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 cant make it to the gym or the field, you can still catch all the action on BigWest.TV!