Horizon League Women's Basketball Release #15
Feb. 11, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Loyola sophomore guard Keisha Collins was tabbed Horizon League women's basketball Player of the Week for the first time in her career after she helped the Ramblers to a 1-1 record on the road. In two games this past week, Collins averaged 18.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game, while shooting 64.7 percent from the field.
Horizon League Player of the Week
Keisha Collins, Loyola
So. * G * Chicago, Ill.
Sophomore Keisha Collins collected her first career Player of the Week honor after she helped the Ramblers to a 1-1 record this past week. In two games, Collins averaged 18.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game, while shooting 64.7 percent from the floor and 90.9 percent from the free-throw line. The Illinois native opened the week with a career-high 23 points against Valparaiso on Thursday in a 69-62 defeat on the road. She then followed that performance by scoring 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting, including 2-of-3 from beyond arc at Butler. Collins also knocked down a pair free throws in the final seconds to secure a 67-64 victory over the Bulldogs.
Other Top Performances for the Week Ending February 9
Lade Akande, Butler
Jr. * C * Robinson, Ill.
Akande averaged16.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. The BU center notched her third double-double of the season against UIC on Thursday as she scored 16 points and pulled down a team-best 10 rebounds. Akande then went 6-for-9 from the field for 16 points, while adding four rebounds against Loyola.
Kailey Klein, Cleveland State
So. * G * Cherry, Ill.
Klein averaged 18.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game, while shooting 46.4 percent from the field as CSU split a pair of home games over the weekend. In Thursday's victory against Milwaukee, Klein posted 18 points, six rebounds and six assists in 39 minutes of play. In Saturday's loss to Green Bay, Klein recorded 18 points, seven rebounds and two assists.
Rachel Porath, Green Bay
Jr. * G * Luxemburg, Wis.
Porath led the way with a team-best 14.0 ppg, firing 71.4 percent from the field and 80 percent from three-point range. She also averaged a team-best 2.5 steals per game. Porth opened the week with 18 points against Youngstown State and finished out with 10 against Cleveland State.
Traci Edwards, Milwaukee
Jr. * C * Menasha, Wis.
Edwards helped the Panthers to a 1-1 record this past week after she averaged 21.5 points and 15.0 rebounds per game. The Wisconsin native registered eight points and 11 rebounds in a loss at Cleveland State on Thursday. She then bounced back with 35 points and 19 rebounds to lead UWM to a double-overtime triumph at Youngstown State on Saturday.
Cassie Johnson, UIC
So. * G * Apple Valley, Minn.
Johnson averaged 6.5 points and a team-best 7.5 rebounds per game in two League games last week. The UIC sophomore opened the week with six rebounds and two blocks versus Butler on Thursday. She then finished the week going 4-for-7 for nine points against Valparaiso on Saturday.
Aimee Litka, Valparaiso
Jr. * F * South Bend, Ind.
Litka averaged 12.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game in a 2-0 week. The junior opened the week with 10 points and 10 rebounds against Loyola to post her second career double-double. She then followed up with 15 points, had five rebounds against UIC.
Whitney Lewis, Wright State
Sr. * F * Lynchburg, Ohio
In her only game of the week, Lewis scored 15 points to help guide the Raiders past Detroit 70-59 on Saturday. The Ohio native went 6-of-7 from the field, including 3-of-3 from the beyond the arc.
Tiara Scott, Youngstown State
Jr. * F * Denver, Colo.
Scott led the Penguins with 15.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per game in a 0-2 week. Scott scored a team-high 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in a 94-87 double-overtime loss to Milwaukee on Saturday. She also scored six points against Green Bay on Thursday evening.
News From Around the League
Butler
The Bulldogs (15-7 overall, 5-6 Horizon League) split a pair of game this past week at home as they defeated UIC (56-48) on Thursday and lost to Loyola 67-64 on Saturday.
After finishing with only one assist and two turnovers against UIC on Thursday, junior forward Tara Miller is No. 1 in the NCAA Division I rankings for assists to turnovers ratio with a 3.32 average.
With 15 wins on the season, the Bulldogs are only one win away from matching their total from last season. Butler did not register its 15th victory last season until the first round of the Horizon League championship on March 7.
The Bulldogs have relied on strong defense to win ballgames this season. In their 15 victories, Butler has limited its opponents to only 55.8 points per game, while, in the seven losses, it has yielded 69.4 points. The Bulldogs' magic number seems to be 65, as Butler is 13-0 on the year when opponents score 64 points or less.
