January 10-Four West Coast Conference women's basketball teams begin their quest for13; the conference crown tonight as Pepperdine plays host to Gonzaga and LMU13; welcomes in Portland

lt;bgt;Pictured:lt;/bgt; lt;igt;Led by senior guard Damaris Hinojosa, the Pepperdine Waves begin defense of their WCC title tonight versus Gonzaga.lt;/igt;lt;pgt; lt;Pgt;13; January 10-Four West Coast Conference women's basketball teams begin their quest for the conference crown tonight as Pepperdine plays host to Gonzaga and LMU welcomes in Portland. Both games are scheduled for a 7:0 pm tip-off. Conference action continues on Saturday with Gonzaga visiting LMU, Portland at Pepperdine, USF at Saint Mary's and San Diego heading north to play at Santa Clara.lt;pgt; lt;Pgt;13; Pepperdine, the 001-0 WCC champions, was selected as the preseason favorite this year, followed by Santa Clara and San Francisco who tied for second. LMU was picked fourth, while Saint Mary's, who hasn't finished below fourth in the previous seven seasons, was predicted to finish fifth. San Diego was picked sixth, Gonzaga seventh and Portland eighth to round out the poll, respectively.lt;pgt; lt;Pgt;13; lt;bgt;This Weekend's Games at a Glance:lt;/bgt;lt;pgt; lt;Pgt;13; lt;bgt;Fridaylt;/bgt;lt;brgt; lt;igt;Gonzaga (9-6) at Pepperdine (8-) - 7:0 pmlt;/igt; The Bulldogs have shrugged off a slow start and have won eight of their last 10 games. Pepperdine has posted a solid 8- record through a difficult non-conference schedule that has included contests versus then Connecticut, 6 Stanford, and 1 Arizona. Sophomores Ashley Burke (13.9 ppg, 6.1 rpg) and Shannon Mathews (13.1 ppg, .36 apg) lead the Zags into action, while the Waves are led by seniors Damaris Hinojosa (11.1 ppg, .3 rpg) and Keani Christianson (8. ppg, 3.9 rpg).lt;pgt; lt;Pgt;13; lt;igt;Portland (6-7) at Loyola Marymount (8-) - 7:0 pmlt;/igt; The Pilots will have the tough task of beating the Lions at Gersten Pavilion. Loyola Marymount is a perfect 6-0 at home and is the only WCC team with an unblemished home mark. Portland has historically dominated the series, holding a -8 advantage in the all-time series, but the two teams split the season series a year ago with the each team winning on their home floor. A key match-up will be Portland's Khalila O'Rielly-Williams, the WCC Player of the Week, versus LMU's Adrianne Slaughter, one of the premier defensive players in the nation.lt;pgt; lt;Pgt;13; lt;bgt;Saturday (records as of 1/9/03)lt;/bgt;lt;brgt; lt;igt;Gonzaga (9-6) at Loyola Marymount (8-) - 7:0 pmlt;/igt; If LMU wins their Friday game versus Portland, the Lions will be playing for their best season-opening home record since the 199-93 season when they won their first 10 home games. The Lions have taken the last six games from the Bulldogs and lead the all-time series 17-13.lt;pgt; lt;Pgt;13; lt;igt;Portland (6-7) at Pepperdine (8-) - 7:0 pmlt;/igt;lt;brgt; The Waves have enjoyed recent success versus Portland, winning the last 1 contests with the Pilots. Overall, Pepperdine holds a 19-1 edge in the all-time series. The Waves are 6-3 at home this season and have won four straight, including notable wins over UCLA and Toledo. Portland freshman guards Michaela Dalgleish (10. ppg, .8 rpg) and Whitney Grant (8.3 ppg, 3. apg) have played well but get an early test against an experienced Waves' backcourt of Damaris Hinojosa (10.8 ppg, 30 3-pt FG made) and Tamara McDonald (6.7 ppg, .8 rpg).lt;pgt; lt;Pgt;13; lt;igt;San Francisco (-9) at Saint Mary's (7-6) - 7:0 pmlt;/igt;lt;brgt; This series has been one of the most evenly matched in the WCC with the Lady Dons holding a slim 18-16 edge in the all-time series. The host Gaels have the WCCs leading scorer and rebounder on their team in sophomore Triola Jackson. The 6- forward is averaging nearly a double-double scoring 18.3 ppg and grabbing 9.9 rpg. The Lady Dons enter the week on a three-game winning streak. After receiving zero points from her bench versus Wisconsin-Milwaukee, USF Head Coach Mary Hile-Nepfel switched around her lineup. Since the change, the Lady Dons are 3-0 and the bench is averaging 9 ppg. Junior forward Carey Sauer leads USF in scoring (1.1. ppg) and ranks second in rebounding (4.9 rpg).lt;pgt; lt;Pgt;13; lt;igt;San Diego (6-7) at Santa Clara (9-4) - 7:0 pmlt;/igt;lt;brgt; Santa Clara has raced out to a WCC-best 9-4 start and ride the momentum of a four-game winning streak into their conference opener with the visiting Toreros. San Diego is looking to avenge an 8- loss to the Broncos in the first round of last season's WCC Tournament. The frontcourts will be on display in this game as USD's Erin Malich (14.3 ppg, 6.1 rpg), Marta Menuez (11.7 ppg, 6.7 rpg), and Melissa Padgett (6.6 ppg, .8 rpg), and SCU's Tammy Annas (10.8 ppg, 6. rpg), Kim Butler (7.3 ppg, 3.9 rpg) and Kendra Rhea (6.9 ppg, 7.6 rpg) assembly some of the best forwards and centers in the WCC. lt;Pgt;