UW-Green Bay Tops League's Preseason Women's Basketball Poll

Oct. 12, 2005

Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

INDIANAPOLIS -- In what is becoming an annual tradition, the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay has been picked to defend its Horizon League women's basketball crown in 2005-06, according to the results of the League's official preseason poll announced Wednesday (Oct. 12).

UW-Green Bay has won the last four League Championships and has won or shared the regular-season title in each of the last seven years. That run of success has placed coach Kevin Borseth's team at the top of the list, according to the survey of League coaches, sports information directors and media members. The Phoenix received 23 first-place votes from the 25 ballots cast, tallying 221 of a possible 225 points.

Wright State University was next in line according to the voters, with the Raiders collecting 178 points to finish just ahead of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, which received 167 points including the other two first-place nods. The University of Illinois at Chicago (148 points) and Butler University (134) finished fourth and fifth, respectively, with the University of Detroit Mercy (97) sixth. Youngstown State University (78), Cleveland State University (59) and Loyola University Chicago (35) rounded out the poll.

UW-Green Bay compiled a 15-1 League record during the 2004-05 regular season and captured the Horizon League's automatic NCAA Tournament berth by defeating Wright State, 58-48, in the final of the League Championship last spring. The Phoenix' 27-4 overall record marked the school's sixth consecutive 20-win season. Borseth brings back only one starter from the 2004-05 team, however, leaving open the possibility of seeing that streak come to an end.

That lone returner is junior forward Nicole Soulis, who was named the Preseason Player of the Year by the panel of coaches, SIDs and media representatives. Soulis averaged 12.4 points and 4.0 rebounds per game a year ago, finishing 11th on the final League scoring charts while shooting 51 percent from the field. The League's Newcomer of the Year in 2003-04, the six-foot-two Soulis was a Second-Team All-League choice after last season but is poised to play a greater role in the Phoenix plans this winter.

Wright State's 19-11 record included an 11-5 League mark and also a pair of wins in the League Championship as the Raiders came within one game of reaching the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history. UW-Milwaukee matched WSU's League record as part of its 14-14 overall ledger. The Panthers were upset by Detroit in the quarterfinals of the League Championship tournament.

Each of those schools is led by a Preseason First-Team All-League choice as UWM's Nichole Drummond begins her senior campaign while junior backliner Brittney Whiteside paces the Raiders. Drummond's 13.7 points-per-game average was fourth-best in the League last year, and the five-foot-ten forward also posted 5.7 rebounds per outing. She missed the last five games of the season due to injury as the Panthers ended the year on a three-game losing streak. Whiteside's pace of 12.5 points per game (ninth on the final League charts) was aided by 7.3 rebounds per contest (fourth in the League). The five-foot-eight guard also registered 56 steals and averaged 2.50 assists per game. Both players garnered First-Team All-Horizon League recognition last winter.

Joining that trio on the Preseason First-Team All-League honor roll are UIC junior Lashonda Grant and Detroit senior Lindsey Pasquinzo. Grant finished 2004-05 with Second-Team All-League accolades recognizing her 13.9 points per game which represented the third-best rate in the League. The five-foot-seven guard shot 37.5 percent from three-point range and also handed out 2.5 assists per contest in helping UIC to a 10-6 League ledger which also included an eight-game winning streak. Pasquinzo's 42.6 percent touch behind the three-point line was 16th in the nation last winter and was a large factor in her 13.4 points-per-game average for the Titans. The five-foot-11 guard also corraled 4.4 rebounds per contest.

The Preseason Second-Team All-League squad features Butler teammates Jackie Closser and Ellen Hamilton plus a trio of seniors in UW-MIlwaukee's Molly O'Brien, UIC's Chrissy Dizon and Erin Martin of Cleveland State.

