The Schedule
Game No. 28
2010 CCAA Tournament First Round
No. 1 UC San Diego Tritons (24-3, 19-3) vs. No. 8 Cal State Dominguez Hills (10-17, 9-13)
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
RIMAC Arena (5,000) • 7:00 pm
Tickets: Students - $5.00, General Admission - $10.00

What's On Tap
After winning a second straight California Collegiate Athletic Association regular season crown, the 12th-ranked UC San Diego women's basketball team enters this week's conference tournament looking to capture the league's automatic berth in the NCAA Division II West Regional for the second time in four years. The top-seeded Tritons will host No. 8 seed Cal State Dominguez Hills in a first round matchup on Tuesday night at RIMAC Arena. Tipoff slated for 7:00 p.m. Following Tuesday's opening round games, the remaining four teams will travel to Humboldt State's Lumberjack Arena for the semifinals on Friday and championship game on Saturday.

On the Record
UCSD wrapped up the regular season with an overall record of 24-3 and a final mark of 19-3 in the CCAA following home victories over Sonoma State and Humboldt State last week. The Tritons used a balanced offensive attack to defeat the Seawolves by a 68-52 margin on Wednesday and then shot 47% from the floor in a 86-51 thrashing of the Lumberjacks on Friday. Head coach Charity Elliott's squad clinched a second consecutive CCAA Championship with the win over Sonoma, recording 19 victories in conference play for the second year in a row. UCSD went 19-1 against CCAA foes in 2008-09, which was the program's best finish since joining the CCAA for the 2000-01 season. The Tritons will face the Toros on their home floor on Tuesday, where they are a perfect 15-0 this season.

UCSD In the CCAA Tournament
UCSD has a record of 2-2 in four CCAA Tournament games. The Tritons earned the No. 3 seed in the first year of the event in 2007-08 and defeated San Francisco State (59-56) in the first round and Sonoma State (57-55) in the semifinals, before falling to Chico State (69-63) in the title game. UCSD was awarded the top seed after winning 19 of 20 league games a year ago, but saw its hopes for a first conference tournament title come to an end with a shocking 62-57 loss to eighth-seeded Cal State San Bernardino at RIMAC Arena. The Coyotes defeated the Tritons for the second time in three weeks after handing UCSD it's only loss in conference play on Feb. 14.

Head-To-Head
The Tritons swept two games with Cal State Dominguez Hills during the regular season, defeating the Toros by an average of over 15 points per contest. UCSD pulled out a 69-64 victory in Carson in the first meeting of the year, as Chelsea Carlisle scored a game-high 28 points and Tiffany Hunter tallied 13 points, seven rebounds, and five steals to lead the way. The Tritons turned in a dominant performance in the rematch, shooting 50% from the field en route to an 83-57 victory at RIMAC Arena. Daisy Feder scored 19 points to pace the Triton offense, while Carlisle finished with 17 and Annette Ilg added 14. UCSD has won 18 of 26 meetings with CSUDH all-time, including a 66-65 nail-biter in the first round of the 2009 NCAA West Regional after Ilg hit the game-winner as time expired. The Tritons have won the last 12 in the series, with their last loss coming on Jan. 21, 2004.

Scouting the Toros
Cal State Dominguez Hills enters postseason play with an overall record of 10-17 after falling to Chico State and Cal State Stanislaus last week to close out the regular season. The Toros dropped a 67-54 decision to the red-hot Wildcats on Thursday and then lost a tough 71-68 decision to the Warriors in overtime the following night. CSUDH finished CCAA play as one of four teams with a 9-13 record and, despite losses in its final three games, earned the eighth and final berth in the conference tournament over Sonoma State by virtue of a coin flip. The Toros enter Tuesday's contest averaging just under 62 points per game offensively, which ranks fourth in the league, while the defense has allowed 65.2, a figure that ranks 11th. Guards Brandie McCann and Whitney Gantt are the team's active scoring leaders with identical averages of 11.1 points per game, while MacKenzie Mathias in next at 6.1. McCann leads the team averaging 2.2 assists per game, while Gantt hauls in 5.8 boards per night and shoots just under 40% from the floor. The Toros will be without leading scorer and rebounder Neka Mixon, who suffered a season-ending injury two weeks ago. The junior forward averaged 17.5 points and 8.3 rebounds in 17 games for Dominguez this season.

Chelsea Lately
Chelsea Carlisle is having a superb second season for the Tritons in 2009-10. The sophomore point guard enters postseason play second in the CCAA in scoring at 17.8 points per game, while shooting 44% from the floor. She also leads the team in assists (3.5), steals (2.2), three-pointers made (60), and minutes per game (28.8). She was named UCSD's Female Athlete of the Week on Monday after averaging 15.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 7.5 assists in wins over Sonoma State and Humboldt State last week. Carlisle finished with 11 points, four rebounds, and a game-high eight assists in the win over the Seawolves, helping the Tritons clinch the CCAA regular season title. She came off the bench for the first time this season two nights later and still managed high scoring honors with a 20-point effort against the Lumberjacks. She also grabbed three rebounds and dished out seven helpers in the 86-51 win. Carlisle shot 50% (11-22) for the week and sank all seven of her free throws.

Eye of the Hunter
Junior forward Tiffany Hunter has made a huge impact this year, averaging 11.6 points and a team-high 7.3 rebounds in her first season as a Triton. She ranks third on the squad shooting over 50% from the field and leads the team in both free throws made (99) and attempts (138). The Fallbrook native averaged 11.5 points and 8.0 rebounds in UCSD's two games last week, shooting 57% (8-14) from the field and converting 7-of-9 free throws. She finished one rebound shy of a double-double in the win over Sonoma State, tallying 10 points and nine boards in 30 minutes. She then finished with 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting and hauled down seven rebounds in just 20 minutes of action against Humboldt State.

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 team's success in 2009-10. She is currently third on the team in scoring, averaging 11.3 points, while her 2.3 assists and 2.1 steals rank second. Ilg continued to fill up the stat sheet against Sonoma and Humboldt last week, helping UCSD win its final two games of the regular season. Ilg finished with nine points, four rebounds, and two assists in the 68-52 triumph over the Seawolves and tallied seven points, five boards, and a pair of dimes against the Lumberjacks two nights later. The Avon Lake, Ohio native has scored in double figures 17 times in 27 games this season and racked up a career-high 24 against No. 20 Seattle Pacific on Dec. 28.

Offense Geared Up For Postseason Play
UCSD's offense has been a force to be reckoned with this season and the final week of CCAA play was no different. The Tritons averaged 77.0 points and shot better than 44% from the field in their wins over Sonoma and Humboldt, defeating the Seawolves and Lumberjacks by 16 and 35 points, respectively. The 86-51 rout of the Lumberjacks marked UCSD's seventh victory of 20 points or more this season and third such win in the last month. The Tritons enter the conference tournament sporting the CCAA's top offense at over 73 points per game, while also leading the league in team field goal percentage (.435) and scoring margin (+13.3). With an average margin of victory of over 26 points in their last five home games, head coach Charity Elliott's squad will be a tall order for the Toros on Tuesday.