Women's Basketball Release #5

Release Horizon League · December 17, 2008

Dec. 17, 2008

Women's Basketball Release in PDF Format

HORIZON LEAGUE HEADLINES

1. Three Horizon League teams hosted Big Ten opponents Wednesday night. Valparaiso headlined the night with a 71-60 win over No. 23 Purdue. Milwaukee lost to Illinois (63-61) and Green Bay was ousted by Wisconsin (59-47).

2. UIC is the lone undefeated team. The Flames are one of nine teams in the nation without a loss.

3. Valparaiso's Agnieszka Kulaga and Milwaukee's Traci Edwards are leading the Horizon League with 19.3 points per game.

THIS WEEK IN THE HORIZON LEAGUE

Monday, Dec. 15
Ohio State 68, Cleveland State 54

Tuesday, Dec. 16
Cincinnati 56, Wright State 41

Wednesday, Dec. 17
Youngstown State at Canisius -- 12 p.m.
Morehead State at Detroit -- 5 p.m. HLN

Thursday, Dec. 18
Cal Poly at UIC -- 8 p.m. HLN
Central Michigan at Loyola -- 8 p.m. HLN

Friday, Dec. 19
Cleveland State at Ohio -- 7 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 20
Detroit at Eastern Michigan -- 2 p.m.
Loyola at Notre Dame -- 2 p.m.
Akron at Youngstown State -- 2:05 p.m. HLNCentral Michigan at Milwaukee -- 3 p.m.
Green Bay at Marquette -- 3 p.m.
UIC at Northern Illinois -- 3 p.m.

Sunday, Dec. 21Dayton at Wright State -- 2 p.m. HLNNiagara at Cleveland State -- 3 p.m.
Valparaiso at South Dakota State -- 3 p.m.

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

BUTLER BULLDOGS (4-5)

Junior Melanie Thornton and senior Lade Akande form the Horizon League's top rebounding duo. Thornton leads the conference with 9.1 boards per outing, while Akande ranks seventh at 6.8.

Lade Akande is averaging 15.5 points and 10.3 rebounds during the last four games. She has also recorded 1.5 blocks per game over that span.

Butler's 86-81 double-overtime win at Miami (Ohio) on Saturday was the program's first 2OT win since Feb. 1, 1996 against UIC.

The Bulldogs average the least amount of turnovers per game (15.7) in the Horizon League. BU ranks second in the League in turnover margin (+2.8) and assist-to-turnover ratio (0.9).

CLEVELAND STATE VIKINGS (4-5)

Cleveland State did not compete last week due to final exams. The Vikings lost, 68-54, at Ohio State Monday (Dec. 15) evening.

Junior Kailey Klein scored a season-high 30 points in CSU's loss at Ohio State. Klein is third in the Horizon League with 18.9 points per game.

Cleveland State has played three ranked teams in its last 10 games, dating back to last year. CSU concluded last season in the NCAA Tournament at Stanford, opened this season on Nov. 14 at Arizona State and then played at Ohio State Monday night.

DETROIT TITANS (2-6)

Detroit played its fourth straight road contest on Sunday, losing 75-39 at Iowa State.

Senior Sandi Brown scored 10 points and had seven rebounds in the loss at Iowa State. Brown is tied for the team scoring lead with junior Brigid Mulroy at 10.6 points per game.

The Titans outrebounded the Cyclones, 44-42, in the road loss.

UDM will host Morehead State Dec. 17, as part of a men's-women's Detroit doubleheader. It will be the women's first home game in 22 days.

GREEN BAY PHOENIX (7-2)

Following a 7-0 start, Green Bay dropped two home contests last week. The Phoenix lost to Wisconsin, 59-47, Wednesday and to Illinois State, 60-49, Saturday. It marked the first time Green Bay has lost two straight games at the Kress Center.

