WCC Championship Postponed

SAN DIEGO (USD - The West Coast Conference baseball Championship Series scheduled between No. 7 University of San Diego and No. 13 Pepperdine University for Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. has been postponed due to inclement weather in the San Diego area. The two teams will now play a double-header on Saturday with the first pitch scheduled for 11 a.m.. Game two will begin 30 minutes after the conclusion of game one.

On Saturday the JCP Ticket Office will be closed and entrance to the game and ticket sales will be at the third base line only. Parking will be at the Department of Education lot located just to the east of the intersection of Via Las Cumbres and Linda Vista Road. There will be a bus transporting fans down to the baseball field and the bus will begin to run at 9 a.m. There will be no parking in the mission garage or next to the baseball field. There will be limited parking at the softball complex. Entrance to the campus will only be available through the Via Las Cumbres gate. The main campus entrance will be for graduation only.

WCC Tourney Preview

San Diego (20-13) at No. 23 Gonzaga (25-6), 6:00 pm

SAN DIEGO (Ticker) - The last time Gonzaga didn't win its conference tournament, San Diego walked away with the trophy. The Bulldogs apparently haven't forgotten. No. 23 Gonzaga targets its fifth consecutive West Coast Conference tournament title on Monday when it meet the Toreros in the championship game.

Gonzaga (25-6) has won four consecutive WCC tournament titles, eight of nine and nine of the last 13, with its only blemish this decade coming against San Diego (20-13) in 2002-03 title game. Since then, the Bulldogs have defeated the Toreros 13 straight times by an average margin of more than 11 points, with only three of those games being decided by less than nine points. After routing Santa Clara, 88-54, last Monday, the Bulldogs struggled to defeat the Broncos in the semifinal game on Sunday, 52-48. Josh Heytvelt scored 15 points for Gonzaga, which will play in its 11th straight WCC tournament title game despite hitting just five shots from the field in the second half of Sunday's win.

The Bulldogs figure to meet a fatigued San Diego team, which overcame a 17-point second half deficit in a 75-69 double-overtime win over Saint Mary's late Sunday night in the other semifinal game. Brandon Johnson scored a career-high 28 points while Gyno Pomare added 22 for the Toreros, who will be making their first appearance in the WCC title game since they upset Gonzaga five seasons ago.

USD Women Advance to Big Dance

San Diego 70, Gonzaga 66 -----------------------------

SAN DIEGO - The University of San Diego women's basketball team is headed to the NCAA Tournament by virtue of their 70-66 upset win over the #1-seeded Gonzaga University Bulldogs on Sunday afternoon in the West Coast Conference Tournament championship game at the Jenny Craig Pavilion.

USD, the WCC preseason favorites, trailed only once in the contest and held off variuos Bulldog rallies. The second half was nip-and-tuck after the Toreros held a 17 point lead in the first half and a nine point advantage at the half.

Morgan Henderson led USD with 20 points, while Kiva Herman added 16 more to pace the Toreros. Heather Bowman tallied 25 points to lead Gonzaga.

The Toreros were appearing in their first WCC championship game since 2000, when they upset Pepperdine to advance to the NCAA Tournament.

WCC Tourney Preview

Santa Clara (15-15) at No. 23 Gonzaga (24-6), 6:30 pm, ESPN2

SAN DIEGO (Ticker) - For Gonzaga, seeing Santa Clara on the schedule has coincided with winning titles. No. 23 Gonzaga aims to continue its domination of Santa Clara when the teams meet in the West Coast Conference tournament semifinals on Sunday.

The Bulldogs, who have won eight straight WCC tournament games, will begin their quest for a fifth straight league tournament title. Gonzaga (24-6) defeated Santa Clara, 88-54, in its last regular season game on Monday to clinch its eighth consecutive regular-season title and secure the WCC tournament's top seed. Freshman guard Steven Gray scored 18 points in the rout for the Bulldogs, who have won 16 of their last 17 against Santa Clara.

Last season, the Bulldogs downed the Broncos (15-15) in the conference tournament's title game to secure an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament. Santa Clara snapped a two-game skid with a 51-50 win over San Francisco on Saturday in the quarterfinals of the tournament. Junior center John Bryant had 25 points, 17 rebounds and seven blocks to pace the Broncos.