The Bulldogs will make their Wisconsin swing this week as they travel to Milwaukee on Thursday and Green Bay on Saturday. BU's game on Saturday against the Phoenix will be televised on ESPNU.
Cleveland State
The Vikings (14-8 overall, 8-3 Horizon League) went 1-1 this past week at home. On Thursday, CSU defeated Milwaukee 68-58, which ran its winning streak to six games. The Vikings saw their winning streak end on Saturday as they lost to Green Bay 69-61.
Saturday's loss to Green Bay also snapped its seven-game home winning streak and six-game League win streak, which was the longest in school-history. The Vikings had not lost a game or a League game since Jan. 12 at Milwaukee and had not lost at home since Nov. 26 against Ohio.
Sophomore Kailey Klein hit all seven of her free throws over the weekend and has set a single-season school-record with 134 free throws made. The old record was 133 makes by Coretta Walker in 1991-92.
Prior to turning the ball over 25 times versus Green Bay, the Vikings had averaged just 12.3 turnovers over the previous four games.
CSU tied a season-low with just seven free-throw attempts against Green Bay. It tied the low of seven attempts at Milwaukee (Jan. 12).
Cleveland State travels to Wright State on Thursday and then wraps up the week against Detroit on Saturday.
Detroit
The Titans (3-18 overall, 0-10 Horizon League) remained winless in League play this past week as they fell by a score of 70-59 at Wright State on Saturday.
Against the Raiders, UDM trailed 20-9 in the early going, but the Titans responded with a 14-2 run to take a 24-22 lead at the 3:28 mark. During that span, UDM netted three shots from beyond the arc, two from freshman guard Kealy McNally and one by sophomore guard Chanica Hall. WSU responded with a 10-0 scoring spurt, which included a 6-of-7 showing from the line, and WSU went into the break with a 32-24 lead.
The Raiders began the second half by outscoring the Titans 22-10 to take their largest lead of the game at 54-34 with 9:34 to go in the game.
Junior forward Sandi Brown led all scorers with 20 points to mark the 10th time this season in which she has scored in double figures. Brown also tallied a game-high three steals and added one block in the loss.
Hall also scored in double-figures as netted 14 points and dished out a game-high seven assists to match her personal best.
The Titans return home for the first time since Jan. 26 when they host Youngstown State on Valentine's Day. Detroit concludes the week when it welcomes Cleveland State on Saturday.
Green Bay
The Phoenix (18-4 overall, 10-1 Horizon League) maintained its grasp on first place in the League standings with wins over Youngstown State (75-47) and Cleveland State (69-61) this past week.
Green Bay had its streak of straight made free throws halted at 32 straight with a miss against Youngstown State Feb. 2. However, the team is still on fire from the line as of late.
In the last seven games, Green Bay is firing 81.6 percent from the line, lifting the team's percentage to .752 on the year.
The Phoenix fired off 19 straight makes at the line against Milwaukee and made its first 13 shots against Youngstown State. The team is shooting 80.0 percent from the free throw line in its 11 road games this season.
With its victory over Milwaukee Feb. 2, Green Bay assured itself of its 31st consecutive winning season, the third longest streak in the NCAA (Green Bay trails only perennial powerhouses Tennessee, 35, and Louisiana Tech, 33). Green Bay is also on pace for its ninth-straight 20-win season.
With its recent proficiency at the free throw line, Green Bay is now ranked in the top 30 in the NCAA in all three shooting categories, making Green Bay one of only two teams in the nation that can make that claim. Murray State (third in free throw, 17th in 3-point and 29th in field goal) is the other.
The Phoenix return home on Thursday as they welcome Valparaiso. Green Bay will then close out the week against Butler on Saturday in a game that will air on ESPNU.
Loyola
The Ramblers (5-17 overall, 3-8 Horizon League) split a pair of road games this past week. LU began the week with a 62-69 loss at Valparaiso on Thursday but rebounded to defeat Butler 67-64 on Saturday.
Loyola's win at Butler was its first true road win of the season. The Ramblers had lost their first 11 away games but did have one neutral site victory. The win also snapped the team's eight-game losing streak to Butler and was only the program's fourth win in 25 games at Hinkle Fieldhouse
Sophomore guard Keisha Collins extended her streak of scoring in double-figure to eight games as she netted a career-high 23 points against Valparaiso and 13 versus Butler.
