Lions Put Up A Fight...The Lions, who finished the season with a school-record 21 wins, a program-best 10-4 record in the West Coast Conference and made their first-ever trip to the WCC Tournament championship game, made their first ever postseason appearance against UNLV in the WNIT. Despite falling behind early in the first half to the Rebels, LMU overcame a 27-16 halftime deficit and took its only lead of the game, 50-49, on a 3-pointer by freshman Raelen Self with just five minutes remaining. However, UNLV responded with a 6-0 run at the 2:13 mark to take a 55-50 lead. LMU freshman Jasmin Matthews hit a layup with 15 seconds left cutting the deficit to 57-56 but UNLV's Kinesha Davis answered with two clutch free-throws extending the lead to 59-56. The Lions, battling to the end, had a chance to tie in the final seconds, but sophomore forward Kate Murray's 3-point attempt from the top of the key bounced off the front rim.

Young Lion Squad Looks To Bright Future Ahead...With only one senior departing from this year's squad a young Lion team looks to build on its incredible accomplishments this year and prepares for what will be an exciting year next season. Despite making an early Round 1 exit in the WNIT, LMU has nothing to hang its head about. The 2000-01 Lions have set new standards of excellence for LMU women's basketball with their record 21 overall wins, 10 conference wins and first ever postseason appearance.

"We are disappointed, but by no means discouraged," stated head coach Julie Wilhoit. "I am so proud of what this team has accomplished this season. They are warriors. They battled all year and along the way learned how to fight through adversity. We suffered had some bad luck with injuries but those things happen. What impresses me most is how they came together as a team."

LMU Earns A+ In Teamwork...Teamwork was definitely the key for LMU this season. An onslaught of injuries meant baptism by fire for this year's freshman class. Raelen Self was thrown into a starting role after junior Rosa Bernasconi broke her hand before the start of the season. Self again stepped in as a starter following Bernasconi's ACL injury (Jan. 20) which sidelined her for the rest of the year. She averaged 5.0 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game while shooting 78.9 percent from the free-throw line. Self was not immune to the injury bug as she was forced to sit and watch seven games after breaking her hand during practice (Feb. 14). That injury drove fellow rookie Jasmin Matthews off the bench and into the starting lineup. As a starter Matthews contributed 9.0 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. Freshman center Adrianne Slaughter had already earned her starting role during preseason practice but was quickly schooled in discipline and patience. Slaughter, who was being backed up by 6-foot-4 sophomore Shannon Wosman, became LMU's only center and size player when Wosman was lost to an ACL injury during the first week of conference (Jan. 13). Slaughter started all 31 contests, averaging 10.1 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game.

Slim Pickens...With three players lost to injuries (Shannon Wosman, Rosa Bernasconi, Raelen Self) during the latter half of the regular season LMU's key reserves became the only three athletes left on the bench. Michele Brown, Cecily O'Rielly-Williams and April DeJohnette were suddenly looked upon to provide quality minutes for the Lions. Brown came through for the team playing almost 13 minutes a game and averaging 2.9 points and 2.3 rebounds per game. O'Rielly-Williams was also able to provide some relief for the starters playing an average of 6.4 minutes per game. As a guard, DeJohnette saw limited playing time but scored a total of 5 points through her seven games played.

RPI Doesn't Lie...With an RPI rating of No. 44 in the nation the Lions were the highest rated team not to be included in the NCAA Tournament. Of the 32 at-large teams to be invited, five had lower RPI ratings than the Lions (Arizona State No. 46, Florida State No. 47, Oregon No. 50, Drake No.51, Louisville No. 73) and four of those five had fewer wins: Arizona State (20-11), Florida State (18-11), Oregon (17-11) and Louisville (19-9).

Lions In The Postseason...LMU's match-up against UNLV in Round 1 of the WNIT was yet another first for the LMU women's basketball program. The game marked the Lions' first ever postseason appearance and also the first time that LMU hosted a postseason event. LMU reaped the rewards of its best season in program history as the invitation came on the heels of a 21 win season, the first 20-win season in school history, which included wins over two NCAA Tournament participant teams (Utah and Saint Mary's).

