UW-Green Bay's Soulis Heads Women's Basketball Preseason All-League Teams

Oct. 12, 2006

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INDIANAPOLIS -- A year ago the prediction held true as University of Wisconsin-Green Bay forward Nicole Soulis was named the 2005-06 Preseason Player of the Year and then took home the award at the end of the season. This season, the 6-foot-2 senior sits in the same position, according to a survey of League coaches, sports information directors and media members, as the Horizon League office announced its Preseason All-League Teams on Thursday (Oct. 12).

Soulis paced the loop's scoring chart with an 18.4 points-per-game average last season. She also placed second in blocks per game (1.47), third in field-goal percentage (.515) and fourth in rebounding (6.8). In her illustrious career, Soulis has totaled 1,372 points, the seventh-highest mark in the Phoenix annals and the 17th-best in League history.

Joining Soulis on the Preseason First-Team are the Butler University duo of senior Jackie Closser and sophomore Lade Akande, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee sophomore Traci Edwards and senior LaShonda Grant from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Closser, a First-Team honoree in 2005-06, takes to the court for her senior campaign after draining a school-record 84 three-pointers as a junior. Her rate of 3.0 treys per contest was the sixth-best in the country. Closser also led the League in assists per game (5.21) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.85), while scoring an average of 15.1 points per contest.

Fellow Bulldog Akande is coming off a season that saw her break the Butler freshman scoring record with 470 points. Her 16.2 points-per-game average was third-best in the League, while her 8.0 rebounds-per-game pace was second. Akande earned a spot on both the Second-Team All-League unit, the All-Newcomer Team and the All-Tournament Team last season.

UW-Milwaukee's run to the 2006 crown was led by the 6-foot-2 Edwards, who was named the Tournament MVP to go with her First-Team All-League and Newcomer of the Year accolades. It was a rookie year to remember for Edwards, as she led the League in rebounds per game (10.0), field-goal percentage (.599) and blocks per game (1.58). The Menasha, Wis., native turned in the circuit's only 20-point, 20-rebound game last season on Jan. 26 against Wright State.

UIC's Grant brings the Flames into 2006-07 after leading the squad to a runner-up finish in the 2006 League Championship. The senior guard averaged 15.1 points per game to go with her 3.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists per contest a season ago. She was honored with a spot on the Second-Team All-League last year and earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team for her performance in the League championship, which included a 30-point effort against UW-Green Bay in the Flames' 74-62 semifinal victory.

The Wisconsin schools also find their student-athletes on the Preseason Second-Team All-League with UW-Green Bay senior Natalie Berglin and UW-Milwaukee junior Meredith Onson making the squad. Rounding out the second quintet are sophomore Dominique Butler of Cleveland State University, senior Marquise Hanser of Loyola University Chicago and senior Brittney Whiteside of Wright State University.

A Second-Team selection after last season, Berglin found her name on the loop's leaderboard in assists per game (4.67, third) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.82, third) in 2005-06. Berglin and Soulis are just two of the five returning starters from last year's squad for the Phoenix. Onson, an All-Newcomer pick last season, returns to the point guard position for the Panthers. She led UWM in assists per game at 3.16 per contest in last winter.

After placing second in the League in scoring last year with a 17.2 points-per-game average, Loyola's Hanser will look to improve upon a touch which more than triple her average from her first two seasons (5.4 points per game). Butler, an All-Defensive Team and All-Newcomer selection last season, comes into 2006-07 after leading the League in steals per contest (2.86) last season. As a freshman, she paced Cleveland State in scoring during the conference schedule at 10.9 points per game.

Wright State's Whiteside completes the group of Preseason Second-Team choices a season after she was voted a First-Team All-League recipient and an All-Defensive Team member. The Columbus, Ohio, native finished fourth in steals per game (2.14), fifth in rebounds per game (6.5) and eighth in points per game (13.9). She has been voted a first-teamer after the last two seasons and to the All-Defensive squad in each of her first three seasons.

The 2006-07 season opens Nov. 10 with five teams in action, while the 72-game League schedule begins on Dec. 29. The 2007 Horizon League Championship gets underway Mar. 5 when the number-eight seed hosts the ninth seed. Quarterfinal action is slated for Mar. 7, with the higher seeds hosting at campus sites. The four semifinal teams will then travel to the home of the highest remaining seed for the semifinals (Mar. 9) and championship game (Mar. 11).

2006-07 Horizon League Women's Basketball Preseason All-League Teams

Preseason First-Team All-Horizon League -- 2005-06 Statistics
Nicole Soulis, UW-Green Bay (6-2, Sr., F) $ * -- 18.4 ppg., 6.8 rpg., 0.9 apg.
Lade Akande, Butler (6-1, So., C) ^ -- 16.2 ppg., 8.0 rpg., 1.1 apg.
Jackie Closser, Butler (5-5, Sr., G) * -- 15.1 ppg., 2.8 rpg., 5.2 apg.
Traci Edwards, UW-Milwaukee (6-2, So., C) * -- 16.1 ppg., 10.0 rpg., 2.6 apg.
LaShonda Grant, UIC (5-6, Sr., G) ^ -- 15.1 ppg., 3.0 rpg., 2.7 apg.


Preseason Second-Team All-Horizon League -- 2005-06 Statistics
Natalie Berglin, UW-Green Bay (5-7, Sr., G) ^ -- 14.3 ppg., 3.4 rpg., 4.7 apg.
Dominique Butler, Cleveland State (5-9, So., G) -- (10.4 ppg., 4.7 rpg., 1.0 apg.
Marquise Hanser, Loyola (5-9, Sr., G) ^ -- 17.2 ppg., 4.3 rpg., 3.1 apg.
Meredith Onson, UW-Milwaukee (5-11, Jr., G) -- 7.2 ppg., 3.6 rpg., 3.2 apg.
Brittney Whiteside, Wright State (5-8, Sr., G) * -- 13.9 ppg., 6.5 rpg., 3.0 apg.

$ - Preseason Player of the Year / * - First-Team All-League in 2005-06 / ^ - Second-Team All-League in 2005-06