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Women's Basketball

Women's Basketball: 2014-15 NCAA Notes

NCAA West Regional Central | NCAA Notes PDF | Live Video & Stats | #NCAAd2West

ANCHORAGE, Ak. -- The two-time defending CCAA Tournament Champion Cal State Dominguez Hills women's basketball team makes its seventh all-time trip to the NCAA West Regional after posting a 1-6 record in its previous six regionals, including an 0-1 record in last year's regional, hosted by Cal Poly Pomona.

Tournament Bound:  Below is information on the top eight teams in the NCAA West Region, their overall records and CSUDH's record against them (if applicable).
 
No. 1 Seed #1 Alaska Anchorage (29-1) No. 5 Seed Cal Baptist (24-6, 0-1)
No. 2 Seed Cal State Dominguez Hills (26-6) No. 6 Seed Seattle Pacific (21-6)
No. 3 Seed Humboldt State (23-5, 1-1)  No. 7 Seed Cal Poly Pomona (19-8, 2-0)
No. 4 Seed Hawai'i Pacific (25-4) No. 8 Seed Point Loma (19-11, 1-0)

About No. 1 Seed Alaska Anchorage: Ranked No. 1 in the country, the Seawolves nearly ran the table en route to the GNAC Championship with a 71-58 win over Western Washington after squeaking past Simon Fraser in the semis by a 59-56 count, the same Simon Fraser team the Toros swept by an average of nine points at SFU's Gymnasium in late December.  Megan Mullings paces a lethal UAA offense with her 13.7 ppg average, with Leah Bonner (11.9 ppg), Jenna Buchanan (11.2 ppg) and Jessica Madison (10.7 ppg) all posting double-figure averages, and Alli Madison (9.9 ppg) and KeKe Wright (9.4 ppg) giving opposing defenses a pick your poison type attack.  The lone speed bump in an otherwise magical season thus far was a 79-64 setback against Northwest Nazarene at home to kick off the new calendar year.
 
Against No. 3 Seed Humboldt State: The Lumberjacks finished the regular season tied atop the CCAA, but fell in the CCAA tournament semis to CCAA Tournament Finalist Cal State East Bay.  A'Jaee Foster leads the Jacks with her 12.4 ppg average, with Jae Shin at 11.9 ppg and Megan Shields at 11.4 ppg to give HSU and CCAA Coach of the Year Joddie Gleason depth.  In the two meetings between HSU and DH, Breanne Garcia led the Cardinal and Gold with 16.5 ppg, with Monay Lee (13.5 ppg), Talia Rayford (12.0 ppg) and Tayler Champion (10.5 ppg) adding balance.  After the Jacks took a 77-70 meeting in Arcata, the Toros returned the favor in Carson in a 59-58 squeaker after Rayford blocked Foster at the buzzer to preserve the win.
 
About No. 4 Seed Hawai'i Pacific: Making their second-ever appearance in the NCAA West Region, the Sharks qualified with a 25-4 record, including a near-perfect 18-2 mark in the PacWest en route to winning the league tourney, taking down Cal Baptist in a 74-73 thriller.  Morganne Comstock paces HPU with her whopping 19.7 ppg average, with four others in double-figure scoring to give the Sharks a deadly attack.  HSU also boasts a considerable edge in rebounds (+6.9), while forging three different winning streaks of at least 8 games.  Two of their four losses on the year came against two schools who qualified for the NCAAs in top seed AAU and No. 5 seed Cal Baptist, whom HPU faces in the first round on Friday.
 
About No. 5 Seed Cal Baptist: The Lancers fell in the PacWest Title Game to No. 4 seed Hawai'i Pacific, after besting Point Loma in a league semifinal contest.  Four players pour in at least 13 points per game, with Cassidy Mihalko at 15.4 and Courtney Nelson at 15.2 leading the charge.  In CSUDH's loss to CBU on November 28, Talia Rayford went for 21 points, but was the lone Toro to score in double figures.  The Toros shot just .367 from the floor including a dismal .143 (1-of-7) from downtown, with their usually stellar free throw shooting well below their average as CSUDH connected for just .577 on the day (15-for-26).  The Toros did force 11 more turnovers while tallying 10 more steals, but CBU swatted away two more balls and dished 17 assists to just five for CSUDH in the 9-point decision.
 
