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LOS ANGELES - Following earning its first win of the season at San Diego State on Sunday, the LMU women's basketball team will host the 19th annual LMU Thanksgiving Classic Nov. 25-26 at Gersten Pavilion, hosting Belmont, Fresno State and UC Irvine.
Last Time Out
Behind a gusty second-half effort, LMU earned its first win of the season, 60-53, over San Diego State Sunday afternoon at Viejas Arena.
Cheyanne Wallace finished with a team-high 20 points to go with eight rebounds. Jackie Johnson finished with her third straight double-double, notching 14 points and a career-high 15 rebounds. Leslie Lopez-Wood tallied 10 points, including seven in the second half, while Andee Velasco chipped in eight points and seven rebounds.
Recap: Lions Top San Diego State, 60-53 Thanksgiving Classic
This marks the 19th year of the Thanksgiving Classic hosted by LMU. The Lions hosted the tournament for 15 consecutive from 1997-2011, before taking a break in 2012. LMU has won the tournament title six times, including three straight from 2001-03, as well as 2007, 2008 and, most recently, 2014. UC Irvine is making its fourth straight appearance while Fresno State and Belmont appear in the tournament for the first time.
Double Trouble
Jackie Johnson recorded her third straight double-double at San Diego State on Sunday with 14 points and 15 rebounds. Johnson leads the conference with three double-doubles on the season.
From Downtown
Leslie Lopez-Wood broke the all-time 3-point career record a season ago and holds 217 to her name. The senior has lead the Lions in triples in each of her three seasons, and also set the single season mark with 82 makes from beyond-the-arc a season ago.
Instant Impact
Raychel Stanley has made an immediate impact off the bench as she enters the weekend averaging 6.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per game.
Light it Up
Cheyanne Wallace's 20 points against San Diego State marked her sixth 20-plus point game of her career. Wallace also notched a career high 26 points against Saint Louis Nov. 13.
On Lock
LMU held Oklahoma State to a season lows of .356 percent shooting from the floor and .182 percent from beyond-the-arc Nov. 17.
Dishing it Out
Andee Velasco set the LMU freshman record with 125 assists a season ago, which also ranks No. 6 all-time in a single season.
On the Boards
Bree Alford hauled down a LMU sophomore record 252 rebounds, good for second on the team and sixth in the WCC, while also ranking No. 8 all-time in a single season.
Scouting UC Irvine
UC irvine stands at 0-4 to start the season under first-year head coach Tamara Inoue. Shereen Sutherland is the leading scorer and rebounder at 10.3 points and 8.3 rebounds per contest. Andee Ritter has connected on a 3-pointer in all four games and leads the Anteaters with nine on the season.
The Series
LMU trails, 11-7 in the all-time series, though the Lions have taken the last four matchups. LMU has seen most of its wins in the series at Gersten Pavilion, claiming a 6-4 mark on its home floor.
Scouting Belmont
The Bruins claim a 2-3 record and have dropped three of their last four decisions. Kylee Smith leads the team with a 15.2 points per game clip, while Darby Maggard follows at 11.8 points per game. Belmont was selected as the preseason Ohio Valley Conference champion and received votes in the AP Preseason Top 25 poll.
The Series
Saturday's matchup will mark the first contest between the two schools.
Preseason Predictions
LMU was predicted to finish sixth overall in the WCC women's basketball preseason poll, as voted on by the league's 10 head coaches.
Related Link: Women's Basketball Selected Sixth in WCC Preseason Poll
Gonzaga edged BYU for the top spot by one point, earning 76 points and five first-place votes. The Cougars received four first-place votes and Saint Mary's nabbed the final first-place vote and 66 overall points. San Diego (58) and Santa Clara (44) checked in ahead of LMU (36), who earned its highest ranking since 2013, when it was also selected to finish sixth.
Defending WCC tournament champion San Francisco was narrowed by the Lions by one point to hold the seventh spot, while it beat out Pacific by a one-point margin as the Tigers penned the eight spot. Pepperdine and Portland finished in a tie for ninth with 13 points apiece.
2017 WCC Championships
The 2017 West Coast Conference Men's and Women's Basketball Championships return to the bright lights of Las Vegas and Orleans Arena on March 2 through March 7 as 20 teams battle for two spots in the NCAA Tournament. Visit WCCSports.com today for complete championship and ticket information.
2016-17 Basketball Tickets on Sale!
This season, LMU continues its partnership with TicketsWest! Individual game, special promotional, and season tickets to the 2016-17 LMU basketball season are on sale NOW through the online ticketing system and all events can be done through LMULions.com.
