West Coast Conference Women s Basketball

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1 WCCsports.com For Immediate Release: March 15, 2006 Women s Basketball WCC GAMES 1250 Bayhill Drive; Suite 101 H San Bruno, CA Tel: H Fax: STANDINGS OVERALL Pepperdine And Santa Clara Prepare For The Postseason Contact: William Kiss wkiss@westcoast.org W L PCT GB Home Away W L Home Away Neut Strk Santa Clara* L, 1 Gonzaga* L, 1 Loyola Marymount L, 1 Pepperdine^ W, 3 Saint Mary s L, 1 San Diego L, 1 San Francisco L, 1 Portland L, 9 *Regular season co-champions; ^WCC Tournament champions For the eighth straight season, and the 11th time in the past 12 years, the West Coast Conference will be represented by multiple teams in the postseason. Pepperdine will compete in the NCAA Tournament, while Santa Clara received a bid to the WNIT. Pepperdine captured the league s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament by defeating Santa Clara in the WCC Tournament championship game on March 5, The Waves received a No. 15 seed in the NCAA Tournament and will meet No. 2 seed Oklahoma in first round play on March 18 at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. Pepperdine and the Sooners will meet for the fourth time and the first time since the season. All three of the previous meetings have been in Malibu, with Oklahoma holding a narrow 2-1 advantage. The Waves will be making the program s fourth NCAA Tournament appearance, having participated the Big Dance in 2000, 2002, and Pepperdine will appear in the postseason for the sixth time in the past seven seasons, having earned bids to the WNIT in and Head Coach Julie Rousseau is no stranger to the NCAA Tournament, making four trips to the tournament while as an assistant coach at Stanford, including a run to the Elite Eight in Pepperdine is led by All-WCC selections Daphanie Kennedy and Jasmane Clarendon, as well as the WCC Defensive Player of the Year Kelsey Ball. Kennedy is the team s top scorer at 12.0 points per game, and earned WCC Tournament MVP honors after leading the Waves to three straight victories in Spokane, WA. Clarendon leads the team in rebounding with 6.9 boards per contest, and was named to the WCC all-tournament team. Freshman Jessica Ross was named to the WCC all-freshman team after finishing the season as one of the top freshman performers in the league. The Waves are 2-2 against teams in this year s tournament field, having registered wins over UC Riverside and Southern, while losing to UCLA and Michigan State in Santa Clara received a bid to the postseason Women s National Invitational Tournament, earning entry to the newly-expanded 40-team field after capturing a share of the WCC regular season title. The Broncos are making the program s eighth postseason appearance in the last nine seasons, with WNIT appearances coming in 2000, 2001, and This season will mark the fifth postseason WNIT appearance overall for the Broncos, with the 1991 squad reeling off three straight victories to capture the tournament title. The Broncos will travel to face Oregon State in preliminary round action on Thursday, March 16 at 7:00 pm. Santa Clara is 1-4 all-time against the Beavers, with the last meeting between the two programs coming in Oregon State posted a mark this season and a finished seventh in the Pac-10. Former Bronco Kim Butler, who played at SCU from , is OSU s top scorer with 18.7 points per game WNIT Preliminary Round Thursday, March 16 (Corvallis, OR) Santa Clara at Oregon State 2006 Women s NCAA Tournament First Round Saturday, March 18 (Denver, CO) No. 15 Pepperdine vs. No. 2 Oklahoma *Televised live on ESPN2 7:00 pm 10:00 am* WCC Women s Basketball

2 WCC Sports Info Contacts (WB=Women s Basketball) Gonzaga Oliver Pierce pierce@athletics.gonzaga.edu WB Rich Moser moser@athletics.gonzaga.edu Office Fax: Loyola Marymount John Shaffer jshaffer@lmu.edu Alissa Zito azito@lmu.edu WB Carolyn French cfrench@lmu.edu Office Fax: Portland Jason Brough brough@up.edu WB Adam Linnman linnman@up.edu Office Fax: Saint Mary s Rich Davi rdavi@stmarys-ca.edu WB Ryan Reggiani rreggian@stmarys-ca.edu Office Fax: San Diego Ted Gosen tgosen@sandiego.edu WB Chris Loucks cloucks@sandiego.edu Ryan McCann rmccann@sandiego.com Office Fax: San Francisco Peter Simon simon@usfca.edu WB Ryan McCrary mccrary@usfca.edu Office Fax: Santa Clara Richard Kilwien rkilwien@scu.edu WB Aaron Juarez ajuarez@scu.edu Roland Hu rhu1@scu.edu Office Fax: West Coast Conference Jae Wilson jwilson@westcoast.org WB William Kiss wkiss@westcoast.org Office Fax: Gonzaga Bulldogs (16-14 / 11-3 WCC) H Gonzaga fell to San Francisco in the first round of the WCC Tournament, marking the first home loss by the Zags to a conference opponent since the McCarthey Athletic Center opened in H Stephanie Hawk nearly doubled her career blocks total, leading the WCC with 44 blocks this season. Hawk moved into a tie for sixth on the Gonzaga career blocks list with 90. H Jami Bjorklund became the first Zag since to be named to the WCC all-freshmen team. H The Zags won a share of the WCC regular season title, marking the second straight season and the third time in program history that Gonzaga has claimed a conference crown. H Gonzaga led the WCC in scoring defense, surrendering just 60.8 points per game. Loyola Marymount Lions (17-12 / 10-4 WCC) H Loyola Marymount topped San Diego in the first round of the WCC Tournament, but fell to Pepperdine in the semifinals, H