About No. 6 Seed Seattle Pacific: Making their 17th overall appearance in the NCAA postseason, the Falcons return for the first time in three years, coming off a semifinal loss in the GNAC conference tournament.  Suzanna Ohlsen paces the Falcons with her 18.0 ppg average, with Aubree Callen pouring in 16.3 ppg and Maddey Pflaumer chipping in 10.3 ppg.  SPU is shooting at a .448 clip from the floor, as well as a stellar .785 from the foul line to give them confidence when leading late.  SPU has taken down CCAA schools Humboldt State and UC San Diego, with four of its losses having come at the hands of St. Martin's and Alaska Anchorage, losing two games to each school.  The last time the Falcons reached the dance was in 2001, resulting in a 53-51 first round loss to Grand Canyon.
 
Against No. 7 Seed Cal Poly Pomona: With two-time reigning CCAA Player of the Year in Jada Blackwell, the defending NCAA West Region Champion Broncos could be the sleeper team in the field.  After dropping a first-round CCAA Tournament contest to Cal State East Bay, the Broncos have had seven full days off from competition.  Blackwell enters the tournament at 19.7 ppg, with Ariel Marsh's 17.9 ppg and Ashley Lovett's 10.5 ppg right behind.  The Toros swept the regular season series with Breanne Garcia and Monay Lee each averaging 16.0 ppg, while Talia Rayford (14.0 ppg), Anandi Jimenez (11.5 ppg) and Tayler Champion (11.0 ppg) providing a balanced attack.  Despite being out-shot from the floor, CSUDH made up for it at the foul line, sinking 14 more free throws in the wins, while making 18 steals compared to just five for CPP.  Additionally, CSUDH came up big on the boards, pulling down 11 more in the two wins.
 
About No. 8 Seed Point Loma: The Sea Lions earned their first NCAA postseason selection as an active NCAA member.  Despite dropping a close 73-71 decision to Cal Baptist in the PacWest tournament, PLNU has won 15 of 18 games entering the tournament behind 1st-team All-PacWest selection Jessica Escorza, who leads the team with her 15.5 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 2.8 apg and 2.0 spg averages.  PLNU also features PacWest Freshman of the Year Roya Rustamzada and sharpshooter Madison West.  The Toros took a convincing 71-42 win over PLNU in a non-conference contest in mid-November, with Breanne Garcia pouring in 26 points on 8-of-16 shooting from floor.  Tayler Champion added 11 for the victorious Toros, who held PLNU to just 11 field goals in the game and a .200 shooting percentage.  The teams nearly were identical from the foul line, with the Sea Lions tallying fewer turnovers and more steals.
 
Toros Crowned CCAA Tournament Champions: The Toros made their 12th appearance in the CCAA Tournament a memorable one last weekend, needing overtime to take down upstart Cal State San Bernardino in a 69-66 semifinal before a more relaxed 76-57 win over Cal State East Bay for their fifth title overall, and second in as many years.  CSUDH improved its record in the tournament to 15-8 with the two wins.

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It's Been A Long Time ... Since Their Last NCAA Win: The Toros make their seventh-ever appearance in the NCAA postseason after earning the No. 2 Seed in the West Region, the highest in the program's history.  The lone NCAA win for the Toros, however, who are 1-6 entering this regional, came during the 1994-95 season when they defeated UC Riverside, 57-53, before falling to UC Davis in the West Region semifinal.  CSUDH fell in other first round match-ups to Montana State Billings in 1995-96, to Western Washington in 2004-05, to Alaska Anchorage in 2006-07, and to Chico State last season.
 
