Women's Basketball Weekly Release #12

Jan. 30, 2006

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Horizon League Player of the Week

Traci Edwards, UW-Milwaukee
Freshman Center * Menasha, Wis.
Edwards averaged 17 points and 16.5 rebounds per game last week, leading the Panthers to a 1-1 record. At Wright State Thursday, she scored 21 points and grabbed a school-record 22 rebounds. Edwards followed that up with a 13-point, 11-rebound showing vs. Cleveland State. For the week, she shot 52.4 percent (11-of-21) from the field and 75 percent (12-of-16) from the free-throw line.

Other Top Performances for the Week Ending January 29

Natalie Berglin, UW-Green Bay
Junior Guard * Green Bay, Wis.
In a near-flawless performance at the point, Berglin set a UW-Green Bay Division I record with 13 assists and only one turnover to lead the Phoenix to its 10th-straight win, 76-52 over Cleveland State, and a perfect 8-0 league record at the midway point of the season. Berglin scored a team-high 16 points and added three steals and two rebounds.

LaShonda Grant, UIC
Junior Guard * Chicago, Ill.
Grant scored in double figures UIC's three-game week and led the Flames in rebounds in two of the three games. On the week, she averaged 16 points, five rebounds and 2.7 assists. Her top point total came against Youngstown State on Saturday when she had 19 points.

Jackie Closser, Butler
Junior Guard * Alexandria, Ind.
Closser led the Bulldogs to a pair of wins last week, averaging 21.0 points per game while shooting 57 percent from behind the arc. Closser went off for a career-high 25 points Saturday against Wright State. She matched her personal-best with six three-pointers, finishing seven-of-12 from the field. Earlier in the week, Closser had 17 points in the team's win at IPFW.

Omega Harrington, Cleveland State
Senior Guard * Indianapolis, Ind.
Harrington scored a career-high 29 points on Thursday at UW-Green Bay. She matched the school record with seven three-pointers on 10 attempts inaddition to knocking down all four of her free-throw attempts in 38 minutes.

Ashlee Russo, Youngstown State
Senior Guard * Boardman, Ohio
Russo averaged 15.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, three assists and two steals for the Penguins last week. She put up 17 points, four assists and three steals on five-of-10 shooting against Loyola on Wednesday.

Lindsey Pasquinzo, Detroit
Senior Guard * Shelby Twp, Mich.
Pasquinzo averaged 12 points and 3.5 rebounds per contest in the Titans' 1-1 week. She scored a team-high 17 in Saturday's win over Loyola hitting five three-pointers on six-for-10 shooting while adding four rebounds, two assists and a steal in only 22 minutes of action.

Rhea Mays, Wright State
Senior Guard * Detroit, Mich.
Mays averaged 15 points, four rebounds and 5.3 assists in the Raiders' 2-1 week. She shot .563 (18-of-32) from the floor, including a career-high 26 points against UW-Milwaukee on Thursday. The five-foot-five guard also had a career-best 10 assists on Saturday at Butler and played all 120 minutes over the week.

Marquise Hanser, Loyola
Junior Guard * Ft. Mitchell, Ky.
Hanser continued her torrid scoring pace, averaging 22 points and five rebounds per game as the Ramblers split a pair of contests last week. Hanser opened the week by hitting for 19 points in Loyola's win over Youngstown State before cracking the 20-point barrier for the ninth time this season on Saturday against Detroit, pouring in 25 points on seven-of-15 from the field and nine-of-nine from the line.

Horizon League News and Notes
THIS WEEK IN THE HORIZON LEAGUE: This week in the Horizon League features seven League match-ups. To kick off the week, UW-Green Bay heads to the Super Bowl-city to take on Detroit Wednesday evening. On Thursday night, Butler travels to Youngstown State and Wright State makes the trip up to Cleveland to take on the Vikings. Saturday wraps up the week's action as four games take place: UIC makes the short journey to Loyola, Wright State plays at Youngstown State, Butler takes to the road against Cleveland State and UW-Milwaukee attempts to hand UW-Green Bay its first home-court loss of 2005-06.

A WEEK FOR LEAGUE-HIGHS: Last week's action saw several League-best individual performances. The League's high-point total was topped by Cleveland State's Omega Harrington with 29 points in Thursday night's loss to UW-Green Bay. The total wouldn't hold up long as UIC's Chrissy Dizon poured in 30 points in a victory over Youngstown State Saturday night. UW-Milwaukee's Traci Edwards grabbed a League-best 22 rebounds in Thursday's loss to Wright State, while UW-Green Bay's Natalie Berglin dished out a season-best 13 assists as the Phoenix hit 16 three-pointers in its victory over Cleveland State on Thursday night.