Ashlee Dunlap led the conference with 10.2 rebounds per contest, becoming the first Lion since Nicole Gaines in 1996 to lead the league in rebounding. Dunlap also set the LMU program record with 295 boards on the season. H Amanda Patton, an All-WCC honorable mention selection, enjoyed a breakout season from beyond the arc. Patton broke teammate Rachael Ziemann s year-old mark for 3-pointers with 67 treys to finish second in the conference. H Ziemann became LMU s all-time leader in three-pointers made, knocking down 31 treys on the season to bring her career total to 126. Ziemann broke the previous record of 118 set by former Lion standout Bryn Britton. Pepperdine Waves (14-16 / 8-6 WCC) H Pepperdine won its third WCC Tournament title, reeling off three straight victories in Spokane to capture the conference s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. After topping Saint Mary s in the first round, the Waves edged LMU by one point in the semifinals before knocking off top-seed Santa Clara in the championship game. H Daphanie Kennedy was tabbed for WCC Tournament MVP honors after scoring 47 points in three games, and hitting the winning shot against the Broncos. Kennedy is averaging a teamhigh 12.0 points per game. H Pepperdine is making its fourth trip to the NCAA Tournament, and its sixth post-season appearance in the last seven seasons. H The Waves are 2-2 against teams in this year s NCAA Tournament field, registering victories over UC Riverside and Southern, while falling to UCLA and Michigan State. Portland Pilots (4-24 / 1-13 WCC) H The Pilots fell to top seed Santa Clara in the first round of the WCC Tournament, ending the season on a nine-game skid. H Whitney Grant, a first team All-WCC selection, finished the regular season ranked second in the league in scoring, averaging 15.2 points per contest in her senior campaign. Grant also dished out 91 assists on the season, putting her into a tie for sixth on the Portland career list with 401. H Rachel Warren led the conference in blocked shots with 1.50 blocks per game, becoming the first Pilot since Wendy Toonen in 1997 to lead the conference in blocks. H Jennifer Wassom set the Portland single-game record for 3-pointers made, sinking seven treys against Cal State Northridge on December 21. WCC Women s Basketball Pg. 2

3 WCC Players of the Week 11/21 Ashley Anderson, GON Michelle Cozad, SCU 11/28 Jontelle Smith, SMC 12/5 Michelle Cozad, SCU 12/12 Ashlee Dunlap, LMU 12/19 Michelle Cozad, SCU 12/26 Ashlee Dunlap, LMU 1/2 Michelle Cozad, SCU 1/9 Ashley Anderson, GON Ashlee Dunlap, LMU 1/16 Amanda Patton, LMU 1/23 Michelle Cozad, SCU 1/30 Ashley Anderson, GON Ashlee Dunlap, LMU 2/6 Michelle Cozad, SCU 2/13 Jasmane Clarendon, PEP 2/20 Ashley Anderson, GON 2/27 Stephanie Hawk, GON WCC Standings W L Overall Gonzaga* Loyola Marymount Santa Clara# Saint Mary s Pepperdine San Francisco San Diego Portland *WCC regular season champion; #WCC Tournament champion WCC Vs. The Rest America East 0-0 Atlantic Coast 0-4 Atlantic Sun 0-0 Atlantic Big East 0-1 Big Sky 6-9 Big South 0-0 Big Ten 0-4 Big Big West 11-8 Colonial 0-1 Conference USA 1-1 Horizon League 1-1 Independent 3-3 Ivy League 3-0 Metro Atlantic Athletic 1-0 Mid-American 1-1 Mid-Continent 0-1 Mid-Eastern Athletic 0-0 Missouri Valley 1-1 Mountain West 2-4 Northeast 0-1 Ohio Valley 0-0 Pac Patriot 1-0 Southeastern 0-4 Southern 0-0 Southland 1-0 Southwestern Athletic 1-0 Sun Belt 2-1 Western Athletic 2-11 Non Div. I 0-0 TOTAL WCC Women s Basketball Saint Mary s Gaels (12-16 / 7-7 WCC) H Saint Mary s wrapped up its season with a loss to Pepperdine in the first round of the WCC Tournament, marking the fourth straight season that the Gaels have been knocked out in the first round. H Jontelle Smith finished the season as the WCC s top scoring freshman, averaging a teamhigh 11.9 points per game to rank eighth in the conference. H Saint Mary s led the conference with a point field goal percentage in WCC games. The Gaels were paced from beyond the arc by Maija Lahde, who tied for fourth in the league with a point field goal percentage in WCC contests. H Serena Benavente and Monica Mertle both came back from injury redshirt seasons to produce for the Gaels in Mertle averaged 10.5 points per game to rank second on the team, while Benavente ranked second in the league with a 1.38 assist/turnover ratio. San Diego Toreros (9-19 / 4-10 WCC) H San Diego fell to Loyola Marymount in the first round of the WCC Tournament, H Tiara Harris scored 20 points in the loss to LMU, finishing her career in sixth place on the USD career points list with 1,150. Harris was the league s top scorer in WCC contests with 17.0 points per game in her senior campaign, becoming the first Torero to ever pace the circuit in scoring in conference games. H Polly Dong dished out a team-high 84 assists on the season to bring her career assist total to 415 and put her in second place on the San Diego career chart. Dong also moved into second place on the USD career steals list with 178. H The Toreros paced the WCC with an average of steals per contest, led by Amanda Rego s league-high 3.57 steals per game. San Francisco Dons (9-20 / 4-10 WCC) H San Francisco registered an upset victory over No. 2 seed Gonzaga in the first round of the WCC Tournament before falling to Santa Clara in the semifinals, H Head Coach Mary Hile-Nepfel resigned from her position on March 7 after 19 years at the helm on the