Been There, Done That: Leading her squad to its "second season" for the second year in a row, head coach Molly Goodenbour knows all about competing and winning in the NCAA after leading Stanford University to two titles as a prolific guard, and guiding the Chico State Wildcats to the NCAA postseason when she served as head coach of the Wildcats.
 
CSUDH Against the Nation's Best: The Toros faced just one ranked opponent this year in Humboldt State, and came away with a 59-58 win at home.  In that game, Breanne Garcia scored 17 points with Monay Lee adding 12 as CSUDH avenged an earlier-season loss to the Jacks in Arcata.  The Toros also earned the statistical edge in blocks (+6), turnovers (-7) and steals (+3), but nearly gave the game away at the end by missing three of six free throws in the game's final 30 seconds, only to be saved by a Talia Rayford stuff on A'Jaee Foster as the buzzer.
 
Toros Against the West's Best: The Toros posted a 4-2 record against teams that made the NCAA Regional, facing both Humboldt State and Cal Poly Pomona twice.  Breanne Garcia came up huge in the six games with a 16.5 point per game average, with Talia Rayford's 13.3 ppg and Monay Lee's 12.3 ppg averages aiding the cause. CSUDH was a whopping +30 on the boards and -23 in turnovers, also winning the battle of blocks (+3) and steals (+25) in the six games.
           
The Coach With the Most:  In just her third year at the helm of the basketball program, Molly Goodenbour has seen the fruits of her and her coaching staff's labor, and then some.  Inheriting a squad that posted a 3-26 overall and 2-20 CCAA mark in 2011-12, Goodenbour's 2012-13 team improved its overall and league marks by six wins each, with last year upping that total by 11 overall and 5 CCAA wins in 2013-14 en route to the CCAA crown.  This year has been extraordinary with a program record 26 wins as the Toros captured both the CCAA regular season and tournament titles for the first time in program history.
 
More Goodenbour:  Leading the Toros to their CCAA Title last year, Molly Goodenbour became the first coach in the history of the CCAA to win league titles with two different CCAA teams.  Goodenbour's first CCAA Title came in 2007-08, a year in which she also claimed CCAA Coach of the Year honors in leading the Wildcats to the West Region semifinals as part of a school tying 28-6 mark.
 
Streaking: Arguably one of the hottest teams in the country, CSUDH has enjoyed four separate win streaks, including a season-high eight-game win streak that lasted from January 23 to February 14, with a loss at UC San Diego six days later stopping the run.  Another seven-game win streak from November 29 to December 21 preceded that eight-game stretch, while CSUDH enjoyed a modest four-game streak from January 3 to January 16, another run that was stopped by the Tritons.  Currently, the Toros have picked up five in a row entering Friday's game against Pomona, including two in the CCAA Tournament.
 
Toros Place Four on All-CCAA Teams: The two-time defending CCAA Champion Toros boasted a conference-high three players named to the 1st-team All-CCAA squad in senior Talia Rayford and juniors Breanne Garcia and Monay Lee, while senior Tayler Champion earned 2nd-team All-CCAA honors for the second-straight year.  Together the quartet has combined for 74.3% of the team's points, 91.1% of 3-pointers, 74.0% of free throws, 55.3% of rebounds, 77.4% of assists, 62.0% of blocks and 69.1% of the team's steals.

CCAA Players of the Week: Senior Talia Rayford and junior Breanne Garcia both earned a pair of CCAA Player of the Week honors for the Toros this year.  Garcia began the honors for the week of December 1-7, averaging 19 points, 2.5 assists, 2.5 steals and 1.5 boards to celebrate her birthday weekend.  Rayford followed with POWs the week of January 5-11 with 16 point and 13 rebound averages, and the week of January 26 - February 1, posting 15.5 point and 13 boards per game averages to lead the Toros to another road sweep.  Garcia then closed the POW honors the week of February 9-15, averaging 22 points, 3 boards and 2.5 assists en route to game-high scoring honors both nights.

