Women's Basketball Weekly Release #13

Feb. 6, 2006

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Horizon League Player of the Week

Nichole Drummond, UW-Milwaukee
Senior Guard/Forward * Kenosha, Wis.
Drummond scored a team-high 16 points, including her 1,000th career point, in leading the Panthers to a 69-67 win at UW-Green Bay. She also tied a career-high with six assists in the Panthers' first win in Green Bay since Feb. 21, 1998.

Other Top Performances for the Week Ending February 5

Lade Akande, Butler
Freshman Forward/Center * Robinson, Ill.
Akande led the Bulldogs to a split in two League games this week with a pair of 20-point performances. Akande posted the fifth double-double of her young career with 21 points and 11 rebounds in the Bulldogs' 71-68 win at Cleveland State Saturday. Akande registered team-highs of 22 points and seven boards at Youngstown State Thursday to go along with three blocks and four steals.

Dominique Butler, Cleveland State
Freshman Guard * Milwaukee, Wis.
Butler led the Vikings last week, averaging 12 points, 4.5 rebounds and four steals in two games. On Saturday against Butler, she scored a career-high 20 points (all in the second half), going seven-of-nine in the final 20 minutes to help the Vikings nearly rally from a 15-point deficit. Two days earlier against Wright State, she tallied four points, four rebounds and five steals.

Chrissy Dizon, UIC
Senior Guard * Chicago, Ill.
Dizon helped guide UIC to a 1-0 week after pacing the Flames with 21 points versus Loyola on Saturday. Dizon's team-high point total was accompanied by eight assists and four steals. The guard shot 70 percent from the field and 50 percent from three-point land in against the Ramblers.

Kristy Gaudiose, Youngstown State
Junior Guard * Poland, Ohio
Gaudiose led the Penguins to a 1-1 record last week with a pair of 20-point performances. She averaged 22 points and four rebounds per game while shooting 60 percent from the floor, 53.3 percent from three-point range and 75 percent from the line.

Emily Ponder, Loyola
Junior Center * McKinney, Texas
Ponder had a career-best 16 points with eight boards and three assists in the Ramblers' only game of the week. The junior hit 12-of-14 free throws and played 39 minutes in the contest versus UIC.

Katie Solner, Detroit
Senior Guard * Birmingham, Mich.
Solner led the Titans with 15 points in a loss against UW-Green Bay, the team's only action of the week. She was the top shooter for the team in the game, going six-of-11 from the floor. She also added a three-pointer, two rebounds, two assists and a steal.

Nicole Soulis, UW-Green Bay
Junior Forward * Green Bay, Wis.
Soulis averaged 25.5 points per game last week for the Phoenix. She posted a career-high 28 points in Wednesday's win at Detroit and followed up with 23 points against UWM on Saturday. Her 18.0 points-per-game average for the season is the highest by a Phoenix player since Chari Nordgaard averaged 22.5 points per game during the 1998-99 campaign.

Brittney Whiteside, Wright State
Junior Guard * Columbus, Ohio
Whiteside nearly recorded a triple-double with 17 points, a season-high 12 rebounds and a career-best nine assists at Cleveland State. She then tied a career-high with 26 points at Youngstown State as she went nine-of-16 from the field and eight-of-18 from the line. The junior added eight rebounds and four steals against the Penguins.

Horizon League News and Notes

THIS WEEK IN THE HORIZON LEAGUE: This week in the Horizon League features eight League match-ups and two non-conference contests. To kick off the week, Butler heads to the Super Bowl-city to take on Detroit Monday evening. Tuesday night's slate contains two non-League games with Wright State taking to the road against Big Ten foe Ohio State and UW-Green Bay going to North Dakota State. Three more games are scheduled for Thursday with Loyola playing at UW-Milwaukee, Wright State hosting Detroit and UIC going to the Wolstein Center to take on the Vikings of Cleveland State. Saturday wraps up the week's action as four games take place: Detroit welcomes Cleveland State, UW-Milwaukee looks to continue its success on the road in conference play at Butler, UIC stays in Ohio to play Youngstown State and Loyola takes the court against first-place UW-Green Bay.