Freshman forward Brittany Boeke also posted a double-digit scoring average for the week with 14.5 points per game.Sophomore center Shannon Finnegan turned in her best performance of the season against Butler, finishing with 12 points, four rebounds and three assists off the bench.
Loyola returns to action on Saturday as it plays host to cross-town rival UIC in its lone game of the week.
Milwaukee
The Panthers (12-10 overall, 7-4 Horizon League) went 1-1 this past week on the road losing to Cleveland State (68-58), but rebounded to defeat Youngstown State (94-87) in double overtime.
At Cleveland State on Thursday, UWM boasted a starting lineup with three freshmen for the first time since Feb. 12, 2005.
Junior center Traci Edwards surpassed the 1,500-point and 800-rebound plateaus against Youngstown State as part of a 35-point, 19-rebound effort. It was her school record-tying third 30-point game of the season.
In the win over Youngstown State, UWM head coach Sandy Botham collected career League win number 125, which tied her for the circuit record with former Green Bay head coach Kevin Borseth.
The Panthers return home this week and welcome Butler on Thursday and Valparaiso on Saturday.
UIC
The Flames (8-14 overall, 4-7 Horizon League) dropped a pair of road games as they lost to Butler (56-48) on Thursday and Valparaiso (76-46) on Saturday.
UIC lost back-to-back games this past week for the first time since it dropped a pair of home games to Butler and Valparaiso on Jan. 10 and 12, respective.
The Flames struggled from the field this past week as they shot just 30.5 percent against Butler and 27.1 percent versus Valparaiso.
Offensively for the Flames, Sophomore guard Briana Hinkle averaged a team-best 9.0 points per game, while freshman guard Taylor Manley averaged 8.0 points per game.
Defensively, UIC totaled ten more blocks than its opponents this past week (13-3).
UIC travels to cross-town rival Loyola on Saturday in its long game of the week.
Valparaiso
The Crusaders (11-11 overall, 6-5 Horizon League) won two League games in the same week for the first time this season as they defeated Loyola (69-62) on Thursday and UIC (76-46) on Saturday.
Against the Ramblers, junior guard Agnieszka Kulaga led Valpo with 16 points going 6-of-14 from the field. As a team, the Crusaders had just four turnovers, which was their lowest total of the season. Junior forward Sarah Ott also chipped in with 10 points and 10 rebounds against the Ramblers to tally her second double-double of the year.
In Saturday's win over UIC, the Valpo held the Flames to just 46 points, which was the lowest point total for a Crusader opponent this season.
Valpo also outrebounded UIC 48-39, which marked just the second time this season the Crusaders have outrebounded their opponent.
In addition, freshman center Katie Emig had a career-high 13 points along with eight rebounds against UIC
Valparaiso returns to action on Thursday as it travels to Green Bay. The Crusaders wrap up the week when they head to Milwaukee on Saturday.
Wright State
In the Raiders' (9-12 overall, 6-4 Horizon League) lone game of the week, WSU defeated Detroit 70-59 to sweep the season series.
Wright State shot 58 percent overall, 69 percent in the second half, and hit 20 of 26 free throws.
Wright State hit 11-of-16 shots, including both three-point attempts, in the final 20 minutes. Detroit, meanwhile, hit just 12 of 33 attempts in the second half for 36 percent to end up at 40 percent overall and was 15-of-22 from the stripe.
The Raiders also led in points in the paint (30-16), points off of turnovers (28-20) and fast-break points (14-4).
Freshman guard Shey Peddy led WSU with 17 points, including 10 of 12 from the foul line, while senior forward Whitney Lewis added 15.
Wright State returns to action when it plays host to Cleveland State on Thursday and Youngstown State on Saturday.
Youngstown State
The Penguins (10-12 overall, 5-6 Horizon League) went 0-2 this past week losing to Green Bay (75-47) on Thursday and Milwaukee (94-87) on Saturday in double-overtime.
Against Milwaukee, three players scored at least 20 points in a game for the first time since 1996. Junior forward Tiara Scott led the Penguins with 24 points while senior guard Heather Karner scored 20 and junior forward Ashley Pendleton scored a career-high 20 points.
Senior forward Jessica Schloemp extended her consecutive games played streak to 95.
Senior guard Lauren Branson continues her climb on the career assists chart with 442 and needs six more to move into fifth place past Colleen Cook (447, 1994-98).
The Penguins return to action on Thursday when they head to Detroit. YSU then wraps up the week at Wright State on Saturday.