Around the Horizon League

Butler Bulldogs (10-9; 5-3)
LAST WEEK: The Bulldogs picked up a pair of victories last week. Butler made the trip to Fort Wayne to face IPFW on Wednesday night, picking up a 70-60 win. On Saturday, the Bulldogs returned to conference play and knocked off Wright State, 71-67.

ARC DE TRIUMPH: Butler has allowed its last three opponents a combined six three-pointers on 15-percent (six-of-40) shooting from behind the arc. In those three games, the Bulldogs are 25-of-61 (41 percent) from three-point range.

BOEKE STARTING TO SHINE: Senior Stephanie Boeke had career-highs of 11 rebounds and eight assists Wednesday at IPFW. She had no turnovers in 35 minutes of play.

FREEMAN STARTING TO FIND THE TOUCH: Sophomore Cassie Freeman has scored in double figures in three of the team's last four games. Those are the first three double-digit scoring performances of the season for the five-foot-10 forward. Freeman had 10 points to go along with five rebounds and a career-high seven assists Saturday against Wright State.

Cleveland State Vikings (3-16; 1-7)
LAST WEEK: Cleveland State dropped a pair of contests last week. On Thursday night, the Vikings took on UW-Green Bay at the Phoenix Sports Center and were handed a 76-52 loss. The Vikings finished the Wisconsin road swing on Saturday with a 61-46 loss at UW-Milwaukee.

MAKING THE FREE ONES: Cleveland State has hit a League-best 72.1 percent of its free-throw chances in League play. The Vikings have stepped up after hitting only 66.4 percent of their attempts in non-conference games.

377 AND COUNTING: Cleveland State heads into this week having made a three-point field goal in 377 consecutive contests the longest active run in the nation and the second-longest streak ever. Louisville (394 games) ranks first all-time in NCAA annals, although the Cardinals had their streak come to an end during the 2004-05 campaign. The last time the Vikings failed to drain at least one three-pointer in a game was in a 78-55 loss at Cincinnati on Dec. 17, 1992.

HARRINGTON GOES OFF: Senior Omega Harrington notched a career-high 29 points against UW-Green Bay Thursday night. Harrington tied three other Vikings for a school-record with seven three-pointers in the contest.

Detroit Titans (9-11; 6-3)
LAST WEEK: Detroit had its five-game winning streak snapped last week with a 75-52 loss to UIC in the first half of the Chicago road trip. On Saturday, the Titans wrapped up in the Windy City with a 78-57 victory over Loyola.

PASQUINZO MOVING UP THE CHARTS: Senior Lindsey Pasquinzo passed Mary Lillie (1978-82) for 14th all-time on the Titans career scoring list on Saturday. With 1,050 total points, she stands 131 points behind Mandy Chandler for 13th place.

1,000-POINT CLUB: With Lindsey Pasquinzo tallying her 1,000 point on Jan. 16, attention now shifts to senior Katie Solner's run for 1,000. With 15 points last week, Solner is now 54 points away from becoming 16th Titan all-time to reach that mark.

THREES, THREES AND MORE THREES: Detroit followed up a season-worst two three-pointer performance against UIC with a season-best 12 three-pointers against Loyola. Detroit paces the loop with 156 treys made on the year.

UIC Flames (9-11; 5-4)
LAST WEEK: UIC played three times last week, posting a 2-1 record. The Flames started the week with a 69-59 loss at Wright State. The team then returned home to down Detroit 75-52 on Thursday and wrapped up the week with a 74-64 victory over Youngstown State at the Pavilion.

DIZON LEADING THE WAY: Senior Chrissy Dizon is one of two Horizon League players to lead her team in scoring (13.1), rebounding (5.1) and assists per game (4.9). Dizon picked up a career-high 30 points versus Youngstown State on Saturday night. The total beat her previous best of 28 points she reached against Brown on November 26, 2003.

THE BEST IN THE LEAGUE: The Flames have found success on defense this season with top League-marks in assists per game (17) and opponents' three-point accuracy (.301). UIC also has the most steals per contest in the circuit with an average of 11.40 thefts.

Loyola Ramblers (3-17; 3-6)
LAST WEEK: Loyola split a pair of contests last week. On Thursday, the Ramblers picked up their third League win with a 75-65 home victory over Youngstown State. The club took on Detroit on Saturday and never found its groove as the Titans picked up a 78-57 win.

HANSER KEEPS ON SCORING: Junior Marquise Hanser's nine games of 20+ points are the most by a Loyola player in a single-season since Lora Wolf had nine during the 1997-98 season.

