Horizon League Women's Basketball Release #17
Feb. 25, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Milwaukee junior center Traci Edwards earned her second Player of the Week award this season and the seventh of her career after she helped the Panthers to a 1-1 record last week. In two games, Edwards averaged 32.5 points and 11.0 rebounds per game.
Horizon League Player of the Week
Traci Edwards
Jr. * C * Menasha, Wis.
Junior center Traci Edwards receives her second Player of the Week award of the season and the seventh of her career. In two games this past weekend, Edwards averaged 32.5 points and 11.0 rebounds per game to lead UWM to a 1-1 record last week with the loss coming in two overtimes. The UWM junior scored a school-record 45 points at Loyola, hitting a school and League-record 20 free throws (22 attempts), while connecting on 12-of-14 from the field, which was the second-best field goal percentage in school history. The Wisconsin native surpassed her own school record of 42 points set last season against Cleveland State. Against UIC, Edwards helped the Panthers overcome a 12-point halftime deficit to force overtime as she scored 20 points and pulled down 14 rebounds to post her 15th double-double of the season.
Other Top Performances for the Week Ending February 23
Lade Akande, Butler
Jr. * C * Robinson, Ill.
Akande continued to pace the Bulldogs on offense, averaging 19.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, while shooting 66.7 percent over the weekend. She led all scorers with 22 points on 8-for-12 shooting from the field and added a team-best five rebounds against Wright State on Thursday. Two days later, she guided the team to its 17th win of the season by scoring 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting while chipping in a team-best eight boards.
Dominique Butler, Cleveland State
Jr. * F * Milwaukee, Wis.
In Cleveland State's lone contest of the week, Butler scored a career-high 25 points, grabbed eight rebounds and had four steals to lead the Vikings to an 82-66 road win at Youngstown State. Butler hit 9-of-11 shots from the field and was a perfect 7-for-7 at the free throw line. The 25 points broke her previous career high of 21 points set earlier this season at Miami (Ohio).
Kayla Groh, Green Bay
Sr. * G * Elkhart Lake, Wis.
Against UIC on Thursday, Groh tallied her 1,000th career point and tied her career high with 24 points as Green Bay secured a share of the League title with its victory. On Saturday, Groh had a team-high 13 points as the Phoenix claimed the title outright with its triumph over Loyola.
Jessica Hylton, Loyola
So. * G * Homer Glen, Ill.
Hylton averaged 13.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game, while shooting over 50 percent from the floor. Hylton knocked down a career-high four three-pointers against Milwaukee on Thursday to lead the Ramblers with 14 points. She then followed up with 13 points in a last-second loss to Green Bay on Saturday.
Jessie Miller, UIC
So. * G * Richfield, Minn.
In two games last week, Miller averaged a team-high 15.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. The Minnesota native totaled a team-best 15 points against Green Bay on Thursday. Against the Phoenix, Miller was 3-for-7 from beyond the arc and drained all four free throws to go along with three assists and one steal on the night. Miller then totaled a team-high 16 points and five rebounds in a double-overtime win over Milwaukee on Saturday.
Launa Hochstetler, Valparaiso
Jr. * G * Berlin, Ohio
Hochstetler began the week with 13 points and a career-high six steals against Detroit. The Ohio native was also 4-of-5 from the floor and 4-for-4 from the line against the Titans in just 24 minutes of action. On Saturday against Wright State, Hochstetler scored a team-high 17 points and total five assists.
Shey Peddy, Wright State
Fr. * G * Boston, Mass.
Peddy averaged 16.5 points per game in two games this past week. The freshman guard began the week with 18 points and six rebounds at Butler on Thursday. Peddy finished the week by scoring 15 points and pulling down four rebounds on Saturday against Valparaiso.
Velissa Vaughn, Youngstown State
Jr. * G * Clairton, Pa.
In her lone game of the week, Vaughn scored a career-high 28 points in an 82-66 loss at home against Cleveland State on Saturday. She connected on a career-best 11-of-20 shooting from the field, including four three-pointers. Vaughn also dished out four assists.
News From Around the League
Butler
The Bulldogs (17-9 overall, 7-8 Horizon League) split a pair of home games this past week. BU opened the week with a 65-60 loss against Wright State on Thursday, but rebounded with a 67-63 victory over Detroit on Saturday.
With the triumph over Detroit on Feb. 23, Butler secured its 17th win of the season, topping the 2006-07 team's total and giving head coach Beth Couture her largest single-season victory total in her six seasons with the Bulldogs. Couture's Butler teams have matched or increased its win totals every year she has been at the helm.
Junior forward Tara Miller has been in the mix for the NCAA Division I lead in assists-to-turnovers ratio all season long, reigning as the leader for 25 consecutive days at one point and ranking no lower than second since Jan. 14. Her current 3.25 assist to turnover ratio is ranked second in the country.
Butler's loss to Wright State on Thursday marked the first time this season that it had fallen to an opponent after leading at halftime. The Bulldogs led the Raiders, 33-28, at the break before dropping a 65-60 decision.
