Big West Tournament Field Set
It came down to the final day of the regular season, but the 2010 Big West Women’s Basketball Tournament field is set and ready for competiton. The 27th edition of the tournament begins Wednesday, March 10 with the championship game set for Saturday, March 13. For the 10th consecutive season, the Big West Tournament will be held at the Anaheim Convention Center.
UC Davis is the #1 seed in this year’s tournament, the first time that the program has entered the foray in the top slot. #2 and the other double bye goes to Cal Poly, the best seeding for the team in school history.
The third-seeded club is UC Riverside, who earns a first round bye for its efforts. Long Beach State, which missed the Big West Tournament a year ago, is back in the battle with the fourth position this season.
The first round matchups on Wednesday will pit two-time defending league champion #5 UC Santa Barbara against #8 Pacific at noon, while 30 minutes following that game’s completion, #6 Cal State Fullerton takes on #7 UC Irvine.
#5 UC Santa Barbara vs. #8 Pacific
The first game of the 2010 Big West Tournament is a contrast in styles as the rugged defense and rebounding prowess of #5 UC Santa Barbara squares off with the run-n-gun style of #8 Pacific. UCSB took both meetings by 65-58 and 71-34 finals and enters the game having won five consecutive contests overall. Overall the UCSB/PAC series is 3-2 in favor of the Gauchos, but the two teams have not played since the 2003 final. That season, UC Santa Barbara posted its second consecutive win over Pacific in the Big West title game.
#6 Cal State Fullerton at #7 UC Irvine
The second game of the opening round pits Orange County rivals against each other as #6 Cal State Fullerton tangles with #7 UC Irvine. The longtime foes split this season’s meetings with UCI taking a 73-65 decision at home on January 30 and CSF winning on its home floor onThe game was only the fourth between the two in Big West Tournament history, following meetings in 1988 (CSF win), 1994 (UCI win) and 1995 (UCI win).
Who Wants to Take It?
UC Davis has employed the team concept on its way to its first Big West regular season title, possessing nine players who play double-digit minutes ranging from 11.4 to 28.4 minutes. They also have the most players with at least 12 three-pointers in the league, having eight players who have hit that many treys. So in case the Aggies need a three to win a game, the opposition has to worry about practically every player in the rotation.
106 and Counting...
Mekia Valentine still keeps piling up the blocks for UC Santa Barbara, standing tall at 106 and counting going into the Big West Tournament. She is already the single-season blocks leader at UCSB and is just the 11th player in Big West history to collect 100+ blocks in a season. As of the latest NCAA statistics, Valentine is third in the country with her 3.93 blocks per game.
How About that Preseason Poll?
Preseason polls are good media fodder for the beginning of the season, but rarely do the results match the prediction. The 2009-10 topsy turvy Big West season was no exception as the final conference standings certainly did not match the earlier selections. The predicted preseason order of UC Santa Barbara, UC Davis, Cal Poly, UC Riverside, Long Beach State, Pacific, Cal State Fullerton, Cal State Northridge and UC Irvine. At the end of the season, it became UC Davis, Cal Poly, UC Riverside, Long Beach State, UC Santa Barbara, Cal State Fullerton, UC Irvine, Pacific and Cal State Northridge. Only seven more months until the next Big West women’s basketball preseason poll!
High School Teammates Still Linked
Cal State Fullerton’s Megan Richardson and UC Irvine’s Mikah Maly-Karros were high school teammates at Mira Costa High School in Manhattan Beach, Calif., and the two have made quite a name for themselves since then. The duo both claimed first team All-Big West honors this season as sophomores and are the leading scorers for their respective clubs. They are the only set of former high school teammates on the first team All-Conference list.
Their Very Own Dr. J
Cal State Northridge may not have made the Big West Tournament, but the Matadors have reason to look forward to next season thanks to the return of Jasmine Erving. The second team All-Big West selection led the team in scoring (13.6), blocks (34) and was second in rebounding (5.5). Her scoring average was fifth in the Big West and upped to 14.1 against conference opposition. Erving also shot 45.0% from the floor, 73.6% from the free throw line and showed an ability to selectively hit threes by canning five of her eight attempts. No word if she can dunk like the NBA Hall of Famer though.
SMMMMMMOOOKIN!
UC Santa Barbara seemed like an after thought on February 13 after a loss to longtime rival Long Beach State left it at 4-7 in conference play. Since then, UCSB has been absolutely on fire with five consective wins to close the regular season. The streak is the longest for the Gauchos this season and is the first time the club has won more than two games in a row all season. The streak also ensured that UC Santa Barbara would have a winning record in league play for the 20th consecutive season
Awards Bring Out Firsts
A number of firsts were accomplished by several award winners this season. Cal Poly’s Kristina Santiago became the first Mustang to be named Player of the Year and the first player from a team other than UC Santa Barbara or UC Riverside to win the award since 2005-06. UC Davis’ Haylee Donaghe (Defensive), UC Irvine’s Jazmyne White (Freshman) and UC Santa Barbara’s Ariana Gnekow (Hustle) were the first players in their respective programs’ history to claim their specific awards, while Donaghe became the first Aggie to claim a player’s major award in their DI history.
Margaritis Nabs 100th Win at UCR
John Margaritis will seek his third Big West Tournament title this week, but a pair of earlier regular season victories gave him two coaching milestones. UC Riverside’s 74-61 win over Cal State Northridge on January 14 not only secured the Highlanders’ first Big West victory of the season, but lifted head coach Margaritis to his 200th career victory. The second milestone came after a 57-53 win over UC Davis on February 27, giving Margaritis his 100th win at UC Riverside.
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.