THESE ARE SOME FRESHMEN: Butler's Lade Akande and UW-Milwaukee's Traci Edwards have taken the League by storm in their inaugural season in the Horizon League. Overall, Akande places second in the circuit in rebounding (8.0) and blocks (1.52) while ranking fourth in scoring (14.9). Edwards tops the loop in rebounding (10.3), field-goal shooting (.593) and blocked shots (1.55), while ranking third in scoring (15.9). In conference action, the freshmen have stepped up their play. Akande is third in scoring (17.9) and rebounding (8.5). Edwards paces the pack in rebounding (13.0) and ranks fourth in scoring (17.0).

LEADERS AT A GLANCE:
Points per game - Marquise Hanser, Loyola - 18.1
Rebounds per game - Traci Edwards, UWM - 10.3
Assists per game - Jackie Closser, Butler - 5.45
Steals per game - Rhea Mays, Wright State - 2.77
Blocks per game - Traci Edwards, UWM - 1.55

Butler Bulldogs (11-10; 6-4)
LAST WEEK: The Bulldogs split a pair of contests last week. In Thursday's game against Youngstown State, Butler was outrebounded 51-26 in a 71-63 loss. The Bulldogs fought back to even their week with a 71-68 road victory over Cleveland State.

ARC DE TRIUMPH: Butler is shooting a League-best 38.9 percent from beyond the three-point line this season. The Bulldogs were ranked fifth in the country through Jan. 30 with 7.9 three-point field goals per game. Juniors Jackie Closser (59-of-152) and Ellen Hamilton (56-of-117) lead Butler's three-point attack.

DOES SHE EVER GET TIRED: Junior Jackie Closser has played all 40 minutes in the Bulldogs' last three contests. She's gone the distance in six games for the Bulldogs this season, while playing 44 of a possible 45 minutes in each of Butler's overtime wins this season.

MORE ON CLOSSER: Junior Jackie Closser is just six three-pointers shy of tying Butler's career mark of 167, set by Debbie Benziger (1995-98). Closser is also just eight treys shy of matching her own single-season three-pointers mark (67 set last season).

Cleveland State Vikings (3-18; 1-9)
LAST WEEK: Cleveland State dropped a pair of contests last week. On Thursday night, the Vikings took on Wright State and lost 65-52 despite a double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds from Erin Martin. CSU then gave third-place Butler a run, but came up on the losing end of a 71-68 decision.

379 AND COUNTING: Cleveland State heads into this week having made a three-point field goal in 379 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.

MARTIN LOOKING FOR 1,000: With six points on Saturday against Butler, senior guard Erin Martin moved to within 23 points of becoming the 19th player in school history to reach 1,000 career points. She already ranks among the top-10 in Cleveland State annals in steals (8th with 189), three-point field goals (8th at 106), free throws made (9th with 241) and games started (9th at 80).

Detroit Titans (9-12; 6-4)
LAST WEEK: Detroit was pinned with a 73-63 loss to UW-Green Bay on Wednesday in its only action of the week. The Titans shot only 30.4 percent (7-of-23) from beyond the arc.

PASQUINZO MOVING UP THE CHARTS: With 179 career three-point field goals, senior Lindsey Pasquinzo is now fourth on the Titan list. Next up is Patrice Martin (1989-93) with 188. Michelle James (1998-02) is the career leader with 217 and Autumn Rademacher (1993-97) is second with 201.

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 39 points away from becoming 16th Titan all-time to reach that mark.

SCORING FROM EVERYWHERE: Detroit's offense is spreading the points around with only one player (Lindsey Pasquinzo) averaging in double figures. The Titans have six players averaging over eight points per contest this season.

UIC Flames (10-11; 6-4)
LAST WEEK: Coming off of a three-game week, the Flames made up for it with just one contest last week. UIC made the short trip to intra-city rival Loyola on Saturday and returned home with a 79-66 victory on Saturday.

DIZON LEADING THE WAY: Senior Chrissy Dizon is one of two Horizon League players (along with WSU's Brittney Whiteside) to lead her team in scoring (13.5), rebounding (5.1) and assists per game (5.0).

THE BEST IN THE LEAGUE: The Flames have found success on defense this season with League-best marks in assists per game (17.1) and opponents' three-point accuracy (.298). UIC also has the most steals per contest in the circuit with an average of 11.57 thefts.

A PERFECT GAME FOR RINALDI: Beating her previous best 13 points, sophomore Nicole Rinaldi picked up a career-high 16 points on a flawless eight-of-eight shooting from the floor versus the Ramblers.

Loyola Ramblers (3-18; 3-7)
LAST WEEK: Loyola dropped its only game last week. The Ramblers hosted UIC and were never able to overcome a 15-point first-half deficit in a 79-66 loss.

