 Billikens Host Southwest Baptist in Exhibition Game Thursday
Nov. 2, 2009 Read the 2009-10 Season Outlook SLU SET FOR LONE EXHIBITION GAME - Saint Louis women's basketball will host Southwest Baptist (Bolivar, Mo.), an NCAA Division II team and member of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association, in an exhibition game Thursday, Nov. 5, at Chaifetz Arena. Admission is free, and tip time is 6 p.m., which is a change from the previously announced starting time of 7 p.m. MEET THE TEAM - Approximately 10 minutes after the conclusion of Thursday's exhibition contest, the Billikens will host a "Meet the Team" event that is free and open to the public. Head coach Shimmy Gray-Miller will address the fans, players and coaches will be available for autographs and photos, and contests will be held. Fans also may pick up a free 2009-10 Billiken basketball schedule poster. FOLLOWING THE ACTION - All home games and some road contests are available free of charge on GameTracker at www.slubillikens.com. All Billiken home games are video streamed live on the Internet via Billiken All-Access at www.slubillikens.com. Subscriptions are available for $79.95 annually or $9.95 a month. The SLU-Southwest Baptist exhibition game will be available free of charge on All-Access. TICKET INFORMATION - Tickets for all women's basketball home games can be purchased at the Chaifetz Arena Ticket Office, by phone at (314) 977-4SLU or online at www.slubillikens.com. SEVEN VETERANS RETURN - Fifth-year head coach Shimmy Gray-Miller welcomes seven players back from last year's team. Center Amanda Kemezys (Fairview Heights, Ill./Belleville East), a fifth-year senior, collected Atlantic 10 third-team All-Conference honors a year ago. Kemezys averaged 12.6 points and a team-high 7.5 rebounds, and she ranked fifth in the A-10 in conference games only in scoring (13.9 ppg) and rebounding (8.6 rpg). She is a preseason second-team All-Conference selection. Senior guard Katie Paganelli (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame), who was slowed by a midseason injury, averaged 8.4 points and sank 25 treys last year. Junior forward Lauren Woods (Swansea, Ill./Belleville East) made solid progress, boosting her averages to 7.8 points and 4.8 rebounds while distributing 57 assists last season. Sophomore guard Janisha Gearlds (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook) started 28 games in her rookie campaign, averaging 4.6 points and 3.7 rebounds, leading the team with 41 steals and finishing second with 81 assists. Sophomore center Kaelin Reid (Cincinnati, Ohio/Taft), sophomore forward India Warfield (Dayton, Ohio/Chaminade Julienne) and junior center Nicole Johnson (Southlake, Texas/Carroll) saw action in 29, 26 and 25 games, respectively. Also returning is junior center Kathryn Hester (Conover, N.C./Newton-Conover), who played two seasons at Miami (Fla.) and sat out last season due to NCAA transfer regulations.
FOUR NEWCOMERS LOOK TO CONTRIBUTE - A transfer and three freshmen make up the Bills' group of newcomers. Junior guard Ayriell Robinson (Marrero, La./Spring {Texas}) arrived from Labette (Kan.) Community College, where she averaged a team-high 13.6 points and added 4.7 rpg last year en route to a spot on the All-Conference second team. Freshman guard Jacy Bradley (Florence, Ky./Boone County) averaged 14 points and six assists last season and twice was named Most Valuable Player of the regional and district tournaments. Freshman forward Mallory Eggert (Oak Forest, Ill./Marian Catholic), who was tabbed All-Area and one of the top 25 post players in Illinois, posted 8.7 ppg and 5.9 rpg while helping lead her team to the 2009 Class 4A state quarterfinals. Freshman guard Ashley Hanlen (St. Louis, Mo./St. Joseph's) averaged 9.3 points in 12 games a year ago before an injury shortened her senior campaign. Hanlen was a first-team All-Conference choice as a junior. SCOUTING SOUTHWEST BAPTIST - The Bearcats welcome back three starters from their 2008-09 team that finished 8-20 overall and 5-15 (tied for eighth) in the MIAA. Southwest Baptist was fourth in NCAA Division II in 3-point field goals per game (9.1) last year while averaging 25 attempts. Senior guard Rachel Graves was SBU's second-leading scorer (13.3 ppg), led the team in 3-pointers (62) and steals (52) and was the Bearcats' second-leading rebounder (4.7 rpg). Sophomore forward Mia Gilreath also was a prolific 3-point shooter, tallying 46 treys and averaging 8.9 points, and junior guard Courtney Heady joined the long-distance shooting parade with 44 trifectas. Junior forward Jasmine Sanford, a midseason transfer (Alabama State) last year, contributed 9.3 points and a team-high 5.2 rebounds per game. Head coach J.C. Carter is in his second season at SBU. SEASON OPENER SLATED FOR NEXT FRIDAY - Saint Louis welcomes Southern Illinois to Chaifetz Arena for the regular-season opener Friday, Nov. 13, at 8 p.m. The Billikens-Salukis clash is the second half of a doubleheader that begins with the nationally ranked SLU volleyball team taking on Rhode Island at 6 p.m. A ticket purchased for either the basketball game or the volleyball match is good for admittance to both events. LAST SEASON - The Billikens posted a 12-18 overall record and finished ninth in the Atlantic 10 Conference with a 6-8 ledger. The ninth-place finish and six league victories are high marks in four years of A-10 membership for SLU, which has moved up in the conference standings in each of the past three seasons. Theresa Lisch and Amanda Kemezys were named to the All-Conference first and third teams, respectively. |
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