Hilltop. Hile-Nepfel, who coached for 13 seasons with husband Bill Nepfel, retired as the league s winningest coach in conference history with 129 victories in WCC games. H Dominique Carter earned WCC all-tournament team honors, becoming the first Don since 1997 to earn all-tournament accolades. Carter led San Francisco with 13.9 points per game, finished second on the team with 5.2 rebounds per contest. H LaShaunte Stephens came on strong down the stretch for the Dons, scoring 21 points in USF s win over Gonzaga at the WCC Tournament. Santa Clara Broncos (19-11 / 11-3 WCC) H Santa Clara received a bid to the WNIT after claiming a share of the WCC regular season title. The Broncos will be making the program s 11th postseason appearance, and fifth appearance in the WNIT. H Michelle Cozad became the first Bronco since Lisa Sacco in 1998 to earn the WCC Player of the Year honor. Cozad was the only player in the conference to rank among the top-six in the league in scoring, rebounding, assists, and steals. The senior averaged 18.2 points per game, and is the first SCU player to lead the WCC in scoring since Christine Silvernail in H The Broncos rank first in the nation with an average of pointers per contest. Chandice Cronk ranks sixth in the country with a point field goal percentage. H Santa Clara was the top scoring team in the WCC this season, averaging 73.7 points per contest to rank 17th in Division I. Pg. 3

4 WCC Among The NCAA Leaders (as of 3/13/06) Individual Points Per Game 35. Michelle Cozad, SCU Rebounds Per Game 21. Ashlee Dunlap, LMU Steals Per Game 7. Amanda Rego, USD point Field Goal Per Game 6. Chandice Cronk, SCU Team Scoring Offense 17. Santa Clara Free Throw Percentage 8. Santa Clara Pointers Per Game 1. Santa Clara Point Field Goal Percentage 13. Santa Clara Single Game Individual Highs Points 6. Michelle Augustavo, USD - 42 at Clemson (12/11/06) 3-Pointers Made 1(tie). Michelle Augustavo, USD - 10 at Clemson (12/11/06) 4. Ashley Graham, SCU - 9 at Portland (1/8/06) 3-Point Field Goal Percentage 7(tie). Amanda Patton, LMU at Long Beach State (12/17/05) Single Game Team Highs Free Throw Percentage 3. Pepperdine at San Diego (1/8/06) 3-Pointers Made 1 (tie). Santa Clara - 18 at Portland (1/8/06) 8(tie). Santa Clara - 15 vs. Central Florida (11/26/05) 3-Point Field Goal Percentage 2(tie). Loyola Marymount; 73.3 at Long Beach State (12/17/05) Home Winning Streaks Ended In Gonzaga; 15 games (ended 12/18/05) Around the WCC 2006 All-WCC Women s Basketball Team Ashley Anderson GON 6-1 F SR Enterprise, OR Dominique Carter USF 5-11 G/F SO Tracy, CA Jasmane Clarendon PEP 6-1 F JR San Bernardino, CA Michelle Cozad SCU 5-10 G SR Stockton, CA Ashlee Dunlap LMU 6-1 F JR Los Angeles, CA Whitney Grant POR 5-6 G SR Medford, OR Tiara Harris USD 5-10 G SR Colorado Springs, CO Stephanie Hawk GON 6-3 F JR Ontario, OR Kayla Huss SCU 5-7 G SR Everett, WA Daphanie Kennedy PEP 5-7 G SO Oakland, CA Honorable Mention LMU: Amanda Patton, Rachael Ziemann; Portland: Rachel Warren; Saint Mary s: Serena Benavente, Maija Lahde, Monica Mertle, Jontelle Smith. All-Freshmen Team Jami Bjorklund GON 5-11 G Spokane, WA Shay Rollins USF 5-4 G Alameda, CA Jessica Ross PEP 5-10 G Gilroy, CA Jontelle Smith SMC 5-5 G Pinole, CA Kelly Winther USD 5-10 G Simi Valley, CA Coach of the Year Michelle Bento-Jackson, Santa Clara Player of the Year Michelle Cozad, Santa Clara Defensive Player of the Year Kelsey Ball, Pepperdine Newcomer of the Year Ashlee Dunlap, Loyola Marymount WCC In The Postseason For the eighth straight season and the 11th time in the past 12 years, the WCC will be represented by multiple teams in the postseason. Pepperdine snagged the conference s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament by capturing the WCC Tournament title, while Santa Clara will be appearing in the Women s NIT. The Broncos claimed a share of the WCC regular season title along with Gonzaga after representing the conference in the NCAA Tournament a year ago. The Zags made an appearance in the WNIT last season, after earning an invitation to the 2004 WNIT along with Santa Clara. WCC Tournament Recap Pepperdine tied Portland in 1994 and San Diego in 2000 as the lowest seeded squads to capture the WCC Tournament title, as the No. 4 seed Waves reeled off three straight victories to earn the league s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament in Spokane, WA. In the first conference tournament to be hosted by Gonzaga, Pepperdine knocked off No. 5 seed Saint Mary s in the first round before edging No. 3 seed Loyola Marymount in the semifinals, The Waves then proceeded to upset top-seed and WCC regular season co-champion Santa Clara in the championship game, Pepperdine s Daphanie Kennedy was tabbed for tournament MVP honors, while teammate Jasmane Clarendon was named to the all-tournament team. Santa Clara s Michelle Cozad and Chandice Cronk joined them on the all-tournament squad along with USF s Dominique Carter. Thursday, March 2 No. 3 Loyola Marymount def. No. 6 San Diego No. 4 Pepperdine def. No. 5 Saint Mary s No. 1 Santa Clara def. No. 8 Portland No. 7 San Francisco vs. No. 2 Gonzaga Saturday, March 4 Semifinal #1: Pepperdine def. Loyola Marymount Semifinal #2: Santa Clara def. San Francisco (OT) Sunday, March 5 Championship Game: Pepperdine def. Santa Clara WCC Women s Basketball Pg. 4

