July 25, 2008

SAN BRUNO, Calif. --- The 2008-09 West Coast Conference women's basketball schedule, which includes the conference tournament championship game being telecast live nationally by ESPNU, was released today by Commissioner Jamie Zaninovich.

"We are very excited about the 2008-09 women's basketball season," Zaninovich said. "The conference finished with the highest RPI of any non-BCS conference last season, and we look forward to another competitive season and continuing our streak of multiple post-season bids."

The 2007-08 season concluded with third-seeded San Diego defeating top-seeded Gonzaga, 70-66, in the championship game of the West Coast Conference Tournament to advance to its first NCAA Tournament in eight years. The conference also earned two post-season bids for the 10th straight year as Gonzaga advanced to the second round of the WNIT.

Gonzaga returns WCC Player of the Year Heather Bowman, WCC Defensive Player of the Year Jami Bjorklund, and WCC Newcomer of the Year Courtney Vandersloot from last year's team that finished 25-9 and won the WCC regular season title. San Diego returns All-WCC selection Amber Sprague and all-freshman selection Sam Child. In addition to Bowman, Sprague and Vandersloot, 2008 all-conference selections Miranda Ayim of Pepperdine and Jontelle Smith of Saint Mary's return this year. The conference also adds one new coach this season as Jennifer Mountain, who was most recently an assistant at Gonzaga, is now the head coach at Santa Clara.

The conference season will conclude at the 2009 WCC Women's Basketball Championships at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. ESPNU will televise the championship game live on Monday, March 9 at 12:00 p.m. (PT).

Additional women's basketball telecasts will be arranged and announced by both the WCC and the conference's eight member institutions. The dates and times of these broadcasts will be posted on wccsports.com as they become available.

About the West Coast Conference
The West Coast Conference was formed in 1952 and has evolved and grown to become a nationally recognized and competitive force in Division I intercollegiate athletics, with 13 conference-sponsored sports: baseball, men's and women's basketball, women's crew, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's golf, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's tennis and women's volleyball. The WCC is characterized by the stability of its membership - only two conference have been together longer - and its unique emphasis on combining excellence in athletics with excellence in academics.

Thursday, January 8
Saint Mary's at Santa Clara
San Francisco at San Diego

Saturday, January 10
Gonzaga at Portland
Loyola Marymount at Pepperdine
Santa Clara at San Diego
San Francisco at Saint Mary's

Thursday, January 15
Gonzaga at Santa Clara
Portland at San Francisco
Saint Mary's at Loyola Marymount
San Diego at Pepperdine

Saturday, January 17
Gonzaga at San Francisco
Portland at Santa Clara
Saint Mary's at Pepperdine
San Diego at Loyola Marymount

Thursday, January 22
Loyola Marymount at Portland
Pepperdine at Gonzaga

Saturday, January 24
Loyola Marymount at Gonzaga
Pepperdine at Portland
Santa Clara at San Francisco
San Diego at Saint Mary's

Thursday, January 29
Gonzaga at Saint Mary's
Portland at San Diego
Santa Clara at Loyola Marymount
San Francisco at Pepperdine

Saturday, January 31
Gonzaga at San Diego
Portland at Saint Mary's
Santa Clara at Pepperdine
San Francisco at Loyola Marymount

Thursday, February 5
Saint Mary's at San Francisco
San Diego at Santa Clara

Saturday, February 7
Portland at Gonzaga
Pepperdine at Loyola Marymount
Santa Clara at Saint Mary's
San Diego at San Francisco

Thursday, February 12
Loyola Marymount at San Diego
Pepperdine at Santa Clara
San Francisco at Portland
Saint Mary's at Gonzaga

Saturday, February 14
Loyola Marymount at Santa Clara
Pepperdine at San Diego
San Francisco at Gonzaga
Saint Mary's at Portland

Thursday, February 19
Gonzaga at Loyola Marymount
Portland at Pepperdine

Saturday, February 21
Gonzaga at Pepperdine
Portland at Loyola Marymount
San Francisco at Santa Clara
Saint Mary's at San Diego

Thursday, February 26
Loyola Marymount at San Francisco
Pepperdine at Saint Mary's
Santa Clara at Gonzaga
San Diego at Portland

Saturday, February 28
Loyola Marymount at Saint Mary's
Pepperdine at San Francisco
Santa Clara at Portland
San Diego at Gonzaga

WCC Championships @ Las Vegas
Friday, March 6
No. 5 vs. No. 8 - 12:00 p.m.
No. 6 vs. No. 7 - 2:00 p.m.

Saturday, March 7
No. 5/8 vs. No. 4 - 12:00 p.m.
No. 6/7 vs. No. 3 - 2:00 p.m.

Sunday, March 8
No. 5/8/4 vs. No. 1 - 12:00 p.m.
No. 6/7/3 vs. No. 2 - 2:00 p.m.

Monday, March 9
Championship - 12:00 p.m. (ESPNU)