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. Hanser continues to pace the Horizon League in scoring (18.1), but UWGB's Nicole Soulis is just 0.1 point off the pace.

STEPPING UP IN LEAGUE PLAY: Senior Danielle Lonie and junior Jenna Real have stepped up 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 13.9 points and 6.7 rebounds per game against Horizon League competition.

UW-Green Bay Phoenix (16-4; 9-1)
LAST WEEK: UW-Green Bay had its 11-game winning streak snapped Saturday as UW-Milwaukee posted a 69-67 victory at the Phoenix Sports Center. In UWGB's other contest, the Phoenix knocked off Detroit 73-63 in another game that went down to the wire.

IT WAS A GOOD RUN: UW-Green Bay's 11-game win streak was the fourth-longest in the country. The Phoenix outscored its opponents 841-634 over the stretch, averaging a victory margin of nearly 20 points per contest (76.5 - 57.6).

PHOENIX DOING IT ON BOTH OFFENSE AND DEFENSE: UW-Green Bay leads the Horizon League in scoring offense (71.3), scoring margin (+8.3) and field-goal percentage (.451). The Phoenix also holds the top marks in the League in scoring defense (63.0) and field-goal defense (.420).

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.

UW-Milwaukee Panthers (12-8; 7-2)
LAST WEEK: UW-Milwaukee tightened up the League standings by knocking off first-place UW-Green Bay 69-67 at the Phoenix Sports Center. It was the first victory for the Panthers in Green Bay since Feb. 21, 1998.

DOUBLING UP IS THE AVERAGE: Freshman Traci Edwards posted her third-straight double-double Saturday and now has 11 such performances for the season. She remains on pace to be the fourth Panther, and first freshman, to average a double-double for the season.

DRUMMOND PICKS UP NUMBER 1,000: Senior Nichole Drummond became the 14th player in school history to score 1,000 points with a lay-up midway through the first half Saturday. She is also the sixth Panther to accomplish the feat in UWM's Division I era.

GRABBING THE BOARDS: The Panthers have found success rebounding this season with a League-best 39.2 rebounds per contest and a rebounding margin of +5.5. Traci Edwards has made a huge impact collecting an average of 10.3 boards per game.

Wright State Raiders (10-12; 6-6)
LAST WEEK: Wright State evened its League record at 6-6 with a pair of road wins against in-state competition. On Thursday, the Raiders handed Cleveland State a 65-52 loss. Wright State then traveled to Youngstown State and downed the Penguins 67-60.

WHITESIDE EYES 1,000: Junior Brittney Whiteside is just seven points shy of becoming the 14th Raider to reach the 1,000-point plateau after tallying 43 points in two games last week. The Columbus, Ohio, native will look to accomplish the feat Tuesday in her hometown against the Ohio State Buckeyes.

SOCCER PLAYER HELPS RAIDERS: Whiteside wasn't the only Raider to record a career-best over the weekend as Steph Comisar did so in scoring 18 points at Cleveland State. Comisar, who has been the starting goalkeeper for the WSU women's soccer team the past three seasons, has thrived in the starting lineup on the hardwood. Since starting the last six games, Comisar is averaging 9.8 points per contest after averaging just 2.3 points in 16 games coming off the bench.

Youngstown State Penguins (6-16; 2-9)
LAST WEEK: Youngstown State drew a split in two contests last week. The Penguins started off the week with a 71-63 win over Butler on Thursday before being downed by Wright State 67-60 on Saturday afternoon.

FROM BEYOND THE ARC: Junior Kristy Gaudiose continues to climb the YSU all-time three-point chart. She ranks 10th with 90 career three-pointers and needs ten more to become the tenth player in school history to reach 100, while 12 more would put her in ninth place. With her 46 treys this season, she has eclipsed her two-year total (44) heading into the 2005-06 season.

SCHLOEMP GETTING IT DONE: Sophomore Jessica Schloemp posted two straight double-digit rebound games and averaged 15.5 boards per game last week. Over the last six games, Schloemp has grabbed 74 rebounds for an average of 12.3 boards per game.

PICKING UP THE PACE: Over the last six games, Youngstown State is averaging 65 points per game while shooting 44.2 percent from the floor and 34.9 percent from three-point range. During the first 16 games, YSU averaged just 56 points per game and shot 35.9 percent from the floor.