Green Bay is the only Horizon League team with five players averaging more than seven points per game. Senior Lavesa Glover leads the Phoenix with 10.6 points per game, followed by sophomore Celeste Hoewisch (10.2) and seniors Rachel Porath (9.9), Katy Harty (9.8) and Erin Templin (7.2).

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

After playing six of its last seven games at home, Green Bay begins a five-game road swing beginning Dec. 20 at Marquette. The Phoenix won't return home until Jan. 15 against Detroit.

LOYOLA RAMBLERS (4-3)

Loyola did not compete last week and will return to action Thursday against Central Michigan. The Ramblers will have gone 11 days without playing a game, with their last contest a 68-64 loss to DePaul on Dec. 7.

The Ramblers 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 Maggie McCloskey is tied for fifth in the nation with 3.3 3-point field goals made per game. She knocked down six 3-pointers in LU's last two games to extend her streak with at least one trey to 57 games. She is tied for 32nd in the country in downtown shooting, connecting at a .451 rate (23-for-51).

MILWAUKEE PANTHERS (3-5)

Milwaukee has been down double-digits to a Big Ten team and made a late comeback. On Dec. 2 at Wisconsin, the Panthers trailed by 16 with 11 minutes left, and the game lasted two overtimes. On Dec. 10, UWM trailed Illinois by 20 and came back to tie the game before losing, 63-61.

Senior Traci Edwards has pulled into a tie for the Horizon League scoring lead. She is averaging 19.3 points per game along with Valparaiso's Agnieszka Kulaga.

Milwaukee is shooting 46.6 percent during its last five games, including 40.9 percent from 3-point range. The Panthers shot just 32 percent in their first three games.

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.

The Flames did not compete last week and have not played since a 54-45 win over Western Michigan on Dec. 6.

The Flames are leading the Horizon League in scoring defense (51.8) and rank second in scoring margin (+10.6). UIC has allowed more than 60 points just once (to Bradley on Nov. 22) and has won each of its games by at least nine points.

VALPARAISO CRUSADERS (4-3)

Valparaiso picked up its first win against a top 25 opponent with a 71-60 victory over No. 21 Purdue on Dec. 10. Valpo almost picked up a second signature win on Dec. 13, dropping a 63-55 contest to No. 8 Notre Dame.

Valpo's win over Purdue was the Crusaders' first over the Boilermakers in 11 tries.

Senior Launa Hochstetler has moved into ninth on Valparaiso's all-time assists list. She has 259 career helpers, and is the Horizon League's active career leader in that category.

l Valparaiso has played in front of more than 1,000 fans in each of its last six games. The Crusaders are currently second in the Horizon League with a 1,403 home attendance average.

WRIGHT STATE RAIDERS (3-6)

Wright State dropped a 65-61 contest at Ball State on Dec. 10. The Raiders led by seven with 5:38 remaining, but Ball State outscored WSU 17-6 the rest of the game.

Sophomore Shey Peddy scored 23 points against Ball State, marking the Raiders' highest individual performance this season.

Wright State has played seven of its first eight games on the road. The Raiders will begin a three-game homestand Tuesday against Cincinnati.

YOUNGSTOWN STATE PENGUINS (1-7)

Youngstown State will play Canisius for the first time since 1990 Wednesday in Buffalo, N.Y. It's just the fifth meeting between the two schools. YSU will play a much more familiar opponent in Akron (47th meeting) Saturday at home. The only school Youngstown State has played more is Cleveland State (48 times).

Senior Tiara Scott scored 10 points in YSU's 78-50 loss to Central Michigan on Dec. 14, marking her fifth double-figure performance in the last seven games. She leads the Penguins with 10.4 points per game.

Senior Nikita LaFleur posted her second double-double of the season in the Penguins' loss at Central Michigan. Her previous double-double was a 24-point, 17-rebound effort against Weber State on Nov. 28. LaFleur currently ranks second in the Horizon League in both rebounding (8.8) and field goal percentage (.574).

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Women's Basketball Release #5

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