In its 17 victories this season, Butler has allowed opponents just 57.2 points per game at 38.0 percent shooting from the field. The nine losses, meanwhile, have the Bulldogs' foes have scoring 70.6 points on 51.7 percent shooting.
Butler heads to Ohio this week to faceoff against Youngstown State on Thursday and Cleveland State on Saturday.
Cleveland State
The Vikings (15-10 overall, 9-5 Horizon League) defeated Youngstown State 82-66 on the road in their only game of the week.
Junior guard Dominique Butler led the way as she scored a career and team-high 25 points. In addition, senior guard Brittany Korth totaled 15 points, five rebounds, seven assists, three steals and no turnovers against YSU.
Saturday's victory was CSU's 15th of the season, assuring the Vikings of their first winning season since 2000-01. The win also snapped a season-high three game losing streak.
The win on Saturday was CSU's ninth League triumph of the season, tying the school-record for loop victories in a season that was set by the 2003-04 squad.
Sophomore guard Kailey Klein has posted ten, 20-point games this season, including a 24-point effort on Saturday.
The Vikings return home this week and welcome Valparaiso on Thursday and Butler on Saturday.
Detroit
The Titans (4-21 overall, 1-13 Horizon League) came up short in a pair of road games this past week they fell to Valparaiso 75-65 on Thursday and 67-63 to Butler on Saturday.
Junior guard Sandi Brown poured in a career-high 27 points on Thursday as she had an 11-of-17 showing from the field to set a personal-best in made field goals. Brown also collected her third career double-double as she matched her career-best with 10 rebounds.
Sophomore Chanica Hall led all scorers with 20 points against Butler as she shot 8-of-16 from the field in 40 minutes of action. Freshman guard Gabi Hungerford also added 11 points, which included three baskets from long range.
Brown was close to tallying another double-double but came up one rebound shy as she grabbed a game-high nine boards and added a team second-best 10 points
This week, the Titans play their last two home games of the season as they welcome UIC on Thursday and Loyola on Sunday.
Green Bay
The Phoenix (22-4 overall, 14-1 Horizon League) won a pair of road games last week as they defeated UIC (83-78) on Thursday and Loyola (52-51) on Saturday to claim their 10th regular-season title.
Green Bay captured its 10th straight Horizon League title with its victories this past week, including the team's eighth outright title. The Phoenix also secured home court advantage for the Horizon League Championship to be held March 10-16.
Against UIC, senior guard Kayla Groh surpassed the 1,000-point plateau for her career with her game-high 24 points, which also matched her career-best effort set earlier this season. Also notching a career-high was freshman Kayla Tetschlag, who tallied 15 points while Rachel Porath and Erin Templin also scored in double figures with 15 and 11 points, respectively.
Green Bay has been beyond impressive at home since joining the Horizon League in the 1994-95 season. The Phoenix is a whopping 111-10 all-time against Horizon League foes in Green Bay for a .917 winning percentage. In just the last 10 seasons alone, Green Bay is 82-2 at home against league challengers, for an eye-popping .976 winning percentage. With its victory over Butler Feb. 16, the Phoenix has won 21 straight games versus the Horizon League in Titletown.
On Saturday against Loyola, Green Bay won its ninth straight game as Green Bay's Lavesa Glover converted on a layup with 5.1 seconds remaining to boost Green Bay to the victory.
This week, the Phoenix will host instate rival Milwaukee on Saturday.
Loyola
The Ramblers (6-19 overall, 4-10 Horizon League) went 0-2 this past week losing to Milwaukee (83-78) on Thursday and Green Bay (52-51) on Saturday.
Loyola had five players score in double figures in Thursday night's loss to Milwaukee, the first time LU had accomplished that since Dec. 23, 2004 at UIC.
Sophomore guard Maggie McCloskey nailed three treys in both of Loyola's games last week, giving her 73 made three-pointers this season. McCloskey's figure equals her total from last season and, with a minimum of five games remaining, puts her 14 threes shy of Mary Just's single-season school record.
Loyola's performance on Saturday against Green Bay was nearly good enough to snap LU's losing streak against the Phoenix, however the one-point loss extended the Ramblers' losing to 32 straight games, dating back to 1995.
Ten of Loyola's last 11 games have been decided by 10 points or less. The Ramblers are 4-6 in those games, including a pair of losses last week by six total points.
This week, Loyola heads to Wright State on Thursday and Detroit on Saturday.
Milwaukee
The Panthers (14-12 overall, 9-6 Horizon League) went 1-1 in a pair of road games this past week. On Thursday UWM got past Loyola 83-78, but lost in double-overtime against UIC on Saturday 70-69.
Against Loyola, Traci Edwards scored a school-record 45 points. It surpassed her own school standard of 42 set last season and is the second-highest point total in NCAA Division I this season (Kendra Appling, Tennessee State, 50 points).