There's No Place Like Defense: With all the talk about the balance the Toros get from their scorers, it's the team's dedication to defense that has been the impetus for its success.  CSUDH leads the CCAA in opponents FG% (good for 23rd in the NCAA) and opponents 3PT% (4th in the NCAA), and sits 2nd in points allowed.  In fact, the Toros are a perfect 15-0 when holding the opposition to 59 or less points.  Conversely, when opposing teams tickle the twine to the tune of at least 70 points, CSUDH is just 2-4.
    Additionally, CSUDH is 16-1 when shooting at least .375 from the floor, and 23-1 when dishing at least nine assists.

The Legacy of Double B: Now in her sixth year as an assistant coach for the women's basketball program, Brittney Blankenship has seen first-hand the peaks and valleys, both as a player and coach.  The peak as a player came during the 2008-09 season when the senior helped lead that squad to its last NCAA appearance before last year.  That squad posted a 21-10 record, with its 10th loss coming via UC San Diego's buzzer-beating turnaround jumper from the top of the key in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Seattle on Friday, March 13, in which Blankenship scored seven points and pulled down three boards.
 
What a Difference a Year Makes on Senior Day: Unlike last year's "Senior Day," in which the Toros didn't send off any players, this year saw five Toros honored before the final home game of the regular season in Talia Rayford, Tayler Champion, Ashanti Sweezer, Kerah Natividad and Shomari McCorkle.
 
A Ray(ford) of Sunshine: After making just one start last year, senior Talia Rayford has started all but one contest this season, bringing her versatility and leadership to the forefront.  Switching to the point guard position this season, she is averaging 3.1 assists per contest while shooting over 40% from the floor and just under 70% from the foul line.  In fact, her experience as a small forward helped make the transition seamless, as her slashing ability and athleticism have been able to shine in her new role.
 
How CSUDH's Team Ranks in the CCAA: Here's a look at how the Toros rank as a unit: 1st - Games (32), Points (2189), Offensive Rebounds PG (15.8), Total Rebounds PG (43.5), Opp FG% (.360), Opp 3PT% (.256); 2nd - FT Made PG (17.5), FT Attempts PG (23.8), PPG Allowed (59.8); 3rd - FT% (.736), Defensive Rebound PG (27.8), Blocks PG (3.3); 4th - PPG (68.4), FG Attempts PG (59.4); 5th - 3PT% (.304); 6th - 3PT Made PG (5.9), Steals PG (7.3); 7th - 3PT Attempts PG (19.6); 8th - FG Made PG (22.5), FG% (.378); 9th - Assists PG (11.8).

As a Team in the NCAA in the Top 50: 4th - Opp 3PT% (.256); 12th - Rebound Margin (+7.8); 23rd - Opp FG% (.360); 28th - Offensive Rebounds PG (15.8); 29th - W/L% (.813).

Toros Among the CCAA's Statistical Best Individually: Here's how the Toros fare compared to the rest of the CCAA's elite. Scoring - Garcia (4th, 15.1), Rayford (12th, 12.7), Lee (16th, 11.8), Champion (19th, 11.3); Rebounds - Rayford (4th, 8.7), Lee (9th, 6.8), Champion (16th, 6.1); 3PT% - Champion (11th, .331), Garcia (T14th, .323); FT% - Garcia (.851), Lee (8th, .810), Jimenez (.809); Blocks - Rayford (7th, 1.0), Champion (12th, 0.8); Steals - Rayford (9th, 1.6), Garcia (T13th, 1.5); Assists - Rayford (10th, 3.1), Garcia (11th, 3.0); Assists-to-Turnover Ratio - Rayford (10th, 1.4), Garcia (11th, 1.4), Lee (20th, 1.2).

Individually in the NCAA: Tayler Champion (38th, in 3PT FG / Game); Talia Rayford (41st, Offensive Rebounds / Game), (89th, Rebounds PG); Breanne Garcia (46th, FT%).
 