5 All-Time WCC Coaching Records (WCC Games Only; Active Coaches In Bold) COACH, SCHOOL YRS WON 1. Mary Hile-Nepfel, USF* Jim Sollars, POR Kathy Marpe, USD Caren Horstmeyer, SCU Mark Trakh, PEP Bill Nepfel, USF* Terri Rubenstein, SMC Kelly Graves, SMC, GON Julie Wilhoit, LMU Ron Fortner, PEP Michelle Jacoby, SMC Todd Corman, LMU Julie Holt, GON M. Bento-Jackson, SCU Mike Petersen, GON Chris Denker, SCU Cassie Macias, USIU Ken Thompson, SCU Kellee Barney, GON Sue Rojcewicz, USF Julie Rousseau, PEP Anne Hope, UNR Cindy Fisher, USD 1 4 *Co-Head Coach with Bill Nepfel for 13 years WCC Double-Double Performances 12- Michelle Cozad, SCU Ashlee Dunlap, LMU 7- Stephanie Hawk, GON Rachel Warren, POR 6- Ashley Anderson, GON 4- Jasmane Clarendon, PEP 3- Nickie Warren, USF Valerie Ogoke, LMU 2- Four Tied 1-15 Tied WCC Regular Season Champions 1986 U.S. International 1987 San Francisco 1988 Gonzaga 1989 Saint Mary s 1990 Saint Mary s 1991 Santa Clara 1992 Santa Clara 1993 Santa Clara 1994 Santa Clara 1995 San Francisco 1996 Portland/San Francisco 1997 Portland 1998 Santa Clara 1999 Pepperdine/Santa Clara 2000 Pepperdine 2001 Saint Mary s/santa Clara 2002 Pepperdine 2003 Pepperdine 2004 Loyola Marymount 2005 Gonzaga Around the WCC Santa Clara s Kayla Huss Named WCC Player of the Month For February Santa Clara s Kayla Huss was named the WCC Player of the Month for February after leading the Broncos to a 6-1 record and helping the team capture a share of the WCC regular season title for the first time since Huss averaged 13.0 points per game in February to rank seventh in the league, along with 4.0 assists and 3.0 rebounds per contest. The senior also shot 50.0% from beyond the arc, sinking 18-of-36 from three-point land and averaged pointers per game to lead the conference. Her 18 treys also marked a conference-high. 3-point Records Continue To Crumble After a record-breaking campaign, WCC players have continued to show their prowess from beyond the arc this season. Portland s Jennifer Wassom set a program record in the Pilots loss to Cal State Northridge on December 21, as the freshman sunk seven 3-pointers to top UP s previous mark of six set by Kathy Adelman in 1990 and matched several times by Deana Lansing in the mid-1990 s. Santa Clara s Ashley Graham set a program record of her own against the Pilots on January 8, hitting 9-of-13 from beyond the arc to set the new SCU program standard. LMU s Rachael Ziemann etched her named in the Lions record book, sinking her 119th career 3-pointer against Gonzaga on January 14 to become the program s all-time leader in that category. Three WCC Players Earn Academic All-District Recognition Three WCC women s basketball players earned academic honors, as Portland Pilot teammates Whitney Grant and Rachel Warren were named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VIII first team, while Gonzaga s Stephanie Hawk earned third team honors as selected by members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). WCC Women s Tournament Webcast Fans of West Coast Conference women s basketball were able to catch all of the action from the 15th annual WCC Tournament. The WCC Tournament Championship game on Sunday was televised on ESPNU, but fans could see all six tournament games leading up to the final via live webcast on WCCsports.com. It marked the first time that the entire WCC women s basketball tournament has been available via television broadcast or webcast, and fans could see all the exciting WCC Tournament action for free. The women s tournament began on Thursday with four games, and the semifinals took place on Saturday following Friday s day off. Augustavo Breaks San Diego Scoring Record San Diego s Michelle Augustavo snapped the program s single-game scoring record with a 42-point performance in the Toreros loss at Clemson on December 11. Augustavo s point total topped the mark of 37 set by former San Diego standout Susie Erpelding during the 2000 season, and ranks as the highest point total registered by a WCC player this season. The sophomore guard made 15 field goals, including 10-of-19 from three-point range, and accounted for 61.8 percent of her team s scoring on the afternoon. Her 10 made 3-pointers is also a new single-game record for the Toreros. The 42 points is also tied for the second highest single-game total in WCC history, just behind a 45 point performance by Portland alum Martha Sheldon against Gonzaga in Gonzaga s Ashley Anderson Receives January Player of the Month Honor Gonzaga s Ashley Anderson was named the WCC Player of the Month for January after leading the Zags to a 6-2 record and a 5-2 mark to begin conference play. Anderson recorded five double-doubles in Gonzaga s first seven WCC contests, and registered singlegame career-highs in both points and steals during the month. The forward nearly averaged a double-double for January with 16.2 points per game and 9.3 rebounds per contest, while pitching in with 1.25 assists and 1.38 steals per game to start the new year. Santa Clara s Michelle Cozad Named Player of the Month For December Santa Clara s Michelle Cozad was tabbed for WCC Player of the Month honors after recording five double-doubles and leading the Broncos to a 5-3 record in December. Cozad averaged a double-double for the month with 19.8 points per game and 11.0 rebounds per game, while pitching in 3.4 assists and 2.1 steals per contest. WCC Women s Basketball Pg. 5

