USD Magazine, Spring 1993

TDRERDS BRING HOME wee TITLE With 10 seconds left in the women's 1993 West Coast Conference Champi– onship basketball game, Pete Sortino saw his daughter's team start to believe the unbelievable. "One by one, their faces changed when they realized there was no way they were going to lose the game," Sorti– no says. "They were like dominos, one after another, breaking into huge grins, and some of them crying." The Torero women's basketball team had every reason to feel that elated astonishment. For starters, preseason coaches' polls had picked them to finish eighth in the conference-out of eight teams. In addition, their opponent in the championship game, Santa Clara, had soundly thrashed them just 10 days ear– lier-by a whopping 22 points-to bring their season record to 2-0 against the USD women. But none of that mattered on game day, especially for seniors Angie Straub and Chris Enger, who knew they were facing their last chance to make an NCAA playoff appearance. Both Straub and Enger had taken big risks by choosing to attend USD. Heavi– ly recruited out of high school, each could have attended any number of big– name basketball schools. But both decid– ed to put academics ahead of athletics, and accepted the responsibility of bring– ing USD's basketball program to an unprecedented level. It was hard at first for both players. "I was used to people lining up outside my high school to buy tickets an hour before our games would start," Straub remembers. "When I came to USD, there were maybe 20 people in the stands at game time." Attendance improved during Straub's four years, with a record 2,355 attend-

through the season, and hung tough against teams that we had no business being close to. That to me was a sign of great coaching." Great coaching was just one element the USD women needed to be successful against a tough University of Nebraska women's team in the first round of the NCAA playoffs. A few more players over six feet tall would have helped, too. As the team entered DeYaney Sports Center, they stared in amazement at the stands. "There were about 6,000 people in the stands, on a weeknight!" Enger says in disbelief. "And it wasn't just stu– dents-there were whole families there." In addition to the crowd, the Lady Huskers proved a formidable opponent, with four players checking in at over 6 feet tall. "If we had had one more half to play, I think we would have given them a better fight," explains junior Melisa Sortino. "I think we were all shell– shocked for the first half." Although losing 81-58 wasn't the way Straub and Enger envisioned their NCAA appearance when they arrived at Alcala Park four years ago, they are proud of what they have helped USD accomplish. "We've started something here," says Enger quietly. "Now, hopefully, Coach can keep getting better and better play– ers, and making it to the NCAA won't seem like such an impossible thing." Straub feels that USD's performance this year has earned them something more valuable than titles or trophies. "R " h espect, s e says, her eyes narrowing with determination. "Before, when we walked out onto the floor, you could tell they didn't respect us. "But toward the end of the season, you could see it in their faces. Respect."

ing last year's match against San Diego State. For the 6-foot-4 Enger, finding some– one tall and tough enough to scrimmage in practice was a problem. So Coach Kathy Marpe found help in an unlikely place-the local 7-11. "One day I was getting coffee, and the guy behind the counter was pretty big and I had seen him at several USD athletic events, so I asked him if he played. Turns out he had played two years of college ball," Marpe explains. "So I asked him if he wanted to volun– teer to coach and play against Chris." Although Marpe's strategy seems a little unorthodox, it paid off. Enger says she got the competition she needed, and her career accomplishments attest to that. She holds USD career records in scoring, rebounds and blocked shots, and has the second-highest number of blocked shots in NCAA history. She was also named to the WCC All-Confer– ence First Team and the conference All– Academic Team. Enger wasn't the only Torero to win Conference honors. Junior Jill Shaver was named MVP in the WCC Champi– onship Tournament and was selected for the conference All-Academic Team. Marpe, in her 13th season at USD, was named the WCC Co-Coach of the Year although Regina Sullivan, USD's assis-' tant athletic director, thinks Marpe deserved the award last year. "When Chris Enger got hurt in the second game of the season last year, it was a real blow to the team, and a lot of people lost hope. But we made it

-Jacqueline Genovese

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