He Outta Know: Of all the tweets making their way over cyberspace the night of the CCAA Championship Game, KPAY's and Chico State's play-by-play announcer Mike Baca's stood out.  Two, in particular, went like this: "If I called Breezy Garcia's game all year, she might be my favorite player of all time!  Holy Smokes! #fearless.  That was followed by, "There is so much to like about the @TorosAthletics women's hoops team. Fight Scratch Claw NeverBackDown.

Good Things Come in Threes: Senior sharpshooter Tayler Champion set the school record for 3-pointers in a game on January 24, lighting up Sonoma State for 27 points in a 64-46 decision, with all Champion's points coming via 3-pointers. The Inglewood native surpassed the former record of eight triples, first set by Karee Bonde on February 25, 1993, against Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and tied by Jessica Liang on February 28, 2008, against CS Stanislaus.

The Hardest Thing To Do in a Season...: Is defeat a team three times.  But that's exactly what the Toros did en route to the CCAA Championship by taking down CS San Bernardino in the CCAA semis after taking both regular season contests, and then Cal State East Bay in the CCAA finals after posting two wins in double figures during the regular season.  CSUDH looks to make Cal Poly Pomona the third team to lose thrice this year, with the reward being a 2nd-round match-up against either Humboldt State or Seattle Pacific on Saturday at 6:00 pm.
 
What a Difference Experience Makes: Returning nearly all its players from last year, here's how this year's CCAA Champions compared to last year's CCAA Champions in the major categories: Points (2015 - 68.4 / 2014 - 67.2), FG% (.378 / .371), 3PT FT% (.304 / .319), FT% (.736 / .718), Rebounds (43.5 / 42.1), Assists (376 / 353), Turnovers (437 / 397), Blocks (105 / 54), Steals (233 / 252).
 
Let's Get It Started: Of the nine starting line-ups head coach Molly Goodenbour has employed this year, the collection of Tayler Champion, Breanne Garcia, Anandi Jimenez, Monay Lee, and Talia Rayford has seen the most success of quintets with at least five starts, tallying a 13-2 record, good for an .867 winning percentage.  The starting line-up of Garcia, Lee, Julia Poecksteiner, Rayford and Ashanti Sweezer sits at 4-0, with the Champion, Garcia, Kaaron King, Lee, and Rayford combo posting a 3-1 mark.  The one common denominator in all nine combinations has been Lee, with Rayford being penciled in eight of the nine starting line-ups, and Garcia and Champion in seven.

Saving Her Best For Last: Entering last weekend's CCAA Tournament averaging just 5.4 points, senior Anandi Jimenez showed why she was a prized recruit last year.  The lanky and athletic forward scored 32 points in the semi and final, including a game-high 20 points to lead the Toros to their second-straight CCAA Tournament title.  She was 8-for-18 from the field and, more importantly, a perfect 15-for-15 from the line over those two games, also averaging 7 boards in the wins.

Doubling Their Pleasure:  Balance has been integral to the success of this year's team.  Seven players have boasted at least one game of double-figure scoring, led by Breanne Garcia, who has 25. Talia Rayford and Monay Lee follow with 22 double-figure scoring games each, with Tayler Champion at 21, Ashanti Sweezer at 5, Kielyn Wilson at 4 and Kaaron King with 1 to round out the double-figure double-figure scorers.  Rayford also boasts a team-high 13 games with at least 10 boards, with Lee at 5.  Rayford also tops the team in double-doubles with 10, nearly missing out on a triple double on January 25 against San Francisco State as she tallied 12 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists in a 65-56 win.
    In fact, the Toros are 4-0 when five players score in double figures, 5-2 when four do, 11-1 when three do, 5-1 when two do, but just 1-2 when just one player scores in double figures.  For more numbers, CSUDH is 22-3 when Breanne Garcia scores in double figures, 19-4 with Monay Lee, 18-3 with Tayler Champion and 17-5 when Talia Rayford scores in double figures.