Wilhoit Named WCC Coach Of The Year...Head Coach Julie Wilhoit captured the WCC Coach of the Year Award for the second straight season this year. Wilhoit, who recently finished her sixth season at the helm of the women's basketball program at LMU, led the Lions to a record breaking season. Under her direction, LMU set new school records for single-season overall wins (21) and single-season conference wins (10). She led the Lions to a 21-10 overall record, a 10-4 mark in conference play, to within a game of LMU's first ever regular-season conference championship, to their first appearance in the WCC tournament championship game and to their first ever postseason game. She was the first LMU women's basketball coach to earn the top coaching nod last year, the first to have earned in consecutive seasons at LMU and only the second coach in WCC history to garner the award two straight years. She was named the fourth head coach in the program's history on June 30, 1995. Wilhoit came to LMU after a two-year stint at the University of Pittsburgh-Bradford. With the Lions, she holds a 62-106 (.369) overall record and 27-63 (.300) record in West Coast Conference play. Wilhoit finished her 13th year as a head coach and owns a 183-176 (.510) overall record.

Three Lions Earn All-Conference Honors...Senior guard Taryn Reynolds and junior guard Bryn Britton brought home All-WCC first team honors while sophomore forward Kate Murray was named All-WCC honorable mention. Reynolds, a 5-7 native of Los Angeles, Calif., brought home her first ever first-team award and did it convincingly as she earned the award by a unanimous decision. The senior had been LMU's pillar of leadership in her final season averaging a solid 12.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists for the season. She reached a milestone in her career earlier this season by being the eighth women's basketball player in school history to reach the 1,000 point plateau. Britton, who stands at 5-11 and hails from Porterville, Calif., earned her second straight first-team award. She led the Lions in scoring and assists averaging 15.0 points and 3.6 assists per game. Britton has helped LMU's rebounding efforts as well, her 5.7 rebounds per game was second on the team. Like Reynolds, she also reached the 1,000 point milestone earlier this season. Britton was the seventh women's basketball player in school history to achieve the feat. Murray, a 6-0 native of Tigard, Oreg., collects her first career all-conference award. Her consistent play was also key to LMU's success this season. She averaged a steady 13.2 points per game, second on the team, recorded three double-doubles and scored in double-digit point figures in 26 of the 31 games this season.

Postseason Honors Keep Comin'...Following the all-conference awards, the postseason honors just kept rolling in for the Lions. After an incredible run in the WCC tournament that began with LMU's first tournament win (63-53 over San Diego) and ended with its first championship game appearance, senior guard Taryn Reynolds and junior guard Bryn Britton added another award to their growing list of accomplishments. The starting guard combo was named to the WCC All-Tournament team, the first all-tournament selections for the Lions in program history. Reynolds finished the tournament with 32 points and 13 rebounds while Britton collected 54 points, 18 rebounds, 13 assists and nine steals. Sophomore Kate Murray also racked up another award. The 6-foot forward was named to the WCC All-Academic team for her accomplishments in the classroom. Her 3.84 GPA ranked the highest among the 10 selections of the women's all-academic team.

The Votes Are In...For the first time since the 1988-89 season the LMU women's basketball team was receiving votes in the ESPN/USA Today Top-25 coaches poll the last two weeks of the season. The 88-89 Lions finished the year 17-11 overall and 9-5 in the WCC. This year, LMU's record breaking season, a top-50 RPI rating all year and some big wins throughout the course of the year was what propelled the Lions into their first postseason appearance in school history.

