USD Women's Basketball 2003-2004

Kerri finished second on the career assist list with 376 assists . Her brilliant passing skills led the wee with an unbelievable 2.37 assist/ turnover ratio and ranked her 3 rd in the WCC in total assists for the season. USD also said goodbye to two four-year players, each of whom had a major impact on the women's basketball program. Marie Ploche r started 18 games , averaged 5.3 points per game, and played the role of the defensive "stopper" at the guard spot for the Toreros. Senior Jen Wedo played the "zone-buster" role for USD and was one of USD's deadliest shooters. Several younger Toreros made the USD fol– lowers very excited for what the future holds . Jun– iors Marta Menuez and Melissa Padgett had stel– lar seasons and started 23 and 20 games respec– tively. Menuez was second on the team in scoring, averaging 11.6 points per game. She finished 8 th in the wee in scoring, 4 th in field goal percentage,

Marta Menuez

and 4 th in offensive rebounding. The conference coaches rewarded Menuez by naming her WCC Honorable Mention All-Conference. Padgett guarded the opposing team's best player every game and showed her versatility by playing both inside and outside for the Toreros. The freshman class of 2002-03 showed the world how bright the future of USD women's basketball really is. Tiara Harris averaged 8.1 points per game overall, and 14.3 points per game

during the Toreros three-game WCC Tournament run. She established herself as a major player in the WCC with her three point shooting and her ability to change a game with her speed on de– fense and in transition. Jamie Corwin showed her promise in a 19 point outburst vs. St. Mary's. She started 12 games for the Toreros and gave USD a huge lift with her athletic ability and scor– ing touch. Both Harris and Corwin were nomi– nated for WCC Freshman-of-the-Year honors . Point guard Polly Dong started 19 games and thrilled USD fans with her hustle and passing ability. Dong also showed she can score with a 15 point performance on 5 for 6 shooting in a 76-72 win over San Francisco. Lindsay Helvey overcame back problems to be a spark plug off the bench as a freshman giving USD a huge lift in several key games. With the senior leadership of Menuez and Padgett and last year's freshmen returning as sophomores with a wealth of game-experience, the Toreros look to be poised for a successful

Melissa Padgett

2003-04 campaign.