6 Around the WCC NCAA Tournament Schedule Mar : First Round Mar : Second Round Mar. 25/27: Albuquerque & San Antonio Regionals Mar. 25/27: Bridgeport & Cleveland Regionals April 2/4: Women s Final Four Single Game Team Highs Points 99 - Santa Clara vs. UC Irvine - 12/4 Rebounds 68 - Pepperdine vs. Southern - 12/16 Assists 24 - Portland at Cal State Northridge - 12/21 Steals 19 - Portland vs. Eastern Washington - 12/10 Blocks 12 - Portland at Loyola Marymount - 1/12 Field Goals Made 36 - Santa Clara at Georgia - 11/ Santa Clara vs. Cal State Northridge - 12/28 3-Point Field Goals Made 18 - Santa Clara at Portland - 1/8 Free throws Made 33 - Santa Clara vs. UC Irvine - 12/ Single Game Individual Highs Points 42 - Michelle Augustavo, USD at Clemson - 12/11 Rebounds 17 - Jasmane Clarendon, PEP vs. Southern - 12/16 Assists 11 - Amanda Rego, USD vs. Penn - 11/27 Steals 8 - Amanda Rego, USD (3 times) Blocks 5 - Four Times Field Goals Made 15 - Michelle Augustavo, USD vs. Clemson - 12/11 3-Point Field Goals Made 10 - Michelle Augustavo, USD vs. Clemson - 12/11 Free throws Made 11 - Michelle Cozad, SCU vs. Portland - 3/2 San Francisco Head Coach Mary Hile-Nepfel Resigns University of San Francisco Head Women s Basketball Coach Mary Hile-Nepfel resigned her position on March 7th, 2006 after leading the program for nineteen seasons. Hile-Nepfel is the winningest coach in the history of the USF women s program, taking her team to 270 career wins. Her 129 career West Coast Conference victories are the most in league history. As a player from 1977 to 1981, she scored 2,324 points, which puts her atop the USF scoring chart for women or men. She was a two-time All-American at USF and twice a finalist for the Wade Trophy, awarded to the nation s top collegiate player. She returned to the Hilltop as Co-Head Coach along with her husband Bill in Along with Bill she took USF to three straight NCAA tournaments in 1995, 1996 and 1997, with the 1996 team the only West Coast Conference team to advance to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen. Hile-Nepfel took over as the sole head coach in WCC Basketball Championships Head To Gonzaga In 2006 The West Coast Conference men s and women s basketball championships will return to the Northwest for the next two seasons with Gonzaga hosting for the first time in The 15th annual women s championship took place March 2-5, while the 20th annual men s event was played March 3-6. In 2002, the league voted to rotate the championship site regionally. This year began the first of the Northwest s two-year site rotation with Portland slated to host the tournament in The 2008 and 2009 basketball tournaments will be held in Southern California, before returning to the Bay Area in 2010 and For the second straight season, the women s tournament differed in format from the men s event. The women s tournament follows the traditional 1-8 format, where the #1 seed faces the #8 seed, the #2 seed plays the #7 seed, the #3 seed battles the #6 seed, and the #4 and #5 seeds square off on the first day of the tournament. Following a day off, the winners are re-seeded and play in the semifinals on Saturday before the two remaining squads face off in the championship game on Sunday. Loyola Marymount Tabbed As Favorite In WCC Preseason Poll LMU was chosen as the favorite to claim the WCC women s basketball title in the WCC preseason poll, as selected by the conference coaches. The Lions, who posted a overall record last season and a 9-5 mark in conference play to finish in second place, will be seeking their second WCC championship in the last three years. The Lions received 59 points in the poll, including four first place votes, to edge defending champion Gonzaga. Santa Clara, the 2005 WCC Tournament champion, was picked third and received the remaining first place vote. Pepperdine, which returns six letterwinners, and Saint Mary s, which returns eight letterwinners, tied for the No. 4 spot with 36 points. San Francisco was selected sixth with 25 points, followed by San Diego with 21 points and Portland with 12 points. Women s Basketball Preseason Poll 1. Loyola Marymount - 59 (4) 2. Gonzaga - 56 (3) 3. Santa Clara - 43 (1) 4. Pepperdine - 36 Saint Mary s San Francisco San Diego Portland - 12 San Diego Hires Fisher As New Head Coach Cindy Fisher was named the University of San Diego s new head women s basketball coach on April 19, taking over for Kathy Marpe who stepped down last March after directing the program for 25 years. Fisher, Nebraska s top assistant the past two seasons, and head coach for Wyoming between , becomes USD s third head coach dating back to the program s inception in Fisher, 40, helped lead Nebraska to back-to-back appearances in the WNIT during her two seasons with the Huskers. This past season the team finished overall and 8-8 in the Big 12. At Wyoming, Fisher s Cowgirl teams showed improvement in each of her five seasons, culminating with an mark during the season. The 18 wins were the school s most victories since She also led the Cowgirls to their first postseason appearance since with a trip to the 2003 WNIT, where Wyoming notched a first-round win over Montana before falling in the second round. WCC Women s Basketball Pg. 6

