NOTEBOOK: IRWIN LOOKS UP, FORTUNES GO DOWN.Byline: ERIK BOAL Special to the Daily News Charli Turner Thorne is the only coach among the eight in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. for the first two rounds of the NCAA NCAA abbr. National Collegiate Athletic Association women's basketball Women's basketball is one of the few games which developed in tandem with men's. It became popular, spreading from the east coast of the United States to the west coast, in large part via women's colleges. tournament who had previously walked the sidelines at USC's Galen Center History USC had planned to build an on-campus indoor arena for over 100 years. Before the Galen Center, USC basketball had been played at a variety of locations, including the neighboring Shrine Auditorium stage, the old Pan-Pacific Auditorium in the Fairfax District, and since . But the Arizona State coach still made it a point during Sunday's news conference to praise her Pacific-10 Conference The Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) is a college athletic conference which operates in the western United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I. Membership Full members counterpart. "I just want to thank the NCAA and USC An abbreviation for U.S. Code. for being such great hosts," Turner Thorne said. Although other teams in the Dallas and Greensboro (N.C.) regionals have played in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, or against the Trojans before this year, none of the eight coaches understand the impact the Galen Center has had on the USC community like Turner Thorne. Having graduated from Stanford, secured her master's degree master's degree n. An academic degree conferred by a college or university upon those who complete at least one year of prescribed study beyond the bachelor's degree. Noun 1. at Washington and coached at Arizona State for 11seasons, Turner Thorne knows USC thinks big. And the Galen Center hosting regional games in the tournament only five months since its opening is an example of how the Trojans have achieved on a grand scale. "Their desire to host these events shows they want to put their best foot forward," said NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Committee representative Barbara Burke, also the Deputy Director of Athletics at Wyoming. Since its opening Oct. 12, 2006, the 10,258-seat facility has showcased everything from concerts to award shows. "This feels like an NBA NBA abbr. 1. National Basketball Association 2. National Boxing Association NBA (US) n abbr (= National Basketball Association) → Basketball-Dachverband (= arena to me," USC women's basketball assistant Jody Wynn said. "It's really high class. All the seats are plush and luxurious, and that creates a special feeling for the fans. We're appreciative of the opportunity to play here." The 295,000 square-foot building is an upgrade from USC's days of competing in the 2,000-seat Lyon Center or sharing the Sports Arena with professional franchises. "When we played here in 1994, we played against Lisa Leslie in the Sports Arena," George Washington coach Joe McKeown said. "We've been to Southern California since then, but it's an amazing opportunity to come back here and play in a venue like this." Wynn, who played at USC from 1993-96, knows how important the Galen Center is for attracting recruits. "We're not ashamed anymore," she said. "We would never take them into the Sports Arena or show them the locker rooms." So far, more than 2,000 fans have experienced the Galen Center this weekend. And USChas already secured a bid to host the first and second rounds of the women's basketball tournament in 2009. erik.boal@dailynews.com (818) 713-3607 CAPTION(S): photo, 3 boxes Photo: (color) Hale Irwin, who led the AT&T Champions Classic coming into Sunday, finished with a 1-over 73 and in a sixth-way tie for fourth place. Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer Box: (1) SCOREBOARD (2) PLAYOFF (3) FINAL: LEADER'S SCORECARDS |
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