What's In Store For The Big West Conference
If the first day of Big West play is any indication of the rest of the 2009-10 season, the race to the championship will be tightly contested. All four league contests were decided by 11 points or less and one game, Pacific at Cal State Northridge, even needed overtime to determine a winner. Preseason favorite UC Santa Barbara was successful from the free throw line late in the game to prevail in their conference opener against UC Irvine, 54-48. Cal Poly, one of two Big West teams that own an above .500 overall mark, plays its first conference game of the 2009-10 season Monday when it hosts UC Irvine at Mott Gym.
Valentine Provides Gauchos Spark; Sets UCSB Record
UC Santa Barbara transfer Mekia Valentine opened Big West play with a bang as she shattered UCSB's single-game block record with 11 swats. Her efforts broke Kris Grazzini's previous mark of eight which came on Feb. 10, 1995, vs. Nevada. Valentine nearly finished with a triple-double that day as she led the Gauchos with 16 points and eight rebounds. She now has blocked 55 shots already this season, good enough for fifth all-time in UCSB's single-season history. The 6-4 forward/center needs just 45 more blocks to earn a spot in the Big Wests single-game top 10 list.
LBSU Starts Conference Play On The Right Foot
What a difference a year makes. It took the 2009-10 Long Beach State women's basketball team just one game to post a conference win, where last year's team didn't record its first Big West victory until its seventh contest. Under the helm of first year head coach Jody Wynn, the 49ers knocked off UC Riverside, 55-46, to register their first conference-opening win since the 2005-06 season. The victory at The Walter Pyramid also snapped a nine-game losing streak to the Highlanders, who concluded the 2008-09 season ranked second in the Big West.
Thompson's Record Night Helps Pacific Post Back-To-Back Victories
Christina Thompson had a stellar night against Saint Mary's, setting a handful of career highs. A few nights later she opened Big West play reestablishing a majority of those career highs in a win over Cal State Northridge that solidified Pacific's first back-to-back victories of the season. The sophomore forward/center set career-bests in points (23), free throws made (11) and free throw attempts (14).
Cal Poly Continues Its Offensive Prowess
The Cal Poly Mustangs concluded the 2008-09 season ranked first in the Big West Conference with an average of 65.9 points per game. With two months of action in the record books, the Mustangs are atop the conference perch once again, averaging 70.3 points per contest. Cal Poly has only failed to score a minimum of 60 points in one contest so far this season - a 56-47 loss to Illinois on Nov. 28. The Mustangs, who own a league-best .442 field goal percentage, also hold the highest single-game point total in the league this season as they scored 94 points in their last contest to topple Seattle. Leading the charge for the Mustangs is junior Kristina Santiago, who is tied for first in the conference with an 18.1 points per game average.
Cal State Fullerton Starts New Year With A Win
Cal State Fullerton began the new year and the start of Big West play with a 68-57 win over UC Davis, a team that was picked to finish second in the preseason media poll. Improving to 5-8 overall, the Titans recorded their fourth straight conference opener - the longest such win streak since joining the Big West in 1985-86. Cal State Fullerton is led by first-year head coach Marcia Foster.
UC Irvine Benefits From Transfer Maly-Karros
Mikah Maly-Karros, who had to sit out the first part of the season due to transfer rules, has made an immediate impact on the UC Irvine women's basketball team. In the five games she has played in (12/15/09-1/2/10), Maly-Karros has averaged 19.0 points and 11.6 rebounds per contest to lead the squad. The next closest Anteater in scoring is Jade Williams-Smith with 12.5 points per contest. Maly-Karros has only played in 40% of UC Irvines contests and needs to play in 75% of the games in order to rank in the Big West standings. With that being said, her scoring and rebounding averages would theoretically place her at the top of the charts in both categories.
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.
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 1,219 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.
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 Wednesday, Jan. 6 when UC Riverside travels to Cal State Bakersfield. Along with his overall victories, he is inching his way towards his 100th win at UC Riverside with an 89-77 mark. Margaritis, averaging 17.2 wins per season over a five-year span, has the 100th win within reach in 2009-10.
Mimnaugh Climbing the Ranks
Cal Poly head coach Faith Mimnaugh ranks sixth all-time in the Big West coaching records with a tally of 149 overall wins. 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.
UC Santa Barbara Tabbed Preseason Favorite
The Gauchos of UC Santa Barbara were selected to claim their third consecutive, 14th overall, Big West Conference womens 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).
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 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 cant make it to the gym or the field, you can still catch all the action on BigWest.TV!