Women's Basketball Weekly Release #7

Dec. 18, 2006

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Player of the Week

Krystal Hugelier, UIC
Senior * Guard * Elmhurst, Ill.
Hugelier averaged 17 points per game in two games for the Flames last week. She shot 57.9 percent from the field (11-of-19) and 66.7 percent (eight-of-12) from the three-point land, while adding five assists in the 1-1 week. The senior posted a season- and team-best 24 points against No. 17 DePaul. Hugelier shot 75 percent (six-of-nine) from three-point land and 63.6 percent from the field (seven-of-11). The guard also made four-of-four from the free throw line to improve her overall percentage to .833 on the season.

Other Top Performances from the Week Ending Dec. 17

Steph Comisar, Wright State
Senior * Guard * West Chester, Ohio
Comisar set or tied career-highs in points (21), field goals made (seven), three-pointers made (five), rebounds (five) and steals (three) with her effort in a 55-49 loss to Wake Forest. In her last two games, Comisar is averaging 20 points to go along with four rebounds and three steals.

Kati Harty, UW-Green Bay
Sophomore * Guard * Ashwaubenon, Wis.
Harty kicked her offensive output into gear in a pair of Phoenix victories. Against Wisconsin on Wednesday, Harty set a season-high with nine points, all in the first half, in UW-Green Bay's win over the Badgers. Her offensive output also included seven straight points during a key 9-0 first-half run. Then, against Chicago State, the sophomore guard re-set her season-high to 12 points thanks to four-of-six shooting. Harty averaged 10.5 ppg for the week as a reserve, shot six-of-nine from the field and was a perfect eight-of-eight from the free throw line.

Anjalia Lyons, Youngstown State
Freshman * Center * Maple Heights, Ohio
For the second straight game, Lyons posted a career scoring high with 20 points in YSU's 66-58 loss to Akron on Saturday. Lyons connected on 6-of-10 from the field and 8-of-13 from the free throw line. Over the last two games, Lyons is averaging 15.5 points per game while shooting 66.7 percent from the field.

Emily Markert, UW-Milwaukee
Sophomore * Guard * Brookfield, Wis.
Markert tied for team-high scoring honors is UWM's only game last week, notching 10 points and grabbing four boards off the bench versus Chicago State. She added a steal in leading the team in scoring for the second time this season.

Joyce Massey, Detroit
Junior * Forward * Detroit, Mich.
Massey delivered her fourth 20-point effort of the season with 22 points against No. 17 DePaul on Friday evening. She shot eight-of-18 from the field and chipped in nine rebounds in the outing. On the season, Massey places third in the League with 16.2 points per game.

Horizon League Notes

UW-Green Bay (7-3; 0-0 HL)
The Phoenix pushed its winning streak to four games with victories over Wisconsin (70-66) and Chicago State (68-48) last week.

UW-Green Bay became the first team in 2006-07 to capture three wins over the Big Ten conference (the top-ranked conference in the RPI). It also marks the first time in school history the Phoenix have gone 3-0 against the Big Ten.

The team jumped out to a 42-26 advantage after shooting .552 from the field in the first stanza against UW. The Badgers battled back after halftime, but it was not enough as the Phoenix drained 19 second-half free throws to solidify the victory. Seniors Nicole Soulis (17 points), Natalie Berglin (14) and Amanda Popp (12) were joined by junior Kayla Groh (11) as the double-digit scorers in the contest. UWGB had a season-best 16 steals in the contest with five players notching multiple thefts.

An all-around effort earned the Phoenix its second win of the week as 10 different players played at least 18 minutes against Chicago State. With the balanced attack, UW-Green Bay shot .510 for the game and had seven players score five or more points. Sophomore Erin Templin had a game-high nine rebounds.

