After winning the Big West Tournament title, UC Riverside will face Stanford in the first round of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament. The 16th-seeded Highlanders and top-seeded Cardinal will take the court Saturday night at 7:30 pm (PT) in Stanford, Calif., live on ESPN2.
The game at Maples Pavilion will be the second of a first round doubleheader. The other side of the bracket has Iowa and Rutgers taking the court at 4:30 pm (PT). The quartet of teams was placed in the top half of the Sacramento Regional with the two winners to face off on Monday night.
This is the third NCAA Tournament appearance for UC Riverside, following back-to-back appearances in 2006 and '07. The Highlanders and Cardinal have never met but this is the second time that UCR has faced a Pac-10 school in the NCAAs, following a 57-50 loss to Arizona State in 2007.
UCR started the season 3-12, but rebounded to finish in third place in the Big West standings before winning three games in the conference tournament to enter the NCAA Tournament at 17-15. The Highlanders are a balanced team that boasts four double-figure scorers. Alyssa Morris leads the team in scoring (13.4) and rebounding (6.3) and is second in assists (3.2). Big West Tournament MVP Amber Cox (10.4 ppg, 4.0 rpg), Rhaya Neabors (11.0 ppg, 66 stl) and Marissa Rivera (10.0 ppg, 5.1 rpg) provide plenty of support and balance for John Margaritis’ crew.
Stanford, the regular season and tournament champion of the Pac-10, enters the NCAA Tournament with a record of 31-1. The Cardinal have made two consecutive appearances in the Final Four and are led by Pac-10 Player of the Year Nnemkadi Ogwumike (18.3 ppg, 9.4 rpg), Kayla Pedersen (16.1 ppg, 9.2 rpg) and Jayne Appel (13.8 ppg, 9.2 rpg). The club is on a 22-game win streak and its only loss of the season came on the road to undefeated #1 Connecticut back on December 23.
NOTEWORTHY
UC Riverside Claims Tourney Title
After a loss in its regular season finale relegated UC Riverside to the #3 seed, the Highlanders regrouped to win three games in as many days to claim their third Big West Tournament title in five seasons. UCR, which was just 3-12 entering conference play, downed #5 Cal State Fullerton, #2 Cal Poly and #1 UC Davis on its way to the automatic NCAA Tournament berth. UCR’s Amber Cox added to her Highlander legacy as she was named the Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. UC Riverside will look for its first postseason win as a DI team against Stanford, a team it has never played
UC Davis Heads to WNIT
Losing in the Big West championship game wasn’t the end of the season for UC Davis as the club claimed the league’s automatic berth into the WNIT. The Aggies’ auto bid came as a result of being the Big West regular season champion. This is the second time in three DI seasons that UCD will play in the WNIT. Back in 2008, the Aggies fell to Gonzaga on the road in the program’s first Division I postseason contest. This time around, UC Davis will hit the road to play Pac-10 foe California. The Golden Bears hold a 6-2 edge in the series with the last matchup coming on Nov. 25, 2007 in Berkeley. California won that game, 67-58.
All-Tournament Lineup
UC Riverside’s Amber Cox was one of two Highlanders on the All-Tournament team as Alyssa Morris also found her name on the illustrious list. Championship game finalist UC Davis also had two players named All-Tournament in Paige Mintun and Heidi Heintz. The last two spots went to Mekia Valentine of UC Santa Barbara and Mikah Maly-Karros of UC Irvine.
Big West Postseason Tidbits
The Big West is 23-36 overall among the seven teams to qualify for the NCAA Tournament all-time. The league’s last win in the Big Dance came in 2004 when UC Santa Barbara topped Colorado and Houston on its way to a Sweet 16 defeat at the hands of Connecticut. Long Beach State has the league’s best NCAA record at 11-7, while UC Santa Barbara owns the most appearances with 13. In the WNIT, the Big West is 14-19 overall with the last victory coming in 2007. That year UCSB topped San Diego in the first round and fell to Oregon in the following contest.
Maly-Karros Puts Stamp on Tourney
Mikah Maly-Karros played only one game in the Big West Tournament, but she made sure people will remember her for years to come. The high-scoring sophomore scored 41 points against Cal State Fullerton, just three shy of the conference tournament record and tying the school single-game mark. She hit 17-of-31 shots from the floor and hit 7-of-8 from the foul line on the way to her unbelievable tally. Not surprisingly, Maly-Karros was named to the All-Tournament team for her efforts.
Dynamic Duo Carries UCSB to Semis
UC Santa Barbara’s Mekia Valentine and Meagan Williams were a superstar duo at the Big West Tournament, leading the Gauchos to a semifinal appearance for the 15th consecutive season. Williams led the team in scoring over the three games, averaging 21.0 points, and adding 5.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists while shooting a blistering 61.7% (29-47) from the floor. Valentine was her usual impressive self in the middle, averaging 13.7 points, 15.0 rebounds and 4.7 blocks. She collected eight blocks in the first round game against Pacific and grabbed 19 rebounds in the quarterfinal victory over Long Beach State. The 19 boards was one shy of the Big West Tournament single-game record.
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.
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 were 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.
Figueroa Wraps Up Illustrious Career
Long Beach State super senior Karina Figueroa finally wrapped up an outstanding career after a loss at the Big West Tournament. Figueroa finished her career with 1,517 points, 27th on the Big West career list, and 396 assists. She also claimed All-Conference honors on four occasions, garnering honorable mention status after the 2005-06 season, second team accolades after the ‘06-07 and ‘07-08 seasons and first team honors this year after sitting out all of last 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.
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. Wynn's first season at the Beach ended with a 13-17 record and a 9-7 mark in conference play, a stark turnaround from 2008-09 when the club went 8-21 and finished 4-12 against conference foes.
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. Foster's first season with the club ended at 15-17 overall with an 8-8 record in league play. The Titans reached the quarterfinals of the Big West Tournament before being eliminated and picked up a first team All-Big West mention in sophomore Megan Richardson.
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.
The Tournament will also return to the traditionally seeded format the league last utilized in 2003 (#1 vs. #8, #2 vs. #7, #3 vs. #6, #4 vs. #5). The women's tournament will begin with four quarterfinal games on the campus sites of the top four seeded teams on Tuesday, March 8. The four winning women’s quarterfinal teams will advance to the semifinals at Honda Center on Friday, March 11. The championship game will be played on Saturday, March 12.