Feb. 3, 2017 LOS ANGELES - Riding a four-game win streak, the LMU women's basketball team will look to continue its winning ways as it welcomes San Francisco on Saturday, Feb. 4 to close out Pink Weekend. Opening tip is set for 2 p.m. and can be seen live on TheW.tv.
Last Time Out
Behind four Lions scoring in double figures for the first time this season, LMU earned a 63-55 victory over San Diego Thursday night at Gersten Pavilion.
Jackie Johnson finished with her third straight 20-plus point performance, notching 24 to go with a career-high seven blocks and fell a rebound shy of a double-double. Andee Velasco followed with 13 points and a team-best six assists, while Cheyanne Wallace and Leslie Lopez-Wood tallied 10 points apiece.
LMU shot 50.0 percent (10-for-20) in the second half, while holding San Diego to shoot just 30.0 percent (18-for-60) in the game. The Lions saved their best for last, breaking a 40-40 tie at the end of the third quarter with a 15-of-20 performance from the free throw line and a 4-of-7 mark from the floor to snap a 13-game losing streak to San Diego.
Recap: Women's Basketball Endures San Diego, 63-55
Streaking
LMU is riding a four-game win streak, its longest win streak since the 2008-09 season.
Honor Roll
Jackie Johnson collected a plethora of honors on Monday, earning WCC Player of the Week honors, was named an espnW National Player of the Week Honorable Mention and was named the College Sports Madness High-Major and WCC Player of the Week.
Double Trouble
Jackie Johnson is averaging a double-double with 17.5 points and 10.0 rebounds per contest. Johnson has posted 10 double-doubles on the season.
Carrying The Load
Jackie Johnson leads the WCC in blocks (65), blocked shots per game (3.0), and ranks second in rebounds (219) and in rebounds per game (10.0).
Dynamic Duo
Jackie Johnson and Cheyanne Wallace currently rank third and 12th in the WCC with 17.5 and 11.9 points per game.
Dropping Dimes
Andee Velasco leads the WCC in assists (121) and in assists per game (5.5).
Leading Legends
Leslie Lopez-Wood ranks 17th among active Division I 3-point scoring leaders with 250 career makes.
Climbing The Ladder
Leslie Lopez-Wood ranks ninth all-time with 1252 career points. The senior needs 116 points to surpass Hazel Ramirez to move into sole possession of sixth place all-time.
Swat Team
Jackie Johnson swatted seven blocks against San Diego on Feb. 2, setting a new career-high and set the highest single-game total in the WCC this season. In conference play, Johnson has upped her average with 3.0 blocks per game and has 65 total.
Sharing The Rock
LMU ranks second in the WCC in assists (346) and assists per game (15.7).
Hanks House
LMU is 7-5 at Gersten Pavilion this season. With one more win, LMU will secure its first winning record at home since the 2012-13 season.
I'll Take That
LMU has scored at least 20 points off of turnovers five times this season and have accomplished the feat twice in the past five games. The Lions notched season-highs against UC Santa Barbara and Long Beach State with 25 points off turnovers in each contest.
Light It Up
Cheyanne Wallace's 21 points at Santa Clara on Jan. 7 marked her eighth 20-plus point game of her career, whlie Johnson's 24 points against BYU on Feb. 2 was her six 20-plus game of the season.
Triple Threat
LMU is 5-4 when Leslie Lopez-Wood, Jackie Johnson and Cheyanne Wallace all score in double figures. At least one member of the trio has notched double-digit scoring in every game.
From Downtown
Leslie Lopez-Wood broke the all-time 3-point career record a season ago and holds 250 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.
WCC Honors
Jackie Johnson was named the WCC Player of the Week for the week of Dec. 4 and Jan. 30. Johnson becomethe first LMU player to be honored as the WCC Player of the Week twice in a season since Renahy Young accomplished the feat in the 2008-09 season.
Booking It
Leslie Lopez-Wood matched her own single-game record of seven 3-pointers against Long Beach State Dec. 10. Lopez-Wood matched the program single-game record last season with seven triples Feb. 21, 2016 at Santa Clara, joining three former Lions who hold the tie for the top spot. Lopez-Wood's 7-for-9 performance marked the second-highest shooting percentage from beyond-the-arc behind Amanda Patton, who hit on 7-of-8 against Long Beach State Dec. 17, 2005.
Boarding Up
Jackie Johnson's 18 rebounds at Cal State Fullerton and Pacific marked the third highest single-game total and first 18-rebound performances since Camille Buckely grabbed the total against Portland Jan. 13, 2011.
The Edge
LMU's back-to-back wins over Seattle (62-59) and UCSB (57-55) marked the first time since the 2011-12 season when the Lions earned two straight wins decided by one-possession. Previously, the Lions came away on top with two straight 57-54 decisions over Youngstown State Nov. 25 and New Mexico Dec. 1.
Locking The Lid
The Lions surrendered just three points against UC Irvine in the first quarter in a 58-39 win in its opening game of the LMU Thanksgiving Classic on Friday, setting a new program record for fewest points allowed in a quarter, besting its mark of allowing just eight points a season ago against the Anteaters on Nov. 28, 2015.
LMU'S 39 points allowed in the game marked its lowest opponent total since a 65-39 win over Jackson State Nov. 11, 2007.
Scouting San Francisco
The Dons and the Lions are in a tie for fourth place in the WCC. San Francisco enters Saturday's contest with a 12-10 record after falling to Pepperdine Thursday night, 81-59.
Rachel Howard ranks fourth in the WCC with 16.0 points her game and Anna Seilund ranks 15th with a 11.1 scoring clip. The Dons achilles heel is the fourth quarter, where they have been outscored 440-369 this season.
Molly Goodenbour is in her first season at the helm after serving two stints as an assistant coach from 1994-95 and 2005-06 before returning as the head coach in September.
The Series
San Diego has the upper hand in the all-time series, 45-27. The Toreros have owned the past 13 matchups as LMU's last win came Jan. 8, 2011 in a 70-53 outcome.
Pink Weekend
Saturday's game will close out Pink Weekend and feature raffle bag giveaways, free t-shirts and a silent auction.
Up Next
LMU will head to Gonzaga on Thursday, Feb. 9 for a 6 p.m. tip.
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.
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 eighth spot. Pepperdine and Portland finished in a tie for ninth with 13 points apiece.
2017 WCC Championships Return to Vegas
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.
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