Gaucho Gossip
UCSB Women’s Basketball
Newsletter
December 7, 2006
IN THIS ISSUE:
► Season Update
► Upcoming Events
► Holiday Thoughts
► 06-07 Schedule/
Results
► Player Spotlight
► Coach’s Corner
► Gauchos on the
Road
► French Toast
Thank You
The French Toast/Alumni weekend was a blast. It started on Friday night in the Thunderdome, the place where some of the best Gaucho moments took place, when the
alumni were honored at halftime of the Oregon game. On Saturday morning the alumni
played a pick-up game with a lunch afterward and talked about all of the “Remember
When’s” that occurred as a Gaucho most of them in light of how we were going to lead
the roast that night. The weekend ended on Saturday night at the French Toast or should
I say French Roast, where we took a trip down memory lane and celebrated Coach
French’s 20 years as our captain.
One of the highlights of our pick-up game included Barb Beainy posting up Lauren
Goldstine-Rochet in the lane and throwing the ball over her head without looking at the
basket. When the ball went through the net, all of the current Gauchos who were there
watching ran onto the court chest bumping and acting like the shot just won a national
championship!
A key feature of the French Toast was the selling of raffle tickets. Jess Hansen (5-6),
Kate Bauman (6-6), Jessie Goble (6-5) and Lindsey Taylor (6-8) were the sellers and the
price was $20 for tickets the length of the wing span of the seller. Needless to say, the
post players were very popular although Jazzy Jess turned on her charm to sell lots of
raffle tickets!
Erin Alexander summed up French Toast the best by talking about how much she appreciates and has benefited from going through this program. She talked about how the
character she built and lessons she learned as a UCSB basketball player are helping her
Continued on Page 2
Upcoming Events
December:
11-15th - Finals Week
15th - 1st Day of
Hanukkah
18th - Fastbreaker Bus
trip #2; Pepperdine
20th - SB News Press
Kids to College
Night
25th - Christmas
28th - Fastbreaker Bus
trip #3; Riverside
30th - Fastbreaker Bus
trip #4; Fullerton
31st - New Year’s Eve
January:
6th - Lil’ Gaucho Clinic
after the game
20th - Fastbreaker Bus
trip #5; Cal Poly
February:
8th - Fastbreaker Bus
trip #6; Irvine
10th - Fastbreaker Bus
trip #7;
Long Beach
17th - SB News Press
Kids to College
Night
24th - Last Home Game
Continued from Page 1…
right now as a mother of twins, a wife and as a firefighter!
I am deeply thankful for the opportunity to have played at UCSB. I know I was given the tools
that equipped me to be a better woman and now as a current assistant coach, I have the opportunity to motivate, teach and encourage the 06-07 Gauchos. I am thrilled to be part of the great
tradition, by building and giving back to a program that has given so much to me.
Calamity McEntire, our director of basketball operations, is a difference maker and has been a
huge addition to our staff this year in many different areas. She worked very hard to make the
French Toast a very classy and successful event. I would also like to send a big thank you to
all of our Fastbreakers and everyone else that helped put the French Toast event on. All of the
details that you took care of made this event a huge success. Thank you for modeling selflessness and an “other’s centered” mentality to our Gaucho Family. To all the fans, Fastbreakers,
and supporters of our program; you are our lifeline, this year more than ever both on and off
the court. Thank you for caring about the journey and not just the results.
Have a wonderful Holiday Season!
April
Holiday Thoughts
December is the month when we have special thoughts of Holiday Memories,
Treats & Wishes. Here’s some of our players thoughts & wishes:
Holiday Memories
Meagan - likes being with
family eating hot link &
hot chocolate while putting up the Christmas
tree.
Jessica - when she didn’t
get the doll she wanted,
she put the one she received in the bbq pit.
Kim - likes watching
White Christmas with
her sisters while wrapFavorite Holiday Treats
ping gifts.
Shay - being able to
Jessie - Almond Roca &
watch all of her siblings
faces when opening their Peppermint Bark.
Kat - Mom’s Spritz cookpresents.
ies & Holiday fudge.
Chisa - Pecan Pie &
Strawberry Cheesecake.
Ashley - Cherry flavored
Candy Canes.
Wish List
Lauren - a Cookbook
Sha’Rae - a Motorcycle
Jordan - Crest White
Strips
Jenna - a Winning Record
2006-07 Schedule
*= Home Game
Big West Conference
Games
NOVEMBER
04 – Cal Poly Pomona
(Exhibition)*
10 – Portland State*
12 – at UCLA
17 – Oregon*
24 – Louisville*
26 – NC State*
W,76-47
W,88-73
L,82-65
L,77-85
L,72-66
L,64-55
DECEMBER
at Maryland
L,105-44
at Richmond
W,51-49
Weber State*
Loyola Marymount*
at Pepperdine
Michigan State*
at UC Riverside
at Cal State Fullerton
02
04
07
09
18
20
28
30
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
04
06
11
13
20
25
27
JANUARY
– Long Beach State*
– UC Irvine*
- Utah Valley State*
– at UC Davis
– at Cal Poly
– Cal State Northridge*
– Pacific*
01
03
08
10
17
22
24
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
FEBRUARY
Stanford*
UC Davis*
at UC Irvine
at Long Beach State
Cal Poly*
Cal State Fullerton*
UC Riverside*
MARCH
01 – at Pacific
03 – at Cal State Northridge
07-10 – Big West Tournament
Anaheim, CA
17-20 – NCAA First/Second
Rounds
24-27 – NCAA Regional's
April
01– NCAA Semifinals
03– NCAA Championship
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT
JESSICA WILSON
Major: Sociology
Age: 20 Hometown: Sacramento, CA
Career Goal: Play Basketball in the WNBA
Favorite Movie: Finding Nemo
Favorite Book: Love Can Wait by Jessica Wilson
Hero: My family, I love them all
Favorite Quote: “Be more concerned with your character than your reputation,
because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what
others think your are.” - John Wooden
Favorite Gaucho Alumni and why? - “Mia Fisher, she’s a great player and I loved having the opportunity to play my freshman year with her. I really can’t put into words why, but she is someone very
special to me.”
