The Schedule
Game No. 19
UC San Diego Tritons (17-1, 12-1) vs. Cal State Dominguez Hills Toros (7-12, 6-8)
Thursday, February 4, 2010
RIMAC Arena (5,000) • 5:30 pm

Game No. 20
UC San Diego Tritons (17-1, 12-1) vs. Cal State L.A. Golden Eagles (4-15, 2-12)
Saturday, February 6, 2010
RIMAC Arena (5,000) • 5:30 pm

First Things First
Following a pair of thrilling home wins over the weekend, the UC San Diego women's basketball team will look to keep rolling against conference foes Cal State Dominguez Hills and Cal State L.A. this week. The Tritons will host the Toros on Thursday evening, before squaring off with the Golden Eagles on Saturday to conclude their four-game homestand. Both games will tip at 5:30 p.m. at UCSD's RIMAC Arena. After this week's contests, the Tritons will hit the road for four of their next five, beginning with a trip to Cal State Stanislaus and Chico State Feb. 12-13.   

On the Record
UCSD begins the week sporting an overall record of 17-1 and a 12-1 mark in California Collegiate Athletic Association play after defeating Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State San Bernardino last week. The Tritons erased an 11-point second half deficit to escape with a 71-69 victory over the Broncos on Thursday and then turned in their best defensive effort of the season on Saturday, shutting down the Coyotes en route to a 58-41 triumph. Head coach Charity Elliott's squad has won three straight since suffering an 84-80 setback at Humboldt State two weeks ago and enters Thursday's matchup with CSUDH with a perfect 10-0 record at home. The Tritons have been absolutely dominant in CCAA play since the tail end of the 2007-08 season, winning 35 of their last 37 league games during that span.

Rank and File
The Tritons moved up to No. 8 in the current USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Coaches Poll after picking up their 16th and 17th victories of the season last week. UCSD climbed two spots in the poll after coming in at No. 10 last week following the loss to Humboldt State on Jan. 21. The Tritons have been ranked as high as No. 7 each of the last two years and spent two weeks in that spot last month. UCSD earned a No. 3 national ranking in 2007-08 when Charity Elliott led the squad to the NCAA West Regional Semifinals in her first season with the program.

Scouting the Toros
Cal State Dominguez Hills enters Thursday's game with an overall record of 7-12 and a 6-8 conference mark after splitting two games with Humboldt State and Sonoma State at home last week. The Toros lost a 74-69 decision to the Lumberjacks on Friday, but responded nicely with a 68-59 win over the Seawolves the next night. CSUDH ranks seventh in the CCAA offensively, averaging 59.7 points per game, while the defense has allowed 64.3, a figure that ranks 11th. Junior forward Neka Mixon leads the team in both scoring and rebounding at 16.3 points and 8.6 boards per game, while shooting better than 45% from the field. Junior guard Brandie McCann is in the midst of a nice season, as well, averaging 11.5 points, 2.6 boards, and 1.5 assists. UCSD holds a 17-8 advantage over Dominguez in the all-time series after posting a 69-64 victory in Carson in the first meeting of the year on Jan. 3. Chelsea Carlisle led all scorers with 28 points and Tiffany Hunter tallied 13 points, seven rebounds, and five steals in the win.

Scouting the Golden Eagles
Cal State L.A. begins competition this week with an overall record of 4-15 and a 2-12 mark in the CCAA after falling to Sonoma State (52-36) and Humboldt State (69-52) last week. CSULA ranks last in the conference in scoring at just 51.8 points per game, while the defense ranks ninth, surrendering 62.2. Junior guard Jazzi Johnson is the only player averaging double figures for the Golden Eagles at 12.7 ppg, while shooting 58.5% from the field, which also leads the squad. Forward Jordan Kuzma is second, putting up 8.3 points to go with a team-high 7.8 rebounds. The Tritons pulled out a 65-61 victory over the Golden Eagles in Los Angeles on Jan. 2 and have now won 17 of 21 meetings between the two teams overall. Carlisle and Hunter scored 15 points apiece to pave the way. CSULA will travel to Cal State East Bay on Thursday, before coming to La Jolla on Saturday.

Chelsea Lately
After a stellar freshman campaign a year ago, Chelsea Carlisle is having a superb second season for the Tritons in 2009-10. The sophomore point guard enters Thursday's contest leading the CCAA in scoring at 18.1 points per game, while shooting better than 42% for the season. Carlisle also leads the team in assists (3.0), steals (2.4), three-pointers made (39), free throws made (60), and minutes per game (29.7) in 2009-10. The Agoura Hills native finished with 22 points, four assists, and three steals against Cal Poly Pomona on Thursday, helping the Tritons come-from-behind to knock off the Broncos. She hit 8-of-16 shots from the field, including 3-of-7 from downtown, and hit the game winning three-pointer with 25 seconds remaining. Carlisle finished with just eight points in the win over Cal State San Bernardino on Saturday, but tallied six rebounds and two steals in 29 minutes. Saturday's game was only the second time this season she scored fewer than 10 points.

Hunter Grabs First Career POW Honor
Junior transfer Tiffany Hunter was named the Wilson/CCAA Player of the Week on Monday after averaging 20.0 points and 10.5 rebounds in the Tritons' victories over Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State San Bernardino last week. Against the Broncos, she finished with 17 points on 6-for-8 shooting and added eight boards, two assists, three blocks, and two steals. The Fallbrook native had another strong performance against the Coyotes two nights later, recording her fifth double-double of the season with a 23-point, 13-rebound effort. Both totals were career-highs. Hunter shot 65% (13-20) for the week and went 14-for-15 at the free throw line. For the season, she is averaging 11.3 points and a team-high 7.2 rebounds, while shooting just under 48% from the floor. She has reached double figures in four straight games and 10 of the last 13 overall.

Freshman Fortitude
Freshman guard Emily Osga was extremely productive off the bench last week, averaging 3.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in just 14 minutes. She hit three of her five shots and finished with seven points against Cal Poly Pomona on Thursday, while also racking up two boards, two assists, and two steals. She missed both of her shots against Cal State San Bernardino on Saturday, but hauled down eight rebounds, which was a new career-high. For the season, Osga is averaging 2.3 points and 2.3 rebounds in just over nine minutes per game.

Stellar Defense Keys Win Over CSUSB
While the Triton offense currently leads the CCAA averaging 72.2 points per game, it was their defense that rose to the occasion against Cal State San Bernardino on Saturday. UCSD held the Coyotes to just 18 points in the second half and a total 41 for the game, which was a new season-low for a Triton opponent (the previous mark was 43 in their win at Cal Poly Pomona on Dec. 5). CSUSB shot just over 30% for the game, connecting on only 16-of-53 shots from the field, and hit just 1-of-7 three-point attempts. For the season, UCSD ranks seventh in the conference defensively, surrendering 60.1 points per game. The Tritons are first in turnover margin (+4.9), second in steals (10.5), and fifth in rebounding (40.1). UCSD has an opponents' field goal percentage of .387, a figure that ranks eighth