March 6, 2010

LAS VEGAS, Nev. - With wins in the first round of the 2010 Zappos.com West Coast Conference Basketball Championships, both the LMU men and women basketball teams find them doing a flip-flop for their quarterfinal match-ups on Saturday as both teams look to "Advance to the Dance."

The women defeated San Francisco in the first round, 61-54 on Friday, while the men knocked off Pepperdine, 87-84. They will now switch dance partners as the women will take on No. 3 seed Pepperdine at 2:30 p.m., while the men will take on No. 4 seed San Francisco at 6 p.m.

Fans can follow all the action the duration of the tournament through the LMU WCC Tournament Central on LMULions.com.

INSIDE THE LIONS AT THE WCC TOURNEY:

INTERACTIVE GAME NOTES:

The Lions advance for the first time since playing in the title game of the 2006 WCC Championship held in Spokane, Wash. The win over the Waves continues this seasons revival as it is the first time since 1996 the Lions defeated their rival twice in one season. Like they did to start the 2009-10 campaign, the Lions got their offense going in shootout with Pepperdine, scoring 87 points. It is the 13th game this season with 80 or more points, more than the last three seasons combined, and is the most points for the Lions in the WCC tournament since they upset No. 1 seed Santa Clara, 87-83, as the No. 8 seed in the 1995 tournament held at Santa Clara. The Lions put up several numbers against the Waves that rank in the top-five all-time at LMU in the WCC tournament:

• Six team blocks is tied for first with games in 2004 and 2002
• 10 turnovers was the third fewest (8 is the record)
• 27 free throws made is a record in a WCC tournament game
• 36 free throws attempted ranked fourth
• Ashley Hamilton's 13 free throws ranked second (Hank Gathers had 14 on Mar. 6, 1989 against SCU)
• Ashley Hamilton's 15 free throw attempts is tied for second with Gathers (Mar. 5, 1988) and Sherman Gay (Mar. 5, 2004)
• Drew Viney's three blocks tied for third with five players
• Jarred DuBois' four steals tied for fourth with six players
Fans can follow the Lions in the quarterfinals many ways, starting with WCCLive through WCCSports.com and an interview with Bo Kimble, who is being inducted into the WCC Hall of Honor on Saturday. The show starts at 4 p.m. The game will then be on live on KXLU 88.9 FM, LMULions.com and will be aired on multiple television networks throughout the west coast, including ESPN360.com.

For the women, LMU will now face local rivals Pepperdine, who earned a first-round bye in the tournament in Saturday's second quarterfinals. The Waves swept the season series against the Lions, winning 82-65 in Malibu on January 9 and 72-62 at LMU on February 6. The teams have met just twice before in the WCC Tournament, with Pepperdine winning in the 2006 semifinals and the Lions taking the 2007 semifinals.