The season is going well and I’m enjoying spending everyday with my teammates and coaches. We
are playing a lot of top ranked teams, which is good for our growth as a team. We are just taking it
one game at a time. We are playing really hard right now and taking those extra steps so that we can
be a better team. Getting up early to shoot and go over plays as a team. Knowing that we are all on
the same page makes it even better when it comes to doing extra. I’m looking forward to finishing the
preseason and starting up conference play. What I love about this team is our chemistry both on and
off the court. I love knowing that I can talk to my teammates anytime about life and not just basketball.
The same goes for the coaching staff.
See you on the court!
Coach’s Corner
Hello Gaucho Fans,
I thought I would share my “X and O” thoughts with you after our first
couple of games.
Let’s start with the positives. I think our energy and enthusiasm has
been very good. We have played hard and supported each other well.
This team seems to have embraced the “scrappy” mentality wholeheartedly. We have seen lots of Gauchos diving after loose balls and generally throwing their bodies around the court. This can be a huge advantage for us as the season progresses. Next, I like the way our freshmen
have taken to the Gaucho traditions. Jordan and Ariana, especially, are
playing with a lot of “Gaucho Heart”. The freshmen as a group have been pretty tough and
resilient during a rigorous training and practice schedule. Finally, I think Jessica Wilson has
played with remarkable consistency thus far. It appears that she is ready to become the true,
dominating player that we have seen glimpses of during her first two years.
In terms of “growth areas,” I would have to put rebounding as my number one concern. We
are not going to be a “big” team this year. Therefore, we must do a better job keeping people away from the offensive boards. One, to keep them from scoring; and two, to get defensive boards and fuel our fastbreak. We must be able to bring our quickness into play more
significantly, particularly against bigger teams. We have been working very hard on this
issue in practice, so hopefully we will see continued improvement in this area. It’s easy to
be a small, quick team and say we will be a great fastbreaking team, but you can’t run until
you get your hands on the ball! Rebounding is crucial!
My best wishes to all of you for a great Holiday Season.
GO GAUCHOS!
Coach French
Catch the Gauchos on the Road
Can’t get enough of the Gauchos in the Thunderdome?
How about a road trip with fellow Gaucho Fans?
There are 8 scheduled bus trips to see the Gauchos on the
road this season with trips to UCLA, Pepperdine, Cal Poly &
Northridge to name a few.
Date
Dec. 18
Dec. 28
Dec. 30
Jan. 20
Feb. 8
Feb. 10
Mar. 3
Where
Pepperdine
Riverside
Fullerton
Cal Poly
Irvine
Long Beach
Northridge
Bus Departs
4:30pm
3:15pm
10:45am
1:30pm
3:00pm
2:00pm
1:45pm
Tip-off
7pm
7pm
2pm
4pm
7pm
5pm
4pm
For $20 you get to ride a bus with fellow Gaucho fans, a free raffle ticket
for a prize drawing after the game, water & wine.
All bus trips depart from the AIRPORT PLAZA center
Trips are open to all Gaucho Fans with
Fastbreakers receiving priority seating
To make your reservations please contact either
John Reid at 805-893-4629; [email protected] or
Len Ramirez & Betty Schield at 805-964-7858
French Toast Thank You
From Calamity
Gaucho Family,
Contact Information
UCSB Women’s Basketball
ICA Building Ste 2108
Santa Barbara, CA 931065200
805-893-5724
I just wanted to send out a special "Thank You" to everyone who came to the "French Toast." We truly
appreciate all your support! There was a number of people who contributed in making the event go
smoothly and I am grateful for all your efforts. The list is long of great Gaucho support and I couldn't be
more impressed with the heart that you all have for this program.
I would personally like to thank Charles Sotudi for being a huge contributor to the success of our evening. Charles, I appreciate the love you have for our program as well as the friendship you graciously
offered to me. George Eskin and Dennis Peterson, you both did a wonderful job running the show! Thank
you for your time and efforts. And last but not least, Frank Williams. You were my behind the scenes guy!
Thank you for your assistance.
I realize this thank you doesn't recognize all of you who added the little touches that made this event run
smoothly, but I hope you know I truly appreciate all of you from the bottom of my heart.
I couldn't be happier to be a Gaucho!
Sincerely,
Calamity J. McEntire