O'Brien snared Second-Team All-League accolades last winter after posting averages of 9.4 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. The five-foot-11 senior finished fourth in the League off the glass and also posted a loop-best 2.93 steals per outing to earn a spot on the League's All-Defensive Team. Dizon's 5.11 assists per game was second-best in the League and supplemented a stat line which also featured 11.4 points and 4.1 rebounds per contest. The five-foot-six Dizon was second only to O'Brien with her 2.26 steals per game. Martin finished among the League's top 15 in scoring (eighth at 13.1 points per game), assists (seventh at 2.86 per appearance) and rebounds (13th at 5.0 per contest). The five-foot-nine senior became only the second player in school history to lead the Vikings in all three of those categories last season.

The combination of Closser and Hamilton gives Butler one of the most versatile backcourts in the League as the juniors joined forces to average 22 points and seven assists per game last season. Closser provided 10.8 points and 4.89 set-ups per night, with the latter number putting her fourth on the League charts. The five-foot-five Closser also connected on 41 percent of her attempts from three-point range to finish fourth in the League. Hamilton's 86.7 percent accuracy at the charity stripe led the loop chart a year ago and contributed to her 11.2 points-per-game scoring average, while the five-foot-ten junior also collected 2.5 rebounds per outing.

The 2005-06 season opens Nov. 11 when UW-Milwaukee visits the University of Oklahoma in the first round of the Preseason Women's NIT. Seven teams are in action on Nov. 18 to start non-conference action before the 72-game League schedule begins Dec. 29.

The 2006 Horizon League Championship begins Feb. 28 when the eighth seed hosts the ninth seed. Quarterfinals are set for March 2, with the top four seeds hosting seeds 5-8 to determine the setting for the remainder of the tournament. Should Youngstown State advance to the League's "Final Four," the semifinals and championship will take place at the Beeghly Center in Youngstown on March 5 and 6, respectively. If the Penguins are eliminated before the semifinals, the highest remaining seed will host the final two rounds of the League Championship.

2005-06 Horizon League Women's Basketball Preseason Poll

Team (first-place votes)Pts.RecordsPostseason results
1.UW-Green Bay (23)22127-415-1won League Championship, lost to Maryland in NCAA First Round
2.Wright State17819-1111-5lost to UW-Green Bay in League Championship final
3.UW-Milwaukee (2)16714-1411-5lost to Detroit in League Championship quarterfinal
4.UIC14814-1510-6lost to UW-Green Bay in League Championship semifinal
5.Butler13414-148-8lost to UIC in League Championship quarterfinal
6.Detroit979-205-11lost to Wright State in League Championship semifinal
7.Youngstown State7812-166-10lost to Wright State in League Championship quarterfinal
8.Cleveland State594-252-14lost to UW-Green Bay in League Championship quarterfinal
9.Loyola357-214-12lost to Cleveland State in League Championship First Round

Preseason First-Team All-Horizon League
PlayerTeamHt.Yr.PPGRPGAPGOther notes from 2004-05 season
FNicole Soulis- # &UW-Green Bay6-2Jr.12.44.00.5811th in League in scoring, .509 FG%
GNichole Drummond-*UW-Milwaukee5-10Sr.13.75.71.304th in scoring, 10th in rebounds
GBrittney Whiteside-*Wright State5-8Jr.12.57.32.509th in scoring, 4th in rebounds, 56 steals
GLaShonda Grant-#UIC5-7Jr.13.92.42.503rd in scoring, 8th in 3FG% (.375)
GLindsey PasquinzoDetroit5-11Sr.13.44.41.66Led League in 3FG% (.426), 7th in scoring

Preseason Second-Team All-Horizon League
PlayerTeamHt.Yr.PPGRPGAPGOther notes from 2004-05 season
FMolly O'Brien-#UW-Milwaukee5-11Sr.9.47.02.334th in rebounds, led League in steals (2.93)
GChrissy DizonUIC5-6Sr.11.44.15.112nd in assists, 2nd in steals (2.26)
GErin MartinCleveland State5-9Sr.13.15.02.867th in assists, 8th in scoring, 13th in rebs.
GJackie ClosserButler5-5Jr.10.84.14.894th in assists, 4th in 3FG% (.409)
GEllen HamiltonButler5-10Jr.11.22.52.1115th in scoring, led League in FT% (.867)

& - Preseason Player of the Year / * - First-Team All-League in 2004-05 / # - Second-Team All-League in 2004-05