As a team, the Phoenix leads the conference in scoring offense (72.9), scoring defense (63.1), scoring margin (+9.8), field-goal percentage (.457), three-point field-goal percentage (.363) and assists (16.30). Individually, Soulis paces all League players in scoring (17.0) and ties for the lead in free-throw percentage with Groh at 80.6 percent. Berglin leads everyone in assists per game (5.00) and assist-to-turnover ratio (3.33).

RealTimeRPI.com has shown the Phoenix some credit with their tough early-season schedule. UWGB ranks 12th in the latest RPI release and are fifth in strength of schedule with only Tennessee, Stanford, George Washington and Purdue having tougher schedules to date.

UW-Green Bay wraps up its pre-conference schedule with Illinois State on Friday evening at the Phoenix Sports Center,. The team then then takes a six-day break for the holidays before kicking off League-play at home against UIC.

UIC (5-6; 0-0 HL)
UIC split a pair of games last week, posting a 83-69 victory over Bradley on Friday before dropping a 74-65 decision to No. 17 DePaul on Sunday.

The Flames notched 21 assists in the contest with four different players handing out four helpers. Freshman Cassie Johnson led the scoring attack with 14 points, while seniors Jacquay Holmes (13), Jackie Parker (12), LaShonda Grant (12) and Krystal Hugelier (10) also reached double digits. The team shot 54.7 percent (35-of-64) for the game, thanks to a torrid 65.6 percent (21-of-32) shooting in the second half.

Hugelier had a big hand in keeping UIC close in Sunday's loss to the 17th-ranked Blue Demons. She went seven-of-11 from the field and six-of-eight from beyond the arc in scoring a game-high 24 points. Despite the senior's season-best outing, UIC was unable to win the rebounding battle with DePaul picking up 60 rebounds to the Flames' 34.

UIC did force the Blue Demons into 25 turnovers with 15 coming off of steals. The Flames lead the loop in team steals with 11.09 takeaways per game. Grant has had a big hand, pacing the circuit with 2.09 thefts per outing.

Grant has also had a hand in the team's scoring, which is second in the conference with an average of 65.4 points per game. She leads a trio of UIC players in the top ten in scoring, placing sixth with a 12.3 points-per-contest average, while fellow seniors Hugelier (12.2) and Holmes (11.6) rank seventh and eighth, respectively.

Northern Illinois visits the UIC Pavilion on Wednesday for the team's only game before conference play begins.

UW-Milwaukee (4-8; 0-0 HL)
The Panthers fell 54-45 at home against Chicago State in the team's only game last week.

UW-Milwaukee's offense was led by senior Aubrey Hampton and sophomore Emily Markert with 10 points apiece. Sophomore Turquoise McCain grabbed a career-best nine rebounds in the setback. Shooting just 35.3 percent (18-of-51) as a team, UWM couldn't find the scoring touch against the Cougars. The team also lost the turnover battle, giving up 23 compared to 18 by Chicago State.

Sophomore Traci Edwards, who did not play due to coach's decision against the Cougars, paces the League in rebounding (8.6), while placing second in scoring (16.4), field-goal percentage (.586) and blocked shots (1.18).

This week the Panthers travel to Philadelphia, Pa., on Saturday to take on the LaSalle Explorers.

Butler (2-7; 0-0 HL)
Butler was idle last week, but has a busy road week ahead. The Bulldogs make the trip to Louisville to take on the No. 16/14 Cardinals on Monday. The team then ventures further south for a Wednesday matchup at Tennessee State.

Cleveland State (2-10; 0-0 HL)
The Vikings traveled to Charlottesville, Va. for the team's only contest last week - a 100-60 loss to Virginia.

Senior Nicole Thomas tallied her third double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds in the loss. On the season, she ranks third in the League with 7.1 rebounds per game.

With five triples in the setback, the Vikings extended their NCAA record for consecutive games with a three-point field goal to 398. The last time that CSU failed to drain at least one three-pointer in a game was a 78-55 loss at Cincinnati on Dec. 17, 1992.

