USD Women Off to Unprecedented Start

Call Kathy Marpe when she is not at home, and you will learn that her University of San Diego women’s basketball team defeated Cal State Fullerton, 81-71, Monday night.

And in case you are unaware, Marpe’s recorded voice will also tell you that the Toreras are 7-1. “I don’t know about you,” she adds, “but I’m going to have a merry Christmas.”

With good reason. USD is having an “ever” season.

First-ever victories over San Diego State, Arizona and Fullerton have given USD its best start ever. USD is 4-0 against Big West schools, 2-0 against the Pac 10 and can make that 4-0 against the Pac 10 when it plays host to Oregon State Wednesday and Arizona State Dec. 30.

And at least one voter for the Associated Press has taken notice. USD received its first-ever vote for the AP top 25 this week.

“We’re on a roll,” senior point guard Paula Mascari said.

There are many reasons, but Marpe points to depth as the secret.

Depth? For a school that frequently struggled to field a talented starting five? That makes USD, which had seven freshmen and no seniors on last year’s 10-17 team, the University of Sudden Depth.

Instead of 10 underclassmen, USD now has an active roster of three seniors, three juniors, four sophomores and two freshmen (red-shirt freshman Rachael Chism is nursing a sore back). Each contributes.

In fact, the statistics show an unusual proportioning of minutes played. Candida Echeverria has played the most but is averaging just 25.8 minutes. Nine players are averaging more than 10, and every Torera has played in every game for which she has suited up.

“I want my young kids to get quality minutes this time of year,” Marpe said. “But then again, we don’t lose anything by bringing them in. Plus, it keeps us fresh.”

Other stats--every stat--point up the team’s success. USD leads its opponents in every category. It leads the West Coast Conference in victories (seven), scoring defense (60.1 per game), rebounding (49.9 per game), assists (22.7), steals (12.6) and opponent field-goal percentage (.353).

Echeverria, a senior guard who needs just 42 points to become USD’s all-time leading scorer, is averaging 15.3 points, fifth in the WCC. Mascari is averaging 10.5 points and leading the WCC in three-point shooting at 52% (12 of 23). Freshman center Chris Enger is averaging 10.1 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.6 blocks and leading the WCC in field-goal percentage at 60% (38 of 63).

Sophomore forward Lynda Jones (averaging 9.6 points and 5.3 rebounds), junior forward Rochelle Lightner (7.5, 5.9), junior center Christi English (6.0, 5.3) and junior forward Molly Hunter (5.5, 4.3) also are having fine seasons.

USD has had five leading scorers, four leading rebounders. Its best individual performance (29 points by Echeverria) was in the Toreros’ only defeat, 71-66 at New Mexico State.

“That was the one game we didn’t get a good offensive effort from the team,” Enger said.

That was also USD’s second game. It since has won six in a row.

“I have a lot of interesting theories about that,” Marpe said.

Let’s have them:

Becoming mobile: Over the past three years, Marpe said she switched recruiting priorities and went for agile athletes. And she has been successful. USD’s strength might be its transition game.

Coming of age: Marpe credits Point Loma High Coach Lee Trepanier for boosting the level of play in the county’s high schools. As a result, she is able to recruit locally and still get quality players. Mascari (Monte Vista), Jones (Mt. Carmel), Enger (Vista) and Julie Doria (San Pasqual) are examples.

The tall and short of it: Freshmen Enger (6-feet-4) and Angie Straub (5-4) are the team’s tallest and shortest players. They are also this year’s recruiting class, which Marpe calls the school’s best.

After an outstanding career at Vista High, Enger was the county’s most coveted front-line high school player since Terri Mann.

“I chose USD for its academics and I felt the team had a really good chance of going somewhere,” Enger said.

Straub, from Nevada Union High, is averaging just 2.4 points but is third on the team with 16 assists and spells Mascari with quality minutes at the point.

They can see clearly now: Last season, Echeverria and Lightner both suffered broken noses and had to play with face guards for six weeks, limiting their peripheral vision. That might not have seemed so crucial, but Chism (knee) and English (ankle) were already out for the year.

Coming of age, Part II: Marpe calls this the Theory of Evolution, but in deference to Charles Darwin, let’s just say the program is maturing nicely.

When Marpe came to USD in 1980-81, the Toreras had just entered Division I but still played in a Division II conference. It wasn’t until the following year that USD began playing a Division I independent schedule, and not until 1985-86 that the WCC included women’s sports.

Under Marpe, scholarships have doubled to 12, and the budget has increased dramatically.

“If you want to do it right and establish a solid foundation, it takes a long time to build a program,” Marpe said. “Its time has come.”