7 USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Coaches Poll (PRE) NOV NOV NOV DEC DEC DEC DEC JAN JAN JAN JAN JAN FEB FEB FEB FEB MAR MAR 11/ North Carolina Ohio State t Maryland t Duke LSU Tennessee Connecticut Oklahoma t Rutgers 5t Baylor Purdue Georgia 5t DePaul Stanford t Arizona State Louisiana Tech Michigan State Temple BYU New Mexico t Utah Bowling Green Texas A&M Vanderbilt t Minnesota Boston College t St. John s Kentucky Notre Dame Florida Southern California t Virginia Tech George Washington Washington Texas Mississippi UCLA Texas Tech North Carolina State Associated Press Top 25 Poll (PRE) NOV NOV DEC DEC DEC DEC JAN JAN JAN JAN JAN FEB FEB FEB FEB MAR MAR 11/ North Carolina Ohio State Maryland Duke LSU Rutgers Tennessee Oklahoma Connecticut Baylor Purdue Georgia DePaul t t Stanford t t Arizona State Michigan State Louisiana Tech t Utah Temple t Texas A&M t UCLA BYU Bowling Green New Mexico Minnesota Vanderbilt Florida Boston College t St. John s Kentucky North Carolina State Notre Dame Southern California Virginia Tech George Washington Missouri Texas Mississippi Texas Tech WCC Women s Basketball Pg. 7

8 Gonzaga Bulldogs Schedule / 11-3 WCC Day Date Opponent Location Time/Res. Mon Nov. 18 San Jose State San Jose, CA L, Tue Nov. 20 Eastern Washington Spokane, WA W, Thu Nov. 24 Maryland 1 St. Thomas, VI L, Fri Nov. 25 Tennessee 1 St. Thomas, VI L, Sat Nov. 26 Michigan State 1 St. Thomas, VI L, Wed Nov. 30 Idaho Moscow, ID L, Fri Dec. 2 Northwestern State 2 Reno, NV W, Sat Dec. 3 Northern Colorado 2 Reno, NV W, Mon Dec. 5 Sacramento State Sacramento, CA L, Sat Dec. 10 Utah Salt Lake City, UT L, Sun Dec. 18 Montana Spokane, WA L, Wed Dec. 21 Denver Denver, CO L, Fri Dec. 23 San Jose State Spokane, WA W, Sat Dec. 31 Utah Valley State Orem, UT L, Mon Jan. 2 Portland State Spokane, WA W, Fri Jan. 6 Santa Clara* Spokane, WA W, Sun Jan. 8 Saint Mary s* Spokane, WA W, Thu Jan. 12 Pepperdine* Malibu, CA L, (OT) Sat Jan. 14 Loyola Marymount* Los Angeles, CA L, Thu Jan. 19 San Diego* Spokane, WA W, Sat Jan. 21 San Francisco* Spokane, WA W, Sun Jan. 29 Portland* Spokane, WA W, Thu Feb. 2 Santa Clara* Santa Clara, CA L, Sat Feb. 4 Saint Mary s* Moraga, CA W, Sat Feb. 11 Portland* Portland, OR W, Thu Feb. 16 Loyola Marymount* Spokane, WA W, Sat Feb. 18 Pepperdine* Spokane, WA W, Thu Feb. 23 San Diego* San Diego, CA W, Sat Feb. 25 San Francisco* San Francisco, CA W, Thu Mar. 2 San Francisco^ Spokane, WA L, * Denotes conference game; 1 Paradise Jam; 2 Nugget Classic; ^WCC Tourney; All times Pacific; Home Games Bold Loyola Marymount Lions Schedule / 10-4 WCC Day Date Opponent Location Time/Res. Fri Nov. 18 Arizona Tucson, AZ L, Mon Nov. 21 UC Irvine Irvine, CA W, Fri Nov. 25 Charlotte 1 Los Angeles, CA L, Sat Nov. 26 Georgia 1 Los Angeles, CA L, Thu Dec. 1 Weber State Ogden, UT L, Sat Dec. 3 Utah Salt Lake City, UT L, Tue Dec. 6 USC Los Angeles, CA L, Sun Dec. 10 UC Santa Barbara Los Angeles, CA W, Sat Dec. 17 Long Beach State Long Beach, CA W, Mon Dec. 19 Rice Los Angeles, CA L, Wed Dec. 21 Cal Poly Los Angeles, CA W, Thu Dec. 29 Lafayette 2 Hanover, NH W, Fri Dec. 30 Dartmouth 2 Honover, NH W, Fri Jan. 6 San Diego* San Diego, CA W, Sub Jan. 8 San Francisco* San Francisco, CA W, Thu Jan. 12 Portland* Los Angeles, CA W, Sat Jan. 14 Gonzaga* Los Angeles, CA W, Thu Jan. 19 Saint Mary s* Moraga, CA W, Sat Jan. 21 Santa Clara* Santa Clara, CA L, Sat Jan. 28 Pepperdine* Malibu, CA W, Thu Feb. 2 San Francisco* Los Angeles, CA W, Sat Feb. 4 San Diego* Los Angeles, CA W, Sat Feb. 11 Pepperdine* Los Angeles, CA L, Thu Feb. 16 Gonzaga* Spokane, WA L, Sat Feb. 18 Portland* Portland, OR W, Thu Feb. 23 Santa Clara* Los Angeles, CA W, Sat Feb. 25 Saint Mary s* Los Angeles, CA L, Thu Mar. 2 San Diego^ Spokane, WA W, Sat Mar. 4 Pepperdine^ Spokane, WA L, *Denotes conference game; 1 LMU Thanksgiving Classic; 2 Dartmouth Tournament; ^WCC Tourney; All times Pacific; Home Games Bold Pepperdine Waves Schedule / 8-6 WCC Day Date Opponent Location Time/Res. Fri Nov. 18 at Washington State Pullman, WA L, Tue Nov. 22 UC Riverside Malibu, CA W, Fri Nov. 25 Hofstra 1 Malibu, CA L, Sat Nov. 26 Indiana St. 1 Malibu, CA L, Fri Dec. 2 Detroit Detroit, MI L, Sun Dec. 4 Michigan State Lansing, MI L, Thu Dec. 8 UCLA Los Angeles, CA L, Sat Dec. 10 San Diego State Malibu, CA W, Fri Dec. 16 Southern Malibu, CA W, Mon Dec. 19 Pittsburgh Malibu, CA L, Wed Dec. 21 Long Beach State Long Beach, CA L, (OT) Wed Dec. 28 Kansas Lawrence, KS L, Fri Dec. 30 UC Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA L, Fri Jan. 6 San Francisco* San Francisco, CA L, (OT) Sun Jan. 8 San Diego* San Diego, CA W, Thu Jan. 12 Gonzaga* Malibu, CA W, (OT) Sat Jan. 14 Portland* Malibu, CA W, Thu Jan. 19 Santa Clara* Santa Clara, CA L, Sat Jan. 21 Saint Mary s* Moraga, CA L, Sat Jan. 28 Loyola Marymount* Malibu, CA L, Thu Feb. 2 San Diego* Malibu, CA W, Sat Feb. 4 San Francisco* Malibu, CA W, Sat Feb. 1 Loyola Marymount* Los Angeles, CA W, Thu Feb. 16 Portland* Portland, OR W, Sat Feb. 18 Gonzaga* Spokane, WA L, Thu Feb. 23 Saint Mary s* Malibu, CA W, Sat Feb. 25 Santa Clara* Malibu, CA L, Thu Mar. 2 Saint Mary s^ Spokane, WA W, Sat Mar. 4 Loyola Marymount^ Spokane, WA W, Sun Mar. 5 Santa Clara^ Spokane, WA W, Sat Mar. 18 Oklahoma& Denver, CO 10:00 am *Denotes conference game; 1 Pepperdine Tournament; ^WCC Tourney; &NCAA Tournament; All Times Paciific; Home games Bold Portland Pilots Schedule 4-24 / 1-13 WCC Day Date Opponent Location Time/Res. Fri Nov. 18 Idaho Moscow, ID L, Sun Nov. 20 Portland State Portland, OR L, Tue Nov. 22 Oregon Portland, OR L, Sun Nov. 27 UC Davis Portland, OR W, Fri Dec. 2 Denver Denver, CO W, Sun Dec. 4 Colorado State Fort Collins, CO L, Sat Dec. 10 Eastern Washington Portland, OR L, Sat Dec. 17 Montana State Portland, OR W, Mon