Women's Basketball NCAA and WNIT Preview

March 14, 2006

Complete Release in PDF Format

Women's NIT -- First Round -- Thursday, Mar. 16
Ames, Iowa -- 8 p.m. ET (Hilton Coliseum)
UW-Green Bay at Iowa State

THE SERIES: UW-Green Bay and Iowa State will meet one another for the first time ever on Thursday evening in Ames, Iowa.

UWGB hasn't faced a Big 12 opponent since Dec. 12, 2002, when the Phoenix was ousted at home 80-75 by Kansas State.

THE TEAMS: UW-Green Bay finished its 29th consecutive regular season with a winning record (23-6, 14-2 Horizon League), a streak only topped by Tennessee (34) and Louisiana Tech (31). The Phoenix were regular season co-champions, but were knocked off in the semifinals of the Horizon League Championship. It was the first year since 1995 that UWGB did not play in the final game of the Horizon League Tournament.

The Cyclones went a 17-12 during the campaign and 7-9 in conference play (tied for eighth). Iowa State lost to #7 Oklahoma, the eventual tournament champion, in the quarterfinal round of the Big 12 Championship.

KEY PLAYERS:
UW-Green Bay
Nicole Soulis - F (18.7 ppg. | .525 FG | 6.9 rpg.)
Natalie Berglin - G (14.2 ppg. | 4.66 apg. | 3.4 rpg.)
Amanda Popp - F (10.7 ppg. | 3.9 rpg. | .455 3PT)
Rachel Porath - G (5.8 ppg. | 3.9 rpg. | 2.52 apg.)

Iowa State
Lyndsey Medders - G (17.8 ppg. | 7.77 apg. | 3.6 rpg.)
Brittany Wilkins - F/C (15.7 ppg. | 8.7 rpg. | 3.87 apg. | 1.49 bpg.)
Heather Ezell - G (10.3 ppg. | 3.38 apg. | 3.6 rpg.)
Megan Ronhovde - G/F (9.1 ppg. | 7.4 rpg. | 2.83 apg.)

UWGB POST-SEASON HISTORY: UW-Green Bay enters post-season play for the ninth-consecutive year and the 11th overall in its Division I history. The Phoenix went to the NCAA Tournament in 1994, 1998-2000 and 2002-2005 and took part in the WNIT in 2001.

NCAA Tournament -- First Round -- Saturday, Mar. 18
Rosemont, Ill. -- 12 p.m. ET (Allstate Arena) -- ESPN2
(#13 seed) UW-Milwaukee vs. (#4 seed) Michigan State

THE SERIES: UW-Milwaukee and Michigan State met for the only time on Dec. 12, 1992, in Milwaukee, Wis. The Spartans came away from the Klotsche Center with a 61-48 victory over the Panthers in that contest.

UWM squared off against three Big Ten foes during the regular season, going 1-2. The lone victory came against Northwestern (Jan. 18), while the team suffered losses against Iowa (Nov. 20) and Wisconsin (Dec. 14). MSU faced one Horizon League opponent during the season, downing Detroit 77-52 on Dec. 7.

THE TEAMS: UW-Milwaukee finished the season on a high note as the Panthers captured the 2006 Horizon League Championship. UWM went 22-8 during the regular season with a 14-2 record in conference, good for a share of the regular season championship.

The Spartans posted a 22-9 standard during the season and a 11-5 mark in conference play (tied for third). Michigan State ran into #2 Ohio State, the eventual tournament champion, in the semifinal round of the Big Ten Championship.

KEY PLAYERS:
UW-Milwaukee
Traci Edwards - C (16.2 ppg. | .595 FG | 10.1 rpg. | 1.6 bpg.)
Nichole Drummond - G/F (12.3 ppg. | 4.0 rpg.)
Molly O'Brien - F (10.0 ppg. | 6.1 rpg. | 3.0 apg.)
Meredith Onson - G (7.4 ppg. | 3.0 rpg. | 3.1 apg.)

Michigan State

Liz Shimek - F (17.8 ppg. | .547 FG | 8.3 rpg.)
Lindsay Bowen - G (12.6 ppg. | 3.7 rpg. | 3.87 apg. | .918 FT)
Victoria Lucas-Perry - G (10.1 ppg. | 4.6 rpg.)
Rene Haynes - G (9.0 ppg. | 4.1 rpg. | 3.52 apg. | 2.13 spg.)

UWM POST-SEASON HISTORY: UW-Milwaukee has been part of the postseason one time since moving to Division I. In 2001 the Panthers won the Horizon League Championship to earn the League's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.