USD Advances to WCC Semis

SAN DIEGO - The #3-seeded University of San Diego Torero men's basketball team handled the #5 University of San Francisco Dons 73-55 in a West Coast Conference quarter-finals match-up at the Jenny Craig Pavilion. The Torerosw earned a date with #2 St. Mary's on Sunday evening, 8:30 p.m., on ESPN2.

San Diego was led by De'Jon Jackson's 24 points, followed by Brandon Johnson's 17. The Toreros never trailed in the game and had a 21point lead, its largerst of the game, with 3:25 remaining.

The other semi-final, tipping off at 6:30 p.m., will feature #1 Gonzaga against #4 Santa Clara. The Broncos edged San Francisco in the the first contest of the evening.

WCC Tourney: USD Upsets #2 Santa Clara

SAN DIEGO - The #3 seeded University of San Diego wen's basketball team defeated #2 Santa Clara Univeristy 72-66 in the first semi-final game at the West Coast Conference tournament in San Diego. The Toreros will play the winner of the second semi-final contest between #5 St. Marys and #1 Gonzaga on Sunday afternoon, 1:30 p.m., at the Jenny Craig Pavilion.

Forward Kiva Herman led the Toreros with 23 points and nine rebounds. Santa Clara made several runs at USD after trailing by eight at the intermission and eventually took a three point lead. However, the Broncos failed to score in the final 2:48 on the contest, allowing USD to clinch the victory.

WCC Tournament Preview

West Coast Conference Tournament Preview,

USD Jenny Craig Pavilion, Friday-Monday

USD PREVIEW: The USD Toreros (18-13; 11-3 wcc) enter the 2008 WCC Tournament as the No. 3 seed. With a first round bye, they will play in Saturday's second quarterfinal game (approx. 8:30 pm) against the winner of Friday's #6 Pepperdine-#7 Portland matchup.

WCC TOURNEY BRACKET: (Fri., Mar. 7th, 6 pm) #5 USF vs. #8 LMU; #6 Pepperdine vs. #7 Portland (30 min. after). (Sat., Mar. 8th, 6 pm) #4 Santa Clara vs. #5/#8 winner; #3 San Diego vs. #6/#7 winner (30 min. after). (Sun., Mar. 9th, 6:30 pm) #1 Gonzaga vs. #4/#5/#8 winner; #2 Saint Mary's vs. #3/#6/#7 winner (30 min. after). (Mon., Mar. 10th, 6 pm) Semi-final #1 winner vs. Semi-final #2 winner.

WCC TOURNEY TICKETS: There are still men's All-Session packages available ($100). Fans can purchase online at www.usdtoreros.com or by visiting the JCP Ticket Office (Thu.-Fri., 9 am; Sat.-Mon., 11 am). Single session tickets ($30) for Saturday's games will go on sale beginning on Saturday at 11 am. Sunday's single session tickets will go on sale on Sunday at 11 am, and same format for Monday's championship game.

RADIO/INTERNET: Saturday's contest will be broadcast on XX Sports Radio (1090 AM & 105.7 FM) with Andy Masur and John Kentera bringing you all the action (pre-game 15 minutes prior to tipoff). The audio broadcasts are also available at usdtoreros.com and XXSportsRadio.com.

WCC STANDINGS (as of Mar. 6th): #1 Gonzaga (13-1 wcc; 24-6), #2 Saint Mary's (12-2; 25-5), #3 San Diego (11-3; 18-13), #4 Santa Clara (6-8; 14-15), #5 San Francisco (5-9; 9-20), #6 Pepperdine (4-10; 10-20), #7 Portland (3-11; 9-21), #8 LMU (2-12; 5-25).

Women's WCC Tournament Preview

SAN DIEGO (USD) - The University of San Diego women's basketball team (16-12) will open the West Coast Conference Tournament on Thursday as the No. 3 seed against the No. 6 seed, University of Portland. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. inside the friendly confines of the Jenny Craig Pavilion.

Portland enters the WCC Tournament with a 15-19 overall record and a 5-9 record in conference action after dropping a pair of games to Saint Mary's and Santa Clara this past week. The Pilots and Toreros split the season series with each team winning on the others home floor. Portland holds a 28-24 all-time record over the Toreros.