Last Week In The Big West
A third team moved into the lead in the standings as UC Riverside moved into a tie for the top position with Cal Poly, but a head-to-head battle resulted in the Mustangs regaining sole possession of the lead. The top three all had 1-1 weeks, giving the league a CP, UC Davis and UCR pecking order for the second consecutive week. The trio’s party could be crashed by Long Beach State, which won twice last week to move within a half game of third and 1.5 games out of first.

Long Beach State Faces Key Stretch in Comeback Season
After failing to make the Big West Tournament and winning just eight games a year ago, first year head coach Jody Wynn's Long Beach State squad currently sits in fourth place in the league standings facing a key Northern California road trip this week.

The 49ers will take on second place UC Davis and Pacific in a trip that could keep the club in contention for the top spots in the league. Meanwhile, league-leading Cal Poly will aim to put some separation between itself and the rest of the league with a home game against Cal State Northridge. CSUN will look to duplicate what Pacific did a week ago and knock off a top two team in the standings. One of the more intense matchups could be the Cal State Fullerton/UC Santa Barbara clash in the Thunderdome. UCSB grinded out a double overtime win over the Titans just a few weeks ago.

There will also be a pair of non-conference contests on the ledger as CSUN takes a trip to Tucson, Ariz., for a game against Arizona Tuesday, while CSF take on Cal State Bakersfield on the road Wednesday.
 
Valentine's Day (Literally)
Her Valentine’s Day plans are currently unknown at press time, but UC Santa Barbara’s Mekia Valentine had quite an outing three days prior to the “holiday”. In the Gauchos’ tough overtime loss to rival UC Riverside, Valentine put up a 26-point, 22-rebound, five-block peformance. It marked the first 20-point, 20-rebound showing in the Big West since former Cal Poly star Megan Harrison put up 26 points and 21 rebounds on February 28, 2009 against Cal State Bakersfield.

Bomb Squad
It has been previously pointed out how much Pacific likes the three in this column, but the Tigers have put on quite a show lately from behind the three-point arc. After connecting on a program record 14 treys in its loss to Cal Poly, Pacific one-upped itself with 15 makes from downtown in an upset win over UC Davis, then connected on “only” nine from deep in a loss to Sacramento State. Despite its run-and-gun style, the Tigers are not the Big West leaders in threes made. That distinction belongs to Long Beach State with 170 makes from downtown, 15 more in than the Tigers with one extra game played.

Not Anymore You Big Bully!
Cal State Northridge may have been the punching bag of Cal State Fullerton in the past, but it’s a new era for CSUN. The Matadors won the season series against the Titans for the second consecutive season this year, after previously never accomplishing that feat in the history between the two clubs. Additionally, of CSUN’s last six conference victories, four have come at the expense of CSF.

Seat at the Head Table Please
Long Beach State missed out on the Big West Tournament a year ago, but 2009-10 has seen quite a turnaround at the Beach. The club has already surpassed its win total a year ago in both overall (11 to 8) and conference (7 to 4) contests, but its some of its recent results that have people looking out for the 49ers. The club just completed a season sweep of UC Santa Barbara for the first time since the 1990-91 season and has taken down conference leaders Cal Poly and UC Riverside. With just one game separating LBSU from second place in the conference, Jody Wynn’s first season at the helm of the program has the potential to be a memorable one.

The World Has Changed Since Then
Back in 1990, the Communist Party in the Soviet Union relinquished power, South Africa freed Nelson Mandela and The Simpsons debuted to instant success. Why the brief look back? That year was also the last time UC Santa Barbara finished a season with a losing record. With a pair of losses last week, UCSB clinched its first losing regular campaign since that fateful year. The 19-year run of winning campaigns was the best streak in Big West lore.

How About Some Player of the Year Discussion?
With February half done and the Big West schools having four or five games left in the conference race, the discussion for Player of the Year can be in full swing.

Cal Poly's Kristina Santiago certainly runs among the front runners as she is averaging 19.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and shooting 54.8% on the season. She even tossed in the first three-pointer of her outstanding career last week. UC Santa Barbara's Mekia Valentine is also among the likely favorites as well, averaging 12.9 points, 8.2 rebounds and 3.7 blocks per outing.

Karina Figueroa of Long Beach State has put her name in the hat thanks to a bounce-back senior season that has her averaging 17.7 points, 5.7 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 1.7 steals. Alyssa Morris has put together an outstanding season that has seen her average 12.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.1 assists while shooting 46.8% from the field, 39.6% from the three-point line and a clutch 81.6% from the foul line.

