I think the toughest competition for us to match up against is Pepperdine. They are so athletic and so big. They are always a very difficult team for us to match up with position by position. I think another team that is tough for us to match up against is USF because their team quickness is so good. The MVP would have been Shandrika Lee, she was having a spectacular season, but now with her going out with an injury I really think it is up for grabs. I haven??t really seen anybody that is consistently lighting it up. Kate Murray would have been another choice, but she is now out as well.

2. Coach Marpe- First, Congratulations of your long and successful career and best wishes for many more. Could you say a little about the state of women's basketball and the state of coaching back when you began coaching and maybe tell us a little about your experience of playing in college. Also I am looking forward again to a wonderful WCC tournament at your place this year.

The state of women??s basketball is in a good place. The fan excitement is certainly a lot better than it has ever been in the history of women??s basketball. I think the parody of teams is better than ever. The Connecticut- Tennessee game, what a great game and Duke is playing so well. At the same time you have big upsets in the college game where anybody can beat anybody and it is very exciting in that way. As far as what college basketball was like when I came in?? the basketball skills were in their infancy stages. I equate it to the men??s game when Bob Cousy was playing, when it was the two-hand push shot. When I started playing, that is how basketball was played at the girls level. Now it is athletic, the jump shots, we??re even getting close to dunking. It has become an exciting fast paced prolific scoring game. The high school players, because they have been playing so long, the skills they possess once they reach the college level has allowed the game to really progress. When I played, there was no high school basketball for me, in college I played AAU ball, similar to a club system they have in Europe. In 1976 I tried out for the Olympic games. The tryouts were in Albuquerque, New Mexico where I was coaching at the time. When I played in college the schedule was just ten games my senior year, so there was not that many games. Again it was an archaic game where the jump shot was just developing.

3. I have been following your team for many years now and really enjoy watching your team. It seems that Kerri Nakamoto has been struggling with her shot this year because she has been playing out of position so much due to the youth at the point guard spot. I was wondering if you see Kerri playing more of the 2 guard as the season progresses, and if not, how do you plan on getting her more good shots and releasing some of the pressure. Thanks and good luck!!!

Kerri has been struggling and she has been struggling not just because she has to play the point, but also her Planter Faciitis (foot ailment) is getting worse. She can hardly run and she can hardly jump because of the Planter Faciitis. So that is part of the reason you are seeing her struggle. She has been getting more shots late in the game. She has the mentality that she needs to distribute the ball because she is playing a lot more point. I don??t necessarily think she has to play the two guard to get more shots, she just needs to recognize where the shots are when she is playing the point guard spot. I think the other thing that has really changed is not having Melissa Glazebrook knowing where Kerri is on the floor and getting her the ball so she has an optimum look at the basket. As the season goes on and she becomes more comfortable with this role, knowing where to look for those shots, I think they will come. In the Dayton game she got ten points, which I think is a pretty good score for her due to the fact other people are looking to score. She might have a game that is 20 points, but if she gets ten shots per game I think that is a lot of shots right now for her in our scheme of things.

4. Tiara Harris is playing well right now. Do you see her starting this season or do you like the spark that she provides off the bench? Thanks coach and good luck with the rest of the season.

We absolutely love Tiara. She brings us such a spark off the bench. I am a big believer in the sixth player principle. I think that first sub off the bench is very instrumental in the outcome of a game. A lot of time that player is the spark. Tiara is doing a great job coming in, not only offensively, but defensively as well. She is so quick and she can defend the ball extremely well giving us a different look defensively. She just makes things happen. She is our quickest player and our most athletic player by far, that allows us to do more things in transition and in a more up-tempo game, which fits her style. She is very exciting and we??re looking forward to having her for three more years after this one.

5. How do you think certain injuries have impacted the WCC race and where do you think the Toreros fit into the picture?

Kate Murray??s injury is going to impact the WCC race the most. Shandrika (Lee) going out has impacted Pepperdine, but they have people that can take that spot, where Loyola may not. Loyola will have to adjust and they are a good basketball team, so they will find ways to win games. As far as our injuries, with Kerri and Erin (Malich) not being able to practice, it has really impacted our success. A lot is going to depend on how we manage those injuries so we can get maximum minutes from them. If Erin??s knee continues to get worse and Kerri??s Planter Faciitis continues to get worse, that is obviously going to have an impact on this team.

6. Coach, you've had a great career at USD so far and I'm sure there is more to come. Who are the five best (or favorite) USD players you've coached over the years? Thanks and go Toreros!

That is a tough question. One has to be my first recruit here, Lori Morris. Her stats are not that good but she is one of those players, kind of like Tiara Harris, that comes in makes a lot of things happen, all over the floor. We probably battled a lot, sometimes those are the players you get the most out of and the most out of you. She was my first recruit. Debbie Theroux is another player I talk about. She was a post player, a player that played at Helix High School and I tried to recruit three times. She went to a couple schools before coming here and playing three years here. She is up on the career-scoring list. A couple of games she was that go to player. I remember a game at Loyola Marymount where she was about 45 feet away from the basket and ended up making that shot to win the game, she was just that kind of player. The other thing she brought was strong team chemistry. Another one has to be Chris Enger. The impact she had on USD basketball was tremendous. She had the talent coming in to be a shot blocker that allowed us to do some things defensively with pressure and also in a zone. We didn??t have to worry about teams attacking the basket, we knew Chris would take care of it. The next has to be Susie Erpelding, who is our leading career scorer. Everything I asked of her she did. She was a very hard worker and the school??s all-time scoring leader, so of course she is going to be one of my favorite players. That fifth player, you know there are just so many?? I??ll pick one and it would be Janeene Arendsen. Janeene was that one player from San Diego that I really liked. She struggled her first couple years with a knee injury. In her last year she provided that spark, like Lori Morris did. Hit three??s, played good defense and just worked so hard. In her first three years she hardly got any playing time at all and you could never tell in her attitude and work ethic and everything that she gave to USD. Her parents, her friends, it was obvious at the last game her senior year, the whole crowd had a tee-shirt of number 22, Arendsen. That is the kind of player that I love, the over-achiever that finally gets her day in the sun.