Lions Among WCC Elite...LMU has worked its way up the ladder and has instilled itself as one of the conference's top teams. Proof of this comes in the fact that four of the Lions five starters are in among the WCC stats leaders in almost every category. All-WCC first-team and WCC all-tournament team member Bryn Britton is among the best in the conference in six different categories. The junior guard finished third in scoring (15.0 ppg), fifth in assists (3.61 apg), sixth in free-throw percentage (82-108, .759), tenth in steals (1.5 spg), ninth in 3-pointers made (1.29 pg) and eighth in defensive rebounds (4.5 rpg). Senior Taryn Reynolds, also a first-team All-WCC and WCC all-tournament pick, ranked among the WCC's best as well. The 5-7 guard was the conference's 11th best scorer (12.5 ppg), ranked tenth in assists (2.94 apg) and second in steals (2.16 spg). Freshman center Adrianne Slaughter made a huge first impression during her first collegiate season. The 6-2 rookie was second in the WCC in blocked shots (1.61 bpg) this season. Her 10.1 points per game ranked 17th in the conference while also finishing fourth in field goal percentage (126-235, .536), 10th in total rebounds (212) and second in offensive rebounds (103). Sophomore Kate Murray ranked eighth among WCC scoring leaders with 13.2 points per game. She also ended the year fifth in free-throw percentage (.772) and eighth in steals (52).

Protecting The Lions' Den...The Lions were very protective of their home court this season as they posted an 11-2 mark while playing at Gersten Pavilion. The Lions swept their final regular-season home games defeating Gonzaga (60-37) and Portland (70-52). It has been almost 10 years since LMU posted 11 home wins. The 1992-93 Lions were the last team to post an 11-2 record at home, a mark which is the second best home record in program history. The most home wins ever recorded by a Lion team was 12 accomplished by the 1989-90 team.

A Record Breaking Season...The Lions set a new program record for single-season wins with a 21-9 overall record and a new single-season conference wins mark with a 10-4 WCC record. This was LMU's first 20 win season in program history. The 1988-89 team previously held both the overall wins and conference wins records, going 17-11 overall and 9-5 in conference that year.

Crashing The Boards...A big key to LMU's success during the 2000-01 season was its relentless rebounding effort. As a team the Lions collectively outrebounded their opponents time and time again. LMU averaged 38.6 rebounds per game to its opponents 36.1 boards per game, a difference of nearly 3 more rebounds in the Lions favor. The Lions are 18-2 when outhustling their opponents to the boards and 3-8 when the opposite occurs. LMU's three other wins (21 total) can be attributed to forced errors. In those wins, LMU's ferocious defense drove its opponents to committing more turnovers than the Lions. On the season, LMU averaged 15.6 turnovers per game while its opponents committed 17.5 errors per game.

Britton Sets Records A Blaze...Junior Bryn Britton wrote her way into the LMU record books with an outstanding individual performance this year. Britton, a 5-11 guard, set a new single-season scoring mark for juniors with 464 points; a total which is the second on the single-season points chart. Earlier in the season she tied the single-game record for 3-pointers draining six against No. 23 Xavier (11/25/00) and during conference play she set a new single-game scoring record for juniors with 31 points against Saint Mary's (1/26/01). Britton is now the all-time career leader in field goals made (584) and 3-point field goals made (87). She ranks second on the all-time scoring chart with 1,248 career points.

Slaughter Sparkles In First Season...Freshman Adrianne Slaughter has started her young career on the right foot as she has also etched her name into the LMU record books. The 6-2 center went 7-for-7 (1.000) against Fresno State (12/5/00) setting a new single-game field goal percentage mark with the most attempts. Slaughter also owns the all-time freshman rebounds record with 212 on the year. The 212 boards also puts Slaughter ninth in the single-season record book. She was pillar of LMU's defense recording a team-leading 50 blocks on the year a total which put her second in the league in blocked shots and seventh in the LMU single-season record book. Adding to her list of accomplishments, Slaughter led the team with seven double-doubles on the year.

Remembering Reynolds...Senior Taryn Reynolds made sure that she would not easily be forgotten. In her final season with the Lions she sunk a team-best 123 free-throws, second among all-time single-season leaders, and putting her third on LMU's all-time career free-throws chart with 284. Reynolds ranks fifth on the all-time scoring chart (1,124) and third in 3-point field goals made (74). Her 223 career steals ranks her third in the LMU career record books and sixth among the WCC all-time leaders.