The dark horse of them all could be UC Irvine's Mikah Maly-Karros. The sophomore stud missed the 'Eaters first eight contests due to NCAA DI transfer rules, but has lit up the league in her 17 games to the tune of 19.9 points and 12.0 rebounds. She has also shown an ability to get to, and hit, free throws, going 109-for-136 for 80.1%.

They Must Eat Well on the Road
UC Davis has come up with a pretty good formula for success at the DI level, win on the road. Since the Aggies joined the league in 2007-08, the club is 21-22 in true road contests, including a league-best 8-5 mark this season. If UCD is to win the Big West this year, it will have to continue that formula away from The Pavilion as two of its next three contests have them donning their blue jerseys.

Up, Down, All Around
Cal State Fullerton certainly has had a season which could qualify as a roller coaster ride for nearby Disneyland. The Titans kicked off their season with a pair of wins, then lost six of eight, then won four in a row, then lost three in a row and have alternated wins and losses since a January 27 double overtime defeat to UC Santa Barbara. One player who has certainly stepped it up for CSF in its last six games is Jasmine Scott. She is averaging 14.2 points, 8.7 rebounds and 3.8 assists during that time.

Cashing in at the Stripe
They say free throw shooting is a lost art but in the Big West, there are plenty of capable players able to knock down a pair (or three) when called upon. Heidi Heintz of UC Davis is the leader of a pack of four players who are currently over the 80.0% mark, doubling the number of players who finished with that standard a year ago. In fact, if you compared the individual numbers from a year ago, only four of the top 10 players would qualify for the top 10 list this season..

Margaritis Earns 200th Career Win
UC Riverside's 74-61 win over Cal State Northridge not only secured the Highlanders their first Big West victory of the season, but lifted head coach John Margaritis to his 200th career victory. Margaritis is also eyeing his 100th UC Riverside victory as he currently owns 97 wins at the helm of the Highlanders program.

UC Santa Barbara Tabbed Preseason Favorite
The Gauchos of UC Santa Barbara were selected to claim their third consecutive, 14th overall, Big West Conference women’s basketball regular season title, as voted on by the media.  The Gauchos captured 10 of a possible 20 first-place votes and 162 total points.  They were closely followed by second place UC Davis, who received six first-place nods and 155 points.  Rounding out the top three was Cal Poly with three first-place selections and a point total of 146.

Two-time Big West Champion UC Riverside was selected fourth with one first-place vote and a total of 112 points.  Garnering the fifth slot in the preseason poll with 99 points is Long Beach State, who begins a new era under first-year head coach Jody Wynn. Pacific earned the sixth spot after acquiring 87 points and was followed by Cal State Fullerton (59), Cal State Northridge (41) and UC Irvine (39).   

Long Beach State Showcases New Face At The Helm Of Its Program
Jody Wynn, who spent the last five seasons as the senior assistant, recruiting coordinator and head of scouting at USC, becomes the sixth head coach in LBSU women’s basketball history.  Wynn comes to LBSU with 13 years of collegiate coaching experience under her belt. While at USC, she was in charge of bringing in four nationally-ranked recruiting classes, including the No. 1-ranked group in 2006.

Foster Takes Over Reins At Fullerton
Former associate head coach Marcia Foster at Cal State Fullerton was promoted to head coach after Dr. Maryalyce Jeremiah relinquished her duties at the end of last season.  Foster begins her seventh year with the Titans women’s basketball program.  She also spent one year as head coach at Cal Tech and six years as an assistant at Cal Poly.

Teams Showcase New Lineups
With the departure of such a large group of talented women's basketball players, fresh faces will be seen on the court this year.  Three teams with the tough task of constructing a successful lineup this season are UC Riverside, UC Santa Barbara and Pacific.  The Highlanders must start from scratch after losing all five of their starters to graduation.  The Tigers and Gauchos aren’t far behind, welcoming back just one starter from last season.

Honda Center To Become Official Home Of Big West Basketball Tournament Beginning in 2011
Honda Center has announced a five-year partnership with the Big West Conference to host its annual men’s and women’s post-season basketball tournament beginning in 2011.  The Big West and Honda Center have teamed up for “March Madness” and “The Road To The Final Four” on numerous occasions including men’s basketball regionals in 1998, 2001 and 2003 and first and second round action in 2008.

In addition, the Big West and Honda Center was selected as host of the 2011 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball West Regional.