Dec. 19 Cal Poly San Luis Obis., CA L, Wed Dec. 21 CS Northridge Northridge, CA L, Wed Dec. 28 Utah Valley State Orem, UT L, Fri Dec. 30 BYU Provo, UT L, Mon Jan. 2 Montana Portland, OR L, Fri Jan. 6 Saint Mary s* Portland, OR L, Sun Jan. 8 Santa Clara* Portland, OR L, Tue Jan. 12 Loyola Marymount* Los Angeles, CA L, Sat Jan. 14 Pepperdine* Malibu, CA L, Thu Jan. 19 San Francisco* Portland, OR L, Sat Jan. 21 San Diego* Portland, OR W, Sun Jan. 29 Gonzaga* Spokane, WA L, Thu Feb. 2 Saint Mary s* Moraga, CA L, Sat Feb. 4 Santa Clara* Santa Clara, CA L, Sat Feb. 11 Gonzaga* Portland, OR L, Thu Feb. 16 Pepperdine* Portland, OR L, Sat Feb. 18 Loyola Marymount* Portland, OR L, Thu Feb. 23 San Francisco* San Francisco, CA L, Sat Feb. 25 San Diego* San Diego, CA L, Thu Mar. 2 Santa Clara^ Spokane, WA L, *Denotes conference game; ^WCC Tourney; All Times Pacific; Home games Bold WCC Women s Basketball Pg. 8

9 Saint Mary s Gaels Schedule / 7-7 WCC Day Date Opponent Location Time/Res. Fri Nov. 18 Eastern Washington Cheney, WA L, Sun Nov. 20 Washington State Pullman, WA L, Fri Nov. 25 Princeton 1 Moraga, CA W, Sat Nov. 26 Butler 1 Moraga, CA W, Thu Dec. 1 UC Riverside Riverside, CA L, Sun Dec. 4 Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA L, Sat Dec. 10 Southern Utah Moraga, CA L, Mon Dec. 12 Oregon Moraga, CA L, Thu Dec. 15 Bradley Peoria, IL W, Sat Dec. 17 Northwestern Evanston, IL L, Tue Dec. 20 UC Davis Moraga, CA W, Thu Dec. 29 Ball State Moraga, CA L, Sat Dec. 31 Sacramento State Moraga, CA W, Fri Jan. 6 Portland* Portland, OR W, Sun Jan. 8 Gonzaga* Spokane, WA L, Sat Jan. 14 San Francisco* Moraga, CA W, Thu Jan. 19 Loyola Marymount* Moraga, CA L, Sat Jan. 21 Pepperdine* Moraga, CA W, Thu Jan. 26 San Diego* San Diego, CA L, Sun Jan. 29 San Francisco* San Francisco, CA W, Thu Feb. 2 Portland* Moraga, CA W, Sat Feb. 4 Gonzaga* Moraga, CA L, Thu Feb. 9 Santa Clara* Santa Clara, CA L, Wed Feb. 15 Santa Clara* Moraga, CA L, Fri Feb. 17 San Diego* Moraga, CA W, Thu Feb. 23 Pepperdine* Malibu, CA L, Sat Feb. 25 Loyola Marymount* Los Angeles, CA W, Thu Mar. 2 Pepperdine^ Spokane, WA L, *Denotes Conference Game; 1 Hilton Thanksgiving Classic; ^WCC Tourney; All Times Pacific; Home games in Bold San Diego Toreros Schedule 9-19 / 4-10 WCC Day Date Opponent Location Time/Res. Fri Nov. 18 UC Riverside Riverside, CA L, Sun Nov. 20 Arizona State San Diego, CA L, Tue Nov. 22 San Diego State San Diego, CA W, Sat Nov. 26 Washington 1 Seattle, WA L, Sun Nov. 27 Pennsylvania 1 Seattle, WA W, Thu Dec. 1 Cal St. Fullerton Fullerton, CA W, Mon Dec. 5 Fresno State San Diego, CA L, Fri Dec. 9 Georgia Tech Atlanta, GA L, Sun Dec. 11 Clemson Clemson, SC L, Sun Dec. 18 Boise State San Diego, CA L, Wed Dec. 28 Montana State 2 San Diego, CA W, Fri Dec. 30 Duke 2 San Diego, CA L, Mon Jan. 2 UC Irvine San Diego, CA W, Fri Jan. 6 Loyola Marymount* San Diego, CA L, Sun Jan. 8 Pepperdine* San Diego, CA L, Sat Jan. 14 Santa Clara* Santa Clara, CA W, Thu Jan. 19 Gonzaga* Spokane, WA L, Sat Jan. 21 Portland* Portland, OR L, Sat Jan. 21 Saint Mary s* San Diego, CA W, Sat Jan. 28 Santa Clara* San Diego, CA L, Thu Feb. 2 Pepperdine* Malibu, CA L, Sat Feb. 4 Loyola Marymount* Los Angeles, CA L, Sat Feb. 11 San Francisco* San Diego, CA W, Wed Feb. 15 San Francisco* San Francisco, CA L, Fri Feb. 17 Saint Mary s* Moraga, CA L, Thu Feb. 23 Gonzaga* San Diego, CA L, Sat Feb. 25 Portland* San Diego, CA W, Thu Mar. 2 Loyola Marymount^ Spokane, WA L, *Denotes Conference Game; 1 Seattle Times Classic; 2 Surf & Slam Tournament; ^WCC Tourney; All Times Pacific; Home games in Bold San Francisco Dons Schedule 9-20 / 4-10 WCC Day Date Opponent Location Time/Res. Sat Nov. 19 Minnesota 1 Minneapolis, MN L, Sun Nov. 20 Long Island 1 Minneapolis, MN L, Fri Nov. 25 Rider 2 San Francisco, CA W, Sat Nov. 26 Oklahoma/Iowa 2 San Francisco, CA L, Tue Nov. 29 Cal Poly San Francisco, CA W, Thu Dec. 1 UC Davis Davis, CA L, Sun Dec. 4 Long Beach State Long Beach, CA L, 58-52(OT) Thu Dec. 8 Hawai i San Francisco, CA L, Sun Dec. 11 Cal State Fullerton San Francisco, CA W, Fri Dec. 16 Denver San Francisco, CA W, Tue Dec. 20 Fresno State San Francisco, CA L, Wed Dec. 28 Boise State Boise, ID L, Sat Dec. 31 Nevada Reno, NV L, Fri Jan. 6 Pepperdine* San Francisco, CA W, (OT) Sun Jan. 8 Loyola Marymount* San Francisco, CA L, Sat Jan. 14 Saint Mary s* Moraga, CA L, Thu Jan. 19 Portland* Portland, OR W, Sat Jan. 21 Gonzaga* Spokane, WA L, Thu Jan. 26 Santa Clara* San Francisco, CA L, Sat Jan. 29 Saint Mary s* San Francisco, CA L, Thu Feb. 2 Loyola Marymount* Los Angeles, CA L, Sat Feb. 4 Pepperdine* Malibu, CA L, Sat Feb. 11 San Diego* San Diego, CA L, Wed Feb. 15 San Diego* San Francisco, CA W, Fri Feb. 17 Santa Clara* Santa Clara, CA L, Thu Feb. 23 Portland* San Francisco, CA W, Sat Feb. 25 Gonzaga* San Francisco, CA L, Thu Mar. 2 Gonzaga^ Spokane, WA W, Sat Mar. 4 Santa Clara^ Spokane, WA L, (OT) *Denotes Conference Game; 1 Minnesota Tournament; 2 odwalla Classic; ^WCC Tourney; All Times Pacific; Home games in Bold Santa Clara Broncos Schedule / 11-3 WCC Day Date Opponent Location Time/Res. Fri Nov. 18 Georgia Athens, GA L, Mon Nov. 21 Alabama Tuscaloosa, AL L, Sat Nov. 26 Kansas State Santa Clara, CA L, Mon Nov. 28 Central Florida Santa Clara, CA W, Thu Dec. 1 Portland State Portland, OA L, Sun Dec. 4 UC Irvine Santa Clara, CA W, Sat Dec. 10 Hawai i Santa Clara, CA L, Tue Dec. 13 Montana Missoula, MT L, Thu Dec. 15 Eastern Washington