USD Women's Basketball 1999-2000

2 1999-2000 US;l) Wcunen'" :Jlo..ap" s~o.n ff>IUW-iew-

Toreros Ready to Challenge During Millennium Curtain Call

San Diego women's basketball enters the last season of the 21 s t century hoping to build on the foundation of success laid in the previous two seasons . 1999-2000 promises continued transitions from a team who has improved on their overall and West Coast Conference record in each of the last three seasons. Now, the Toreros prepare for their final campaign in the USD Sports Center and anx iously anticipate the completion of the new Jenny Craig Pavilion scheduled to open for the 2000-200 I season. USD, with a 14-13 overall record, posted their first winning season si nce 1992-93 when the Toreros qualified for their only trip to the NCAA Tournament. San Diego tied for fourth in the WCC race with a 7-7 mark - their first upper– divi sion finish si nce 1994-95. Three starters and 10 letter– winners return for head coach Kathy Marpe, who prepares for her 20 th season patrolling the sidelines for the Toreros, her 26 th season in collegiate coaching.

Seniors 1-r: Jessica Gray, Maria Perez-Barris, Susie Erpelding, Andrea Burns.

USD welcomes back three of five top scorers from last season, headlined by a pair of All-WCC First Team members, senior guard Susie Erpelding (San Diego, CA) and senior forward Jessica Gray (Redwood City, CA). Erpelding and Gray were the first USD teammates to earn all-conference honors since 1990-91 and finished one, two in the scoring race with Erpelding averaging 14.0 points per game and Gray at a 12.2 clip. Senior forward, Maria Perez-Barris (Barcelona, Spain), returns after posting a solid season after transferring from Solano Coll ege and averaged 5.8 points per outing as the Torero's first player off the bench last year. USO took full advantage of all trips to the charity stripe in 1998-99 and ranked second as a team in overall free throw percentage in 1998-99 at .715, and improved their average in league games converting at a .728 clip. The Toreros were led by Erpelding, who finished second in the WCC in free throw accuracy at .860, and ranked 14 th nationally among Division I leaders. San Diego's stingy defense prevented opponents from lighting up the scoreboard last season. The Toreros allowed just 58 .5 points per game to lead the West Coast Conference in team defense in overall games and ranked 14 th in all of Division I. USD was equally sti ngy during league play and ranked second in WCC contests allowing league foes a paltry 59.9 points per game. The Torero defense ranked second in the WCC in overall steals in 1998- 99, averaging 8.7 an outing. USO was also successfu l in blocking out, holding opponents to just 33.3 boards per game - the fewest in the conference. Gray returns as the Toreros leading rebounder and was the first Torero post player since Chris Enger to rank in the top ten in overall scoring and rebounding during a season.· Head coach Kathy Marpe is understandably eager to get the new season underway with such a talented cast of returners and an infusion of size in the post and speed and scoring on the perimeter. "We have a lot more depth at key positions this season," stated

Marpe, who feels team defense will con tinue to be a strength, but certainly not at the expense of the offense. "Our inside presence with Jess ica (Gray) and consistent leadership from Susie (Erpelding) are the best combinations of both we've had since Chris Enger and Angie Straub. We ' re smarter and more experienced in all areas . This season we ' ll be more consistent scoring because we can attack and score in a variety of ways." Depth comes from a group of newcomers with impressive credenti als. Freshman Kerri Nakamoto (San Jose , CA) led Archbishop Mitty High School to a state championship and an undefeated 31 -0 record as a senior and will likely start next to sophomore Melissa Glazebrook (Mountai n View, CA) who was a teammate of Nakamoto's for three years at Mitty. Erin Mali ch (Mason, OH) adds a physical inside presence, while Jen Wedo (Downingtown, PA) provides USD with one of the purest shooters the Toreros have had in recent memory, according to Marpe. "Our defense was always consistent last year, but our offense was up and down . The biggest key for us this year is our ability to score. I think we're on track to keep going up. I'd like to think we can challenge for the conference race," Marpe said.

" FREE THROWS WIN GAMES ." - ROLLIE MARPE