Women's Basketball Release #4

Release Horizon League · December 9, 2008

Dec. 9, 2008

Women's Basketball Release in PDF Format

HORIZON LEAGUE HEADLINES

1. Three Horizon League teams will host Big Ten opponents this Wednesday. Valpo hosts Purdue, Milwaukee hosts Illinois and Green Bay hosts Wisconsin.

2. Green Bay and UIC remain undefeated, making the Horizon League one of just five conferences with two unbeaten teams (ACC, Big East, Big 12 and SEC).

3. Valparaiso's Agnieszka Kulaga is leading the Horizon League with 21.6 points per game. She is also first in field goal percentage (.585).

THIS WEEK IN THE HORIZON LEAGUE

Tuesday, Dec. 9
Butler at Indiana -- 7 p.m. (streamed on BigTenNetwork.com)

Wednesday, Dec. 10
Purdue at Valparaiso -- 7 p.m. (HLN)
Wright State at Ball State -- 7 p.m.
Illinois at Milwaukee -- 8 p.m. (HLN)
Wisconsin at Green Bay -- 8 p.m. (HLN)

Saturday, Dec. 13
Butler at Miami (Ohio) -- 2 p.m.
Notre Dame at Valparaiso -- 2:35 p.m. (HLN)
Illinois State at Green Bay -- 3 p.m. (HLN)

Sunday, Dec. 14
Detroit at Iowa State -- 3 p.m.
Youngstown State at Central Michigan -- 5 p.m.

HLN - Streamed live on Horizon League Network
NOTE: All times Eastern

BUTLER BULLDOGS (3-4)

Butler had two players average a double-double in its two wins last week. Senior Lade Akande averaged 15.5 points and 10.5 rebounds and junior Melanie Thornton averaged 15.0 points and 10.0 rebounds.

Melanie Thornton leads the Bulldogs with 95 points, 69 rebounds and 198 minutes played - all of which are already more than her entire season totals from last year (73 points, 47 rebounds, 148 minutes played).

Butler made 17 3-pointers in two games last week after making just 19 in its first five games. The improved shooting allowed BU to average 74.0 points per game, nearly 18 points more than the team's previous average (56.2).

The Bulldogs lead the Horizon League with a 1.1 assists-to-turnover ratio. BU is second in the conference with a +3.7 turnover margin (Green Bay, +5.1).

CLEVELAND STATE VIKINGS (4-4)

Cleveland State's 70-54 win at Akron on Dec. 3 marked the first time this season five Vikings have scored in double figures. Senior Dominique Butler led the way with 20 points, followed by juniors Stephaine Crosley (11), Kailey Klein and Jessica and Angel Roque (10 each).

Dominique Butler, the reigning Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year, had a career-high nine steals Saturday against Kent State. The total ranks third in single-game CSU history.

Cleveland State's victory at Akron was the Vikings' first road win of the season. CSU's loss to Kent State was also the team's first home loss.

DETROIT TITANS (2-5)

Senior Sandi Brown came off the bench to average 12.5 points and 6.5 rebounds in the Titans' two games last week. Her best effort was a 14-point performance at Albany last Monday. Brown added 11 points and nine rebounds at Bowling Green on Dec. 3.

Freshman Lauren Allen added 12 points and six rebounds at Albany.

Detroit will play its fourth straight game on the road Friday when it travels to Iowa State.

GREEN BAY PHOENIX (7-0)

Green Bay is off to a 7-0 start, which is the program's best start since becoming an NCAA Division I program in 1987. The Phoenix started 6-0 in 1994-95 and 2004-05.

Green Bay has four players - seniors Lavesa Glover (11.6), Rachel Porath (10.7) and Katy Harty (10.0) and sophomore Celeste Hoewisch (10.4) - averaging double figures. Green Bay is the only Horizon League team with four double-figure scorers.

Rachel Porath is 16 points shy of 1,000 for her career. She would become the 25th Phoenix player to reach the plateau.

Green Bay leads the Horizon League in seven statistical categories: scoring defense (50.4), scoring margin (+18.6), field goal percentage (.474), 3-point percentage (.389), 3-point defense (.227) and turnover margin (+5.1).