The Vikings wrap up the non-League portion of their schedule with IUPUI on Tuesday evening before taking a nine-day break for the holidays.

Loyola (1-7; 0-0 HL)
Loyola was idle last week, but returns to action this week as team travels to San Juan, Puerto Rico, for the San Juan Shootout on Tuesday.

The last time the Ramblers played they got into the win column with a 73-69 decision at Dayton on Dec. 6.

Youngstown State (1-7; 0-0 HL)
The Penguins dropped a 66-58 decision to Akron in their only game last week.

YSU was led by freshman Anjalia Lyons' career-high 20 points on six-of-10 shooting. She also grabbed five rebounds in the contest.

The loss extends Youngstown State's current losing streak to five games, its longest since the 2003-04 season.

Junior transfer Heather Karner has been a bright spot for the Penguins this season, leading the team in scoring at 14.9 points per contest. Ranking fourth in the League in scoring, Karner leads all conference players in three-point field-goals made at 2.38 per game.

YSU takes to the floor twice this week with Robert Morris visiting the Beeghly Center on Monday and Clarion making the trip on Thursday.

Wright State (1-8; 0-0 HL)
WSU dropped a 55-49 decision to ACC-member Wake Forest on Thursday last week in the Raiders' only game of the week.

Senior Steph Comisar had her second-straight big game with 21 points, five rebounds and three steals in the contest. Also pitching in a strong effort was junior Sierra Crayton, who found double figures for the fourth-straight game. The Raiders were out-rebounded 40-23, but held the game close by forcing the Demon Deacons into 30 turnovers. Five different WSU players had multiple steals, with junior Danielle Duncan and senior Brittney Whiteside each picking up four.

The Raiders have almost recovered from the injury bug that bit them early in the 2006-07 season as Brittney Whiteside returned against Wake Forest after missing four games due to an ankle sprain. Whitney Lewis, who has missed the last four games due to a stress fracture in her foot, looks to return at the start of Horizon League play.

Wright State takes to the road to face Marshall on Tuesday of this week before welcoming crosstown-rival Dayton to the Nutter Center for the team's final game before the holidays.

Detroit (1-8; 0-0 HL)
Detroit lost its third game to a top-25 opponent with a 81-57 setback against No. 17 DePaul last Friday.

Junior transfer Joyce Massey led the Titan offense with 22 points and nine rebounds, while sophomore Sandi Brown chipped in 12 points and eight rebounds. The Blue Demons kept the Detroit offense in check for most of the game, holding the Titans to 31.4 percent (22-of-70) shooting for the contest.

Massey currently stands second in rebounding (8.2) and third in scoring (16.2) in the Horizon League. She has had four games of 20 or more points this season.

With the first semester coming to a close last Saturday, the Titans two transfers become eligible to help provide Detroit with more depth. India Bruster is a 6-4 center from Cleveland, who started her college basketball career at Southern Illinois. In 2004-05 she led the Salukis and was tied for fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference with 28 blocks. She averaged 4.5 points and 4.8 rebounds in 15.5 minutes of action per game that season. Keashawn Bond is a 5-11 forward from Saginaw who comes to Detroit after stops at Delta College and Butler Community College.

The Titans head south of the border for two games at the Cancun Caribbean Classic in Cancun, Mexico this week. They take on SMU on Tuesday before facing East Carolina on Wednesday.

Valparaiso (4-5; Joins HL in 2007-08)
Despite a fourth straight double-double from senior Tamra Braun, Valparaiso fell behind late in the first half and could not recover as Northern Iowa defeated the Crusaders 67-49 on Saturday.

Braun moved into fourth place on Valpo's all-time rebounding list with 678 career boards and is now 15th with 900 career points.

The Crusaders lead all Mid-Continent Conference teams in three-point field-goal percentage (.392), while Braun tops all conference players in field-goal percentage (.594).

Valpo plays twice before the holiday break as the team hosts Notre Dame on Tuesday and Central Michigan on Thursday.