Women's Basketball 2006-07 Year In Review

April 11, 2007

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Horizon League News & Notes

- For only the second time in League history, UW-Green Bay advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a 59-52 victory over New Mexico. The Phoenix also pulled off the feat in 2003 when the team knocked off Washington in the opening round.

- UW-Green Bay set a League record for wins in a season with 29, including a 26-game winning streak that ran from Dec. 7 to Mar. 20. The stretch was ended with a 94-70 loss to No. 1 seed Connecticut in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. It was the longest winning streak in school history.

- Nine players eclipsed the 1,000-point mark in their careers in 2006-07. UW-Milwaukee sophomore Traci Edwards became the fastest player in school history to reach the milestone, posting her 1,000th point in just her 56th game in a Panther uniform.

- Loyola senior Jenna Real finished the campaign with the sixth-best field-goal percentage in the nation (.592). Edwards (.574 - 12th) and UWGB senior Nicole Soulis (.566 - 17th) also ranked in the top 20 in shooting.

- The Phoenix ranked among the nation's elite in several statistical categories, finishing the year as the only team ranked in the top 10 of all three shooting categories. UW-Green Bay posted the country's best free-throw mark (.801), while placing fifth in both field-goal shooting (.477) and three-point field goal shooting (.383).

- Led by senior Jackie Closser's 2.7 three-pointers per contest, Butler ended the season with the second-most three-pointers made per game (8.4) in Division I. Closser set a Horizon League Championship record with 14 treys in three tournament games. Her top performance from beyond the arc came in the championship game as she poured in seven three-pointers for a game-high 23 points. The team also set a standard with 35 buckets from long distance in the three games.

- Edwards wrapped up her sophomore year with a 20.5 points-per-game average, tops in the Horizon League and the 13th-best output in the country. Her top performance of the season came on Jan. 20 when she poured in a school-record 42 points.

- UIC and head coach Lisa Ryckbosch had a record-breaking afternoon against Loyola on Saturday, Feb. 17. Following a 72-63 win over the Ramblers at home, the 2006-07 squad broke the school record with its tenth consecutive victory. The streak began on Jan. 11 with a 77-64 victory over Butler at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The previous standard, set by the 1979-80 team, was nine straight wins that started in late December and was snapped by Western Michigan in the Illinois State Tournament on Jan. 31, 1980. UIC would add one more win to its streak, posting 11 straight victories before a setback against UW-Milwaukee on March 1.

- With its 16-0 mark in Horizon League play, UW-Green Bay was one of only eight NCAA Division I teams that went undefeated in their respective conferences. The Phoenix had gone unblemished in conference play just once before: a 12-0 mark as a member of the North Star Conference in 1991-92. In the Horizon League, only one team previous had done it since the association's inception as the Midwestern Collegiate Conference in 1986-87, as Notre Dame was 16-0 in 1989-90.

- UW-Green Bay head coach Kevin Borseth resigned his post on the Phoenix sideline on April 10 to accept the same position at the University of Michigan. In his nine seasons at the helm, Borseth guided the team to a 216-62 mark and seven NCAA Tournament appearances. He leaves with a League record 125 wins and a .906 winning percentage in loop play. For his 20-year NCAA coaching career, Borseth owns a 441-159 record, including a 225-97 mark in 11 seasons at Michigan Tech.

- Butler advanced to the championship game of the Horizon League Championship for the first time since 1998. It marked the second time in program history the team reached the final game, winning the title as a two seed in 1996.

- UWGB's Soulis became only the second player to win back-to-back Player of the Week honors this season. She was tabbed Preseason Player of the Year for the second-straight season and made the prediction come true by taking home the award at the completion of the season.

- With seven of the 10 All-League selections from last season graduating, the 2007-08 season should see a new set of stars emerge. Edwards (first-team), Butler's Lade Akande (second-team) and Detroit's Joyce Massey (second-team) are the three returning honorees.