LOYOLA RAMBLERS (4-3)

Loyola held SIU-Edwardsville to 23 percent shooting in its 56-42 victory on Dec. 5. It was the best defensive performance for the Ramblers since limiting Chicago State to 19 percent shooting on Dec. 29, 1995.

Junior Elyse VanBogaert had 10 points and 10 rebounds in the first half of the win over SIU-Edwardsville, marking the second time this season VanBogaert has posted a double-double in the first half of a game. She also accomplished the feat against Western New Mexico on Nov. 29.

Junior Maggie McCloskey knocked down six 3-pointers in two games last week to extend her streak with at least one trey to 57 games. She is third in the Horizon League in downtown shooting, connecting at a .451 rate (23-for-51).

Loyola received 22 points, eight rebounds and six assists off the bench from the trio of Ellen Ayoub, Shannon Finnegan and Lisa Samplawski in the team's 68-64 loss to DePaul.

MILWAUKEE PANTHERS (3-4)

Senior Traci Edwards, the 2007-08 Horizon League Player of the Year, became Milwaukee's all-time leading scorer in UWM's double-overtime loss at Wisconsin last week. Edwards now has 1,886 points, passing Maria Viall's mark of 1,867.

Traci Edwards scored 30 points and 10 rebounds at Wisconsin, giving her eight career 30-point games. Sophomore Jineen Williams had 16 points and 11 boards, marking the first time UWM has had two double-doubles in the same game since March 9, 2007.

UWM's double-overtime affair at Wisconsin was the program's seventh since joining NCAA Division I in 1990. The Panthers are 3-4 in games that go 50 minutes, including a 1-1 mark last season.

UIC FLAMES (5-0)

At 5-0, UIC has tied its best start in school history. The Flames have started 5-0 twice before, in 1995-96 and 2001-02.

Freshman Jasmine Bailey had a career-high 16 points in UIC's 54-45 win over Western Michigan on Dec. 6. The newcomer leads the Flames in rebounding (7.2) and is third on the team in scoring (8.2).

Junior Jessie Miller totaled 11 points to move into eighth place on UIC's all-time scoring list. She has 755 career points.

The Flames are second in the Horizon League in scoring defense (51.8) and scoring margin (+10.6). UIC leads the conference in field goal percentage defense, limiting opponents to 31.3 percent shooting.

VALPARAISO CRUSADERS (3-2)

Valparaiso will host two top 25 teams this week, welcoming Purdue to the ARC Wednesday and Notre Dame Saturday. Purdue is No. 21 and Notre Dame is No. 8 in this week's AP poll.

Senior Launa Hochstetler had eight assists at North Texas last weekend, moving into 10th on Valpo's all-time assists chart. She has 253 career helpers.

Launa Hochstetler scored 19 points at North Texas, two shy of her career high. Additionally, she is 17-for-17 at the free throw line this season.

WRIGHT STATE RAIDERS (3-4)

Wright State just completed a stretch where it played seven games in 15 days. WSU went 3-4 during the period. The Raiders also played five games in eight days, posting a 2-3 mark.

Sophomore LaShawna Thomas has led the Raiders in scoring five times this season. She was WSU's top scorer twice in three games last week, totaling 11 in a loss to Miami (Ohio) and 15 in a setback to BYU.

Wright State is second in the Horizon League in rebounding margin (+2.7) and third in scoring defense (59.4).

YOUNGSTOWN STATE PENGUINS (1-6)

Youngstown State shot a season-best 49 percent in its loss to Bowling Green on Dec. 6. It was the first time YSU had shot better than 40 percent this season. The team's previous best was 38.3 percent in its 67-60 win over Weber State.

Senior Tiara Scott, who posted her seventh double-double with 16 points and 10 boards against St. Francis (Pa.) last week, is 22 points shy of 500 in her second season at YSU.

Youngstown State got increased production from its seniors last week, as Kelsey Gurganus scored 21 points in two games after totaling 16 in the season's first five games. Ashley Pendleton posted season highs with eight points and five rebounds against Bowling Green and Monique Godfrey appeared in her first game since suffering a knee injury in November 2007.

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Women's Basketball Release #4

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