The Record Setters: In addition to this year's team setting the record for most wins in a single season, the Toros also established the single season records for points (2189), 3PT FGs made (190), FTs made (561) and rebounds (1391, 503o/888d).  Additionally, Tayler Champion set the single game bar for 3 pointers made in a game with 9 in a win over San Francisco State (Jan 24), while also breaking the single season record for 3-pointers made with 84 and counting.  Junior Monay Lee, meanwhile, now sits atop the list for FTs made in a career with 353 entering Friday's tilt against the Broncos.

The Record Approachers: As the aforementioned records have been established by the best team in program history, other records are on the verge of being caught or passed as well.  In a single game, Breanne Garcia now sits in 3rd and Talia Rayford 4th in FTs made, with Rayford also sitting 4th in assists and blocks.  In a single season, Garcia sits 2nd and Rayford 3rd in FT made, with Garcia also in 4th in points and FT%.  Additionally, Rayford is one block away from 5th and 5 boards away from 5th, two categories within reach come Friday.  For a single game, this team has set the 2nd best mark for blocks (8), the 4th best mark for FGs made (34) and 3PT FG (11) made, as well as the 5th highest mark for rebounds (57). And in her career, Tayler Champion is three 3-pointers made away from 3rd in just her second year of competition for the Cardinal and Gold.
 
Now That's a Good Look: Led by Kielyn Wilson at .465, Kaaron King at .455, Breanne Garcia at .406 and Talia Rayford at .403, this year's Toro squad has been very efficient with its shot selection.  In the 11 games in which CSUDH has shot at least 40% from the field, the Toros are a near-perfect 10-1.  Additionally, the Toros again are close to perfect when holding opponents to less than 40% shooting (22-2), and fare just as well collecting more boards (21-2), getting to the line (12-3) and leading at the break (22-1).     
    Conversely, CSUDH is just 1-5 when trailing at the half, with that one win coming in the CCAA semi against CS San Bernardino, a game CSUDH won in overtime, the first game that didn't end in regulation for the Toros this year.
 
Say No to Mondays and Thursdays: With mid-week tournaments on their schedule this year, the Toros have played on all but one day of the week.  They boast a 1-0 mark on both Sundays and Wednesdays, a 10-3 ledger on Fridays and a 14-1 record on Saturdays.  On Mondays and Thursdays, however, CSUDH is 0-1 on both.
 
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Players Mentioned

Tayler Champion

#03 Tayler Champion

F
5' 11"
Junior
Breanne Garcia

#01 Breanne Garcia

G
5' 2"
Sophomore
Monay Lee

#15 Monay Lee

G
5' 7"
Sophomore
Kielyn Wilson

#20 Kielyn Wilson

G
5' 9"
Sophomore
Ashanti Sweezer

#05 Ashanti Sweezer

F
5' 11"
Junior
Talia Rayford

#14 Talia Rayford

G
5' 6"
Junior
Shomari McCorkle

#23 Shomari McCorkle

F
5' 11"
Junior
Amber Wharton

#24 Amber Wharton

F
5' 9"
Junior
Tayler Champion

#03 Tayler Champion

F
5' 11"
Senior
Breanne Garcia

#01 Breanne Garcia

G
5' 2"
Junior

Players Mentioned

Tayler Champion

#03 Tayler Champion

5' 11"
Junior
F
Breanne Garcia

#01 Breanne Garcia

5' 2"
Sophomore
G
Monay Lee

#15 Monay Lee

5' 7"
Sophomore
G
Kielyn Wilson

#20 Kielyn Wilson

5' 9"
Sophomore
G
Ashanti Sweezer

#05 Ashanti Sweezer

5' 11"
Junior
F
Talia Rayford

#14 Talia Rayford

5' 6"
Junior
G
Shomari McCorkle

#23 Shomari McCorkle

5' 11"
Junior
F
Amber Wharton

#24 Amber Wharton

5' 9"
Junior
F
Tayler Champion

#03 Tayler Champion

5' 11"
Senior
F
Breanne Garcia

#01 Breanne Garcia

5' 2"
Junior
G