MENNELLA DIALS IN FROM LONG DISTANCE: Senior Mandy Mennella moved into fifth-place on Loyola's all-time three-point field goals list after hitting a pair in the win over Youngstown State. She now has 116 treys for her career.

STEPPING UP IN LEAGUE PLAY: Senior Danielle Lonie and junior Jenna Real have stepped up big time in League play this season. Lonie has improved from 7.6 points per game in non-conference play to a 14.1 per game average in conference, while Real has improved from 8.8 points and 4.9 rebounds per contest in non-League play to 13.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game against Horizon League competition.

UW-Green Bay Phoenix (15-3; 8-0)
LAST WEEK: UW-Green Bay tied a Horizon League-record with 16 three-pointers in a 76-52 victory over Cleveland State in its only game of the week. The Phoenix has now hit 16 treys in a game three different times in school history.

WINNING FOR MANY, MANY YEARS: In the Monday, Jan. 23 edition of USA Today, UW-Green Bay was recognized for having the third-longest streak of winning seasons in women's college basketball. Behind only Tennessee (34) and Louisiana Tech (31), the Phoenix have been over .500 for the past 28 seasons and, with a win this week, the Phoenix will secure its 29th-straight.

THEY JUST KEEP WINNING: UW-Green Bay's 10-game win streak is tied for fifth-longest in the country. It also is tied for eighth-longest in team history. Last year's 16-game win streak is the team's longest at the Division I level.

PHOENIX DOING IT ON BOTH OFFENSE AND DEFENSE: UW-Green Bay leads the Horizon League in scoring offense (71.5), scoring margin (+8.8) and field-goal percentage (.451). The Phoenix also holds the top marks in the League in scoring defense (62.7) and field-goal defense (.417).

UW-Milwaukee Panthers (11-8; 6-2)
LAST WEEK: UW-Milwaukee had its five-game winning streak snapped as the Panthers split their two contests. On Wednesday, Wright State edged UW-Milwaukee 69-67 at the Nutter Center. The Panthers got back on track at home on Saturday afternoon, handing Cleveland State a 61-46 loss.

HITTING THE BOARDS: Freshman Traci Edwards grabbed a school-record 22 rebounds in addition to 21 points at Wright State Thursday, breaking the mark of 21 boards reached three times. Each time a Panther has also topped 20 points, as well. The figure is second in League history for rebounds in a conference game. On the season, Edwards has helped the Panthers pick up a League-best 39.4 rebounds per game, while their opponents grab 34.1 per contest, the lowest total against any Horizon League team.

BOTHAM PICKS UP NUMBER 100: Head coach Sandy Botham picked up her 100th league victory Saturday vs. Cleveland State. She is just the second coach in league history with 100 Horizon League wins.

Wright State Raiders (8-12; 4-6)
LAST WEEK: Wright State battled back to go 2-1 last week. The Raiders started the week with a 69-59 victory over UIC on Monday. They then handed UW-Milwaukee its second League loss, 69-67, on Thursday before being downed by Butler, 71-67, at Hinkle Fieldhouse Saturday afternoon.

MAYS FINDS HER WAY TO THE BUCKET: Senior Rhea Mays has been consistent the last two months as she has averaged a team-best 13.5 points per game since the start of December after averaging 7.8 points over the first five games. Over those 15 games, she has scored in double figures all but twice. Mays set career-highs in points this week with 26 in a win over UW-Milwaukee on Thursday and in assists with 10 at Butler on Saturday.

A WEEK FOR CAREER-HIGHS: Three Raiders recorded career scoring highs last week as Rhea Mays had 26 in the win over UW-Milwaukee, while sophomore Whitney Lewis and sophomore Alicia Avery did it at Butler with 18 and 15 points, respectively.

Youngstown State Penguins (5-15; 1-8)
LAST WEEK: The Penguins dropped a pair of games in Chicago last week. Loyola welcomed YSU and posted a 75-65 victory on Thursday night. The Penguins then took on UIC at the Pavilion on Saturday evening and were topped 74-64.

STARTING TO SCORE: YSU has averaged 64.8 points per game over the last four contests, which is 8.8 points per game higher than their average prior to that stretch.

SCHLOEMP GETTING IT DONE: Sophomore Jessica Schloemp, who averaged 12 points and eight rebounds per game last week, recorded her third double-double of the year with 10 points and 10 rebounds against Loyola. Schloemp ranks sixth in the League with a .504 field goal percentage.

20+ FOR SENIOR: Senior Michelle Holmes recorded a career-high 21 points in YSU's 75-65 loss to Loyola. She shot six-of-10 from the field and nine-of-12 from the free-throw stripe.