Edwards is also the only player in school and League history with multiple 40-point games. She was 12-for-14 from the field, the second-best field goal percentage in school history and 20-of-22 from the free throw line. In addition, Edwards broke school and League records for free throws made in a game.
Edwards tied her own single-season school records with her 15th double-double of the season and 16th double-digit rebounding game of the year at UIC on Saturday as she tallied 20 points and 14 rebounds.
Milwaukee played its second double-overtime game this season at UIC. The Panthers lost for the first time in a double-overtime contest ever, owning a 3-1 record when playing multiple overtime games.
The Panthers return to action on Saturday as they face off against in-state foe Green Bay.
UIC
The Flames (9-16 overall, 5-9 Horizon League) went 1-1 last week as they fell 78-60 to Green Bay on Thursday but rebounded on Saturday to defeat Milwaukee 70-69 in double-overtime.
UIC's victory over Milwaukee marked the first time since the 1995-96 season that the Flames had swept the season series against the Panthers. Back on Jan. 23, UIC downed Milwaukee 62-59 on the road.
UIC had not played in an overtime game since the 2007 Horizon League Championship against Butler (March 9). In that game, UIC lost 88-83.
Sophomore guard Jessie Miller led the way for the Flames with 16 points on 7-of-14 shooting against Milwaukee.
Against Green Bay, the Flames struggled from the field in the first half as they connected on just 9-of-33 shots (27.3 percent). In the second half, UIC responded by going 15-of-31 from the field (48.4 percent), including 6-of-11 from three-point range (54.5 percent). Miller led the Flames against the Phoenix with a team-high 15 points.
UIC returns to action this week as it travels to Detroit on Thursday and Wright State on Saturday.
Valparaiso
The Crusaders (12-14 overall, 7-8 Horizon League) split a pair of League home games this past week as they defeated Detroit (75-65) on Thursday and lost to Wright State on Saturday (75-64).
Valpo's two home games this past week concluded its 2007-08 home slate.
Valpo went 24-of-26 (92.3 percent) from the free-throw line last week. This season, the Crusaders are second in the League from the charity stripe hitting at a 77.5 percent clip.
Against Detroit, Valparaiso forced the Titans into 24 turnovers and held the UDM to just 39.7 percent shooting from the field. Junior guard Agnieszka Kulaga led Valpo with 19 points on 4-of-9 shooting and was one of four players in double figures. Included in that mix was sophomore guard Kelly Peller, who posted a career-high 11 points.
Against Wright State, Valpo shot just 35.4 percent from the field, but at the free-throw line, the Crusaders hit at a 82.9 percent clip for the game, including 25-of-27 (92.6 percent) in the second half.
This week, the Crusaders head to Cleveland State on Thursday and Youngstown State on Saturday.
Wright State
The Raiders (12-13 overall, 9-5 Horizon League) won a pair of road games this past week as they defeated Butler (65-60) on Thursday and Valparaiso (75-64) on Saturday.
WSU has won three consecutive road League games for the first time since the 2004-05 season.
Against Butler, Wright State trailed by as many as 10 points in the first half and by five with 11:51 to play, but the Raiders outscored Butler 25-15 the rest of the way to pull out the win at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
Wright State shot 60 percent in the second half to finish at 57 percent overall while the Bulldogs had just six field goals in 22 attempts the final 20 minutes to end up at 38 percent. WSU also hit 13 of 18 free throws in the second half.
Freshman guard LaShawna Thomas led the Raiders with 20 points, tying her season high that she set at Cincinnati on December 11.
Against Valparaiso, WSU hit 14-of-20 shots and 8-of-11 from the foul line in the first half as it built a 15-point halftime lead, but had to hold off a late Valparaiso rally before defeating the Crusaders at the Athletic-Recreation Center Saturday afternoon.
The Raiders shot 48 percent in the second half to finish at 58 percent overall and made 14 of 22 at the line over the final 20 minutes to end up 22 of 33 for the game. WSU also held a 36-23 rebounding advantage, which resulted in an 11-2 edge in second-chance points.
The Raiders close out the home portion of their schedule this week by taking on Loyola on Thursday followed by UIC on Saturday.
Youngstown State
In the Penguins' (12-13 overall, 7-7 Horizon League) lone game of the week, YSU fell 82-66 to Cleveland State at home.
Junior guard Velissa Vaughn led the way the Penguins as she scored a game-high 28 points on 11-of-20 shooting.
As a team, YSU shot 41.7 percent from the field, but went just 8-of-24 (33.3 percent) from the three-point range for the game. In addition, YSU outrebounded CSU 33-31
Senior forward Jessica Schloemp extended her consecutive games streak to 98. Senior guard Lauren Branson collected five assists against the Vikings and ranks fifth on the YSU all-time assist chart with 454.
YSU has now matched its highest victory total in Tisha Hill's tenure with 12 in 2004-05.
The Penguins return to the court on Thursday at home against Butler. YSU concludes the week versus Valparaiso on Saturday at home.