Murray - A Master Of The Court...Sophomore Kate Murray has begun erasing some records as well in this just her second year with the Lions. The 6-foot native of Tigard, Oreg. ranks ninth in the all-time steals (112), scoring average (10.3) and career free-throw percentage ( .726/ 114-157) charts. She also made her way among the single-season leaders as well ranking eighth in points (408), seventh in field goals (158) and third in free-throw percentage (.772).

Freshmen Face Fabulous Future...Along with Adrianne Slaughter, freshmen Raelen Self and Jasmin Matthews came through big for the Lions when needed. Both young cubs were up to the task when asked to step into a starting role in just their first year at the collegiate level. Self began the season as a starter due to a hand injury to starting point guard Rosa Bernasconi. Bernasconi suffered an ACL injury later in the season putting Self again into the starting lineup. As a starter she averaged 6.0 points during an average of 28.0 minutes per game. Matthews came through for the Lions starting in the last eight games of the season. She was vaulted into the starting lineup due to injuries which plagued the squad late in the season. Matthews came off the bench roaring averaging 9.0 points and 6.5 rebounds per game as a starter. She posted the first double-doubles of her career this year dropping 10 points and 10 boards on Pepperdine (Jan. 17) and 15 points, 11 boards against San Francisco during the WCC Tournament (Mar. 2).

Scoring Machines...It's safe to say that LMU's offensive power was truly a team effort this season. With four of the Lions' five starters averaging double-digit points, LMU gave new meaning to the term “balanced attack". When the Lions were on their game they were nearly unstoppable. Leading the attack was junior guard Bryn Britton who averaged 15.0 points per game. Britton, who was not only a shooting threat but could drive to the basket as well, scored in double digits in 27 of the 31 games played this season. Sophomore Kate Murray followed averaging 13.2 points per game. She hit double digit points in 26 of her 31 games played. Close behind Murray was Taryn Reynolds, the third starter to average at least 10 points per game (12.5). Reynolds was fearless when it came to driving into enemy territory as is proven with her team leading 181 free-throw attempts. Adrianne Slaughter rounds out the double digit scoring starters. She averaged 10.1 points per game and was excellent at shot selection leading the team with a .536 field goal percentage.

Double-Doubles Galore...The Lions were not only effective offensively but were great at pulling down the boards as well. LMU finished second among WCC teams with 16 double-doubles on the year. Freshman Adrianne Slaughter led the way with seven while junior Bryn Britton and Kate Murray followed with three each. Freshman Jasmin Matthews chipped in two double-doubles in her rookie season. Junior Rosa Bernasconi was not be left out as she recorded her only double-double of the season in just her sixth game back following an injury which sidelined her for the first five games of the year.

Britton And Reynolds Reach 1,000 Career Points...Senior guard Taryn Reynolds and junior guard Bryn Britton both hit milestones in their careers this season by reaching the 1,000 point plateau. Reynolds, a 5-7 native of Los Angeles, Calif., went over the 1,000 point mark with the 10 points she picked up in Portland (Feb. 1). Reynolds finished her career at LMU with 1,124 points, a total which ranks 5th on the all-time charts. Britton, a 5-11 junior from Porterville, Calif., hit her 1,000th career point with the 10 points she dropped at Pepperdine (Jan. 20). Britton ended the year with 1,248 career points, a mark which is 2nd in the LMU record book. Both athletes were honored by the West Coast Conference as Players of the Week this season. Reynolds earned the award the week of Jan. 22 and began an LMU trend of snagging the award. Britton continued the trend garnering the award in the following week (Jan. 29).

Best WCC Finish In 10 Years...The Lions, 10-4 in conference play, finished the regular season in third place, their best finish in 10 years. The 1989-90 season was the last time the Lions finished among the upper tier conference teams. That year, under the direction of then-head coach Todd Corman, LMU posted a 7-7 WCC record and finished tied for third in the conference with San Diego.