The Schedule
Game No. 21
UC San Diego Tritons (19-1, 14-1) @ Cal State Stanislaus Warriors (5-15, 4-12)
Friday, February 12, 2010
Warrior Arena (2,000) • 5:30 pm

Game No. 22
UC San Diego Tritons (19-1, 14-1) @ Chico State Wildcats (13-8, 10-6)
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Acker Gymnasium (2,143) • 5:30 pm

The Run Down
Winners of five in a row and 19 of 20 overall, the UC San Diego women's basketball team will hit the road for four of its next five, beginning with a trip to Northern California this weekend. The Tritons will travel to Turlock for a matchup with Cal State Stanislaus on Friday, before heading to Chico State to take on the Wildcats on Saturday. Both games are scheduled to tipoff at 5:30 p.m. UCSD will then return to RIMAC Arena for a date with Cal State East Bay on Feb. 16, before facing San Francisco State and Cal State Monterey Bay on the road Feb. 19 and 20.  

On the Record
With a pair of convincing victories over Cal State Dominguez Hills and Cal State L.A. last week, UCSD now stands at 19-1 overall and 14-1 in California Collegiate Athletic Association play heading into Friday's game. The Tritons shot 50% from the floor en route to an 83-57 triumph over the Toros on Thursday, before using a 28-0 run to rout the Golden Eagles, 74-43, on Saturday. Thanks to a pair of losses by Humboldt State, UCSD currently holds a two-game lead atop the CCAA standings with seven games left to play. The Tritons are an impressive 7-1 on the road this season and have won 37 of their last 39 league games dating back to the end of the 2007-08 campaign. UCSD is one victory shy of reaching the 20-win mark for the fifth consecutive season.

Rank and File
Commanding victories over Cal State Dominguez Hills and Cal State L.A. translated into another climb in the D-II national rankings, as the the Tritons moved up to No. 7 in the current USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Coaches Poll. UCSD climbed up one spot from the No. 8 position it held last week's poll, matching its highest ranking of the season (the Tritons were also ranked seventh for two weeks in January). UCSD been ranked as high as No. 7 each of the last two years after earning a No. 3 national ranking during Charity Elliott's first season with the program in 2007-08.

Scouting the Warriors
Cal State Stanislaus enters Friday's game with an overall record of 5-15 and a 4-12 conference mark after losing a 68-54 decision at Chico State on Tuesday night. Senior guard Alishea Kelly scored a game-high 25 points, but it wasn't enough, as the Wildcats shot 45% and forced 23 Warrior turnovers. For the season, CSUS ranks ninth in the CCAA on both sides of the ball, averaging 57.5 points per game offensively and surrendering 63.8 on defense. Kelly leads the team in scoring at 16.0 points per game, while also averaging 5.9 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 14 games. Junior forward Katie Busi is a handful down low, averaging 13.4 points and a team-high 10.2 boards. UCSD holds a 17-8 advantage over Stanislaus in the all-time series after recording a 72-38 victory in the first meeting of the year on Jan. 9. Annette Ilg scored 11 points and Tiffany Hunter tallied eight points and 12 boards as the Tritons held the Warriors to just 14 points after halftime.

Scouting the Wildcats
Chico State currently holds an overall record of 13-8 and a 10-6 mark in the CCAA after defeating Cal State Stanislaus on Tuesday. Synchro Bull scored 18 points and Kristin Marquardt finished with 13 off the bench to guide the Wildcats to their fifth victory in six games. Chico began the week ranked third in the conference, averaging better than 65 points per game offensively, while the defense ranks fifth, allowing 57.3. Junior guard Natasha Smith paces the Wildcat offense, averaging 10.9 points per game to go with 3.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists. Backcourt mate Melissa Richardson is the team's second-leading scorer at 9.8 points and has knocked down a team-high 38 threes. The Tritons defeated the Wildcats 75-62 on Jan. 7 and have now won 12 of 22 meetings between the two teams overall. Chelsea Carlisle scored a game-high 23 points and Hunter finished with 13 points and 13 boards to pave the way. Chico will host Cal State East Bay on Friday, before UCSD comes to town 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 Friday's contest leading the CCAA in scoring at 18.1 points per game, while shooting just under 43% for the season. Carlisle also leads the team in assists (3.1), steals (2.3), three-pointers made (46), and minutes per game (29.0) in 2009-10. The Agoura Hills native averaged 18.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 3.5 assists last week, helping the Tritons secure comfortable victories over Cal State Dominguez Hills and Cal State L.A. Carlisle finished with 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting against the Toros, while also adding four boards, three assists, and a steal in just 23 minutes. She had another outstanding effort against the Golden Eagles two nights later, scoring a game-high 19 points on 7-for-15 shooting to go with two rebounds and four assists. She drained a career-best five three-pointers in the game and now has 17 triples in the last six games.

Feeling Ilg
Senior guard Annette Ilg is in the midst of her best season at UCSD and her leadership has been a huge key to the Tritons' success. She is currently second on the team in scoring, averaging 11.7 points, while her 2.5 assists and 2.2 steals also rank second on the squad. The Avon Lake, Ohio native has scored in double figures 13 times in 20 games this season and has finished with 20 or more on two occasions. Ilg has been mired in a shooting slump of late, but found her form against Cal State Dominguez Hills, tallying 14 points on 4-of-8 shooting to go with two rebounds, two assists, and three steals in just 18 minutes. She was very productive in limited action against Cal State L.A. as well, finishing with seven points, seven rebounds, and five assists in 19 minutes.

Downtown Daisy
Sophomore guard Daisy Feder was tremendous in UCSD's 83-57 win over Cal State Dominguez Hills last week, scoring a career-high 19 points in 19 minutes off the bench. She dropped 5-of-7 shots from the field, including 4-of-6 from behind the three-point line to surpass her previous high of 14 that came against Biola University on Dec. 18. Feder also tallied three rebounds, two assists, and a steal, as the reserve corps took control of the game and UCSD never looked back. Feder is now averaging 6.0 points and 1.7 rebounds in 13.2 minutes per game. The Santa Monica native is shooting a team-high 40% from downtown, connecting on 22-of-55 three-point ties in 2009-10.

Bench Answers the Bell
Head coach Charity Elliott and the Triton coaching staff got a tremendous effort from the bench last week, as UCSD's reserves averaged 36.0 points in the victories over Cal State Dominguez Hills and Cal State L.A. The Triton bench contributed 42 points in the 83-57 win over the Toros on Thursday -- which was one shy of the team's season-high -- and then put in 30 in the 75-43 rout of the Golden Eagles on Saturday. With 11 victories by 10 points or more, UCSD's bench has had the opportunity to play quality minutes this season and it has paid off down the stretch. The Triton reserves are now averaging over 21 points per game in 2009-10 -- UCSD is averaging 72.9 as a team -- a number that has to make the coaching staff smile with postseason play less than three weeks away.