Feb. 10, 2004

Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

This Week
Santa Clara (7-14, 3-5) will play five of its final six regular-season games at home in the Leavey Center. The Broncos will start on Thursday, with a 7 p.m. tip-off against league-leading Loyola Marymount (17-5, 8-1), and follow with Pepperdine (12-10, 6-3) on Valentine's Day, also scheduled for 7 p.m. Santa Clara has swept the LMU/Pepperdine homestand in five of the last seven seasons.

Scouting the Loyola Marymount Lions
Series Record: SCU leads 34-7
First Game: Santa Clara won (75-32) on Dec. 14, 1984 in Los Angeles
Last Game: Loyola Marymount won (69-59) on Jan. 17, 2004 in Los Angeles
Largest SCU Margin of Victory: 44, twice, last on Feb. 13, 1998 (93-49) in Santa Clara
Largest LMU Margin of Victory: 10, twice, last on Jan. 17, 2004 (69-59) in Los Angeles
Loyola Marymount Record in 2002-03: 14-15 (5-9)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 11/2
Starters Returning/Lost: 5/0

Scouting the Pepperdine Waves
Series Record: SCU leads 24-20
First Game: Pepperdine won (71-52) on Dec. 14, 1978 in Malibu
Last Game: Pepperdine won (85-62) on Jan. 15, 2004 in Malibu
Largest SCU Margin of Victory: 26 on Jan. 16, 1998 (76-50) in Malibu
Largest Pepperdine Margin of Victory: 19 on Dec. 14, 1978 (71-52) in Malibu
Pepperdine Record in 2002-03: 22-8 (12-2)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 8/4
Starters Returning/Lost: 3/2

WCC Championship Coming to SCU in 2004
The WCC Men's and Women's Championships will return to the Bay Area in 2004 and 2005, as announced by Commissioner Michael Gilleran. The change is a result of the WCC's decision to rotate the league's premier event between the Bay Area, Pacific Northwest and Southern California, each for a period of two consecutive years.

The 2006 and 2007 tournament will move to the Pacific Northwest before heading to Southern California in 2008 and 2009.

The 2004 WCC Basketball Tournament will be held at the Leavey Center. In 2005, the event will move approximately 50 miles north to the University of San Francisco, where games will be played at War Memorial Gymnasium. This will be Santa Clara's eighth time as host, most recently in 2000, while USF will serve as host for the fourth time.

WCC Special Ticket Offers
A variety of ticket discounts and promotions are being associated with the WCC Women's Basketball Championship. These offers are good for any and all sessions of the upcoming league tournament.

Groups: Groups of 10 people or more may purchase tickets at $2/session; Groups of 20 people or more may purchase tickets at $1/session.
Take a Kid to the Game: Kids get in free with an adult paid admission.
Movie Theatre Stubs: Buy one, get one free with movie theatre stub from Century 21-25 Theatres in San Jose.
SCU Chamber of Commerce: Buy one, get one free with coupon.
San Jose Mercury News: Kids get in free with an adult paid admission.

Thomas' Three-Point Perfection
Junior guard Quinn Thomas had the hot hand from long range in January, hitting 50 percent from three-point land. Her third trey at Portland on Jan. 31 marked the 142nd of her career, putting Thomas solely in second place in the Bronco recordbooks for three-pointers made. She surpassed former teammate and 2002 graduate Becki Ashbaugh, who was actually in attendance that night, as she drove up from the University of Oregon, where she is currently attending law school. Thomas is currently at 145, and needs just 13 more to set a new mark, by passing Julie Lienert's record of 157, set from 1988-91. Thomas leads the league in three-point field goals made per game, averaging 2.41. She has a 36.0 percentage from long range, ranked fifth in the conference.

More WCC Statistics
Santa Clara leads the league in three-point field goals made per game (6.76), three-point field goal percentage (.352) and three-point field goal defense (.299), while ranking second in field goal percentage (.410) and assists (14.19). Individually, Ashley Graham is second in three-point field goal percentage (.432), and fourth in three-point field goals made (1.81) in assists (3.90). Quinn Thomas is tops in three-point field goals made (2.41), fifth in percentage (.360) and 10th in scoring (11.2). Jennie Rondel is ranked 15th in scoring (9.6) and ninth in field goal percentage (.455), while Jenni Gottschalk is ranked 12th in rebounding (5.2) and Ashley Gonnerman is seventh in free throw percentage (.705).

Unbeatable at Leavey vs. the WCC
The Broncos have won 39 of its last 43 regular season home league contests played in Leavey, dating back to the last six-plus seasons.

Thomas Lights Up Court on Birthday
Junior guard Quinn Thomas celebrated her 21st birthday on the court against San Diego State. The team found itself down 18 points in the second half, but a Bronco run, capped by a Thomas three, erased the deficit and gave SCU a 60-59 lead. Later, again, with the Broncos' down, Thomas hit a baseline three with 18.3 seconds on the clock, which served to be the game-winner. The gift of victory isn't the first for this Capricorn. Last season, the Broncos played TCU on her special day, and saw a 23-point, 5-rebound performance to lead the Broncos.

A Fountain of Youth
Santa Clara is one of the top 15 youngest women's basketball teams that is taking the court this season. With six freshmen, two sophomores, three juniors and two seniors, the Broncos' average age is 19.4 years heading into the season.

A Look Ahead: Broncos Remain at Home
Santa Clara will continue the West Coast Conference season and host San Diego on Thursday before visiting Saint Mary's for a Saturday contest.

Live on the Internet
Santa Clara's entire schedule returns to the Internet, as a live audio broadcast will be available for a third season on www.SantaClaraBroncos.com. Additionally, Leavey Center contests can be followed online with a live statistical tracker, also located on SCU's official athletic website. By logging on, fans receive real-time updated statistics direct from the official scoring computer, allowing users to listen to the audio broadcast and keep up with the statistics simultaneously. Anthony Passarelli returns as the voice of the Broncos for a third season.

More Media Coverage
The University's student radio station, KSCU 103.3 FM, is scheduled to air the entire women's home WCC schedule.