Cheney, WA W, Sat Dec. 17 San Jose State Santa Clara, CA W, Wed Dec. 28 Cal State Northridge Santa Clara, CA W, Sat Dec. 31 Ball State Santa Clara, CA W, (OT) Mon Jan. 2 Fresno State Fresno, CA L, Fri Jan. 6 Gonzaga* Spokane, WA L, Sun Jan. 8 Portland* Portland, OR W, Sat Jan. 14 San Diego* Santa Clara, CA L, Thu Jan. 19 Pepperdine* Santa Clara, CA W, Sat Jan. 21 Loyola Marymount* Santa Clara, CA W, Thu Jan. 26 San Francisco* San Francisco, CA W, Sat Jan. 28 San Diego* San Diego, CA W, Thu Feb. 2 Gonzaga* Santa Clara, CA W, Sat Feb. 4 Portland* Santa Clara, CA W, Thu Feb. 9 Saint Mary s* Santa Clara, CA W, Wed Feb. 15 Saint Mary s* Moraga, CA W, Fri Feb. 17 San Francisco* Santa Clara, CA W, Thu Feb. 23 Loyola Marymount* Los Angeles, CA L, Sat Feb. 25 Pepperdine* Malibu, CA W, Thu Mar. 2 Portland^ Spokane, WA W, Sat Mar. 4 San Francisco^ Spokane, WA W, (OT) Sun Mar. 5 Pepperdine^ Spokane, WA L, Thu Mar. 16 Oregon State& Corvallis, OR 7:00PM *Denotes Conference Game; ^WCC Tourney; &WNIT; All Times Pacific; Home games in Bold WCC Women s Basketball Pg. 9

10 First Round Second Round National Regionals National National Regionals Second Round First Round March 18 or 19 March 20 or 21 Semifinals Championship Semifinals March 20 or 21 March 18 or 19 North Carolina (29-1) 1 1 Duke (26-3) Mar.18, 7 p.m. ESPN2* Mar. 19, 7 p.m. ESPN2* UC Riverside (16-14) Southern U. (20-10) Vanderbilt (20-10) 8 Mar. 20 Mar Southern California (18-11) Mar. 18, 30 min. foll. ESPN2 Mar. 19, 30 min. foll. ESPN2* Louisville (19-9) 9 9 South Fla. (18-11) UCLA (20-10) 5 5 Kentucky (21-8) Mar. 19, 30 min. foll. ESPN* Mar. 18, 30 min. foll. ESPN2 Bowling Green (28-2) Chattanooga (27-3) Purdue (24-6) 4 Mar. 21 Mar Michigan St. (22-9) Mar. 19, Noon ESPN2 Mar. 18, 11 a.m. ESPN2 Missouri St. (17-14) Wis.-Milwaukee (21-8) Texas A&M (23-8) 6 6 Temple (24-7) Mar. 19, 30 min. foll. ESPN2 Mar. 19, Noon ESPN2* TCU (18-11) Hartford (26-3) Rutgers (25-4) 3 Mar. 21 Mar Georgia (21-8) Mar. 19, 7 p.m. ESPN2 Mar. 19, 30 min. foll. ESPN Dartmouth (23-6) Marist (23-6) George Washington (22-8) 7 7 Virginia Tech (20-9) Boston Mar. 19, 30 min. foll. ESPN Mar. 19, 7 p.m. ESPN2 April 4 Old Dominion (22-8) Missouri (21-9) Tennessee (28-4) 2 Mar. 21 Mar Connecticut (29-4) Mar. 19, Noon ESPN2 Mar. 19, 30 min. foll. ESPN2 Army (19-10) Coppin St. (22-8) Ohio St. (28-2) 1 8 p.m. ESPN 6 p.m. ESPN 1 LSU (27-3) Mar. 19, 30 min. foll. ESPN2 Mar. 18, 30 min. foll. ESPN2 Oakland (15-15) Fla. Atlantic (20-10) Boston College (19-11) 8 Mar. 21 Mar Minnesota (19-9) Mar. 19, 7 p.m. ESPN2 Mar. 18, 11 a.m. ESPN2 Notre Dame (18-11) 9 9 Washington (18-10) Utah (24-6) 5 5 North Carolina St. (19-11) Mar. 18, 11 a.m. ESPN2 Mar. 18, 30 min. foll. ESPN2 Middle Tenn. (20-10) Tulsa (25-5) Arizona St. (24-6) 4 Mar. 20 Mar DePaul (25-6) Mar. 18, 30 min. foll. ESPN2 Mar. 18, 7 p.m. ESPN2 Stephen F. Austin (23-7) Liberty (24-5) Florida (21-8) 6 6 Florida St. (19-9) Mar. 18, 30 min. foll. ESPN2* Mar. 18, 6 p.m. ESPN2 New Mexico (21-9) 11 ***ALL TIMES ARE LOCAL TO THE HOST SITE*** 11 Louisiana Tech (26-4) Baylor (24-6) 3 Mar. 20 Mar Stanford (23-7) Mar. 18, 6 p.m. ESPN2 Mar. 18, 30 min. foll. ESPN2 Northern Ariz. (21-10) Southeast Mo. St. (20-8) *Indicates games available on ESPNU St. John's (N.Y.) (21-7) 7 7 Brigham Young (25-5) Mar. 19, Noon ESPN2 March 18 and 20 first-/second round sites: Chicago, Denver, Nashville, Tucson Mar. 18, 30 min. foll. ESPN2* California (18-11) 10 March 19 and 21 first-/second round sites: Norfolk, Trenton, University Park, West Lafayette 10 Iowa (17-11) Maryland (28-4) 2 Mar. 21 March 25 and 27 regional sites: Albuquerque and San Antonio Mar Oklahoma (29-4) Mar. 19, 30 min. foll. ESPN March 26 and 28 regional sites: Bridgeport and Cleveland Mar. 18, 11 a.m. ESPN2 Sacred Heart (26-4) Pepperdine (14-16) University Park Tucson Tucson West Lafayette Norfolk Trenton West Lafayette Nashville Denver Denver Chicago Nashville University Park Trenton Chicago Norfolk 2006 NCAA Division I Women's BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP CLEVELAND REGIONAL Cleveland, Ohio March 26 & 28 BRIDGEPORT REGIONAL Bridgeport, Conn. March 26 & 28 Norman Oklahoma Boston April 2 Boston April 2 NATIONAL CHAMPION ALBUQUERQUE REGIONAL Albuquerque, N.M. March 25 & 27 March 28 & 30 All first- and second-round games can be seen in their entirety on ESPN FULL COURT. SAN ANTONIO REGIONAL San Antonio, Texas March 25 & National Collegiate Athletic Association. No commercial use without the NCAA's written permission. The NCAA opposes all sports wagering. This bracket should not be used for sweepstakes, contests, office pools or other gambling activities.

11 2006 Postseason Women s National Invitation Tournament March Jackson State Rice 3/15 March Indiana 3/18 Eastern Indiana State 3/16 Indiana State March March March March 29-April 1 March March March March Villanova 3/18 South Xavier 3/17 Xavier March Stony Hofstra 3/15 Hofstra Western Illinois Illinois 3/15 UW-Green Iowa State 3/16 Iowa Marquette 3/17 Marquette CHAMPION James Charlotte 3/17 Charlotte Tennessee Tech W. Kentucky Tennessee Tech 3/17 Western Kentucky Northern Iowa Kansas 3/16 TBD 3/18 Pittsburgh 3/18 Pittsburgh Wyoming Nebraska 3/16 Drake Nebraska Santa Oregon State 3/16 Oregon State Florida Int l 3/16 Florida Int l St Joseph s, PA Virginia Virginia Miami 3/18 All game times are according to host school s time zone. Idaho Kansas State 3/17 Kansas TBD 3/18 UNLV State 3/16 Fresno State