Nov. 5, 2007

THIS WEEK: Saint Louis women's basketball hosts Missouri Baptist on Wednesday, Nov. 7, in the final exhibition game of the 2007-08 season. Game time at the Bauman-Eberhardt Center is 7 p.m. On Sunday, Nov. 11, SLU welcomes Hampton for a 2 p.m. tipoff at Bauman-Eberhardt in the Billikens' regular-season opener.

FOLLOWING THE ACTION: All home games may be followed live on GameTracker on SLU's official website, www.slubillikens.com. Also, 11 Saint Louis women's basketball games will be shown on the Internet via the Billiken All-Access Channel. Those games are home contests against Missouri Baptist (Nov. 7), Hampton (Nov. 11), Wyoming (Nov. 18), Duquesne (Jan. 16), Rhode Island (Jan. 23), Richmond (Jan. 26), La Salle (Feb. 10), Massachusetts (Feb. 16) and Temple (Feb. 27), and road tilts at Kansas (Dec. 2) and Dayton (March 1). Tickets may be purchased at the gate, on-line at www.slubillikens.com or by calling the Billiken Ticket Office at (314) 977-4SLU.

LAST TIME OUT: Three Saint Louis players scored in double figures in an 81-64 exhibition-game victory over Missouri-St. Louis at the Scottrade Center last Friday. Theresa Lisch led all players with 25 points and also produced game highs of six assists and six steals, while Maggie Hennegan scored 12 points and Katie Paganelli added 11 points to go with four steals. Amanda Kemezys and Hope Elam led SLU to a 52-40 rebounding advantage by grabbing seven boards apiece. Hayley Leake netted seven points and played a solid floor game at the point with four assists and just two turnovers.

SCOUTING MISSOURI BAPTIST: The Spartans, who play in the NAIA's American Midwest Conference, were 13-17 overall and 4-10 in conference play last year. Missouri Baptist opened its season with an 80-65 loss at Grace College on Nov. 3. MBU launched 40 3-point attempts and made 11, which is consistent with the Spartans' style last season when they ranked second in the NAIA in 3-pointers made (9.4 per game).

SCOUTING HAMPTON: The Lady Pirates, who host Georgetown in their season opener on Friday, sprinted to a 40-18 halftime cushion en route to an 88-65 win over MI Express in an exhibition game on Nov. 1. Freshman forward Quanneisha Perry and junior forward Chinyere Ukoh posted double-doubles, with Perry collecting 14 points and 12 rebounds and Ukoh recording 12 points and 10 boards. Senior guard Artavia Burns had 14 points and a game-high six assists, junior guard/forward Ashlee Finley tallied 14 points and senior guard Stephanie James netted 13 points. Senior guard Rachel Butler, a second-team All-Conference selection and Hampton's leading scorer (11.9 ppg) last season, did not play. Led by seventh-year head coach Walter Mebane, the Lady Pirates were picked to finish fifth in the 11-team Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. Hampton was the 11th-most improved team in Division I women's basketball last season, turning in a 15-13 record after going 7-22 the previous year. The Lady Pirates tied for fourth in the 2006-07 MEAC race with an 11-7 conference ledger. SLU leads the series 2-0, owning a 76-66 win at home in 1999-2000 and a 72-70 decision the following season.

HEAD COACH Shimmy Gray-Miller: Third-year head coach Shimmy Gray-Miller, who recently signed a contract extension that will keep her at Saint Louis through the 2011-12 campaign, has the Billiken program headed in the right direction. Her first SLU squad went just 7-20, but Gray-Miller led the 2006-07 Bills to a 13-17 record that included the program's first conference tournament victory since 2002, a 69-61 win over Richmond. Part of last season's record were nine defeats of nine or fewer points, including a one-point loss to Xavier in the Atlantic 10 Tournament quarterfinals; two-point losses to Saint Joseph's, Weber State and Miami (Ohio); and a seven-point loss to nationally ranked Arkansas. Gray-Miller is the sixth head coach in Saint Louis women's basketball history and begins 2007-08 with a 20-37 career record.

CHAIFETZ ARENA: The new Chaifetz (SHAY-fetz) Arena is slated to open in April 2008. The arena will have a seating capacity of 10,600 and is being built on the SLU campus at the corner of Laclede and Compton avenues. It will function as a true multi-purpose campus events center, hosting a myriad of SLU events including men's and women's basketball, women's volleyball, commencement, cultural events, conferences and conventions. The arena will house the department of athletics' offices as well as a practice facility for the basketball and volleyball teams.

LISCH ON THE LIST: Atlantic 10 Conference head women's basketball coaches and media representatives selected sophomore guard Theresa Lisch to the 2007-08 preseason All-Conference third team. Saint Louis was picked to finish ninth in the conference race.

THEY'RE BACK: Lisch is one of three starters and eight letterwinners returning from last year's team. The senior class is comprised of guards Jackie Gilbert and Hayley Leake and forward Heather King, while forward Jameela Haynes is the team's lone junior. Lisch is joined in the sophomore class by forward/guard Maggie Hennegan, guard Katie Paganelli, forward Amy Klotz and center Amanda Kemezys.

WELCOME TO THE SHOW: Coach Gray-Miller added two freshmen to the 2007-08 Billiken roster. Forward Hope Elam averaged 22.6 points and 13 rebounds, garnered a spot on the Illinois All-State third team and was an Illinois Miss Basketball finalist last season. Forward Lauren Woods averaged 15.8 points and was a fourth-team choice on the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association All-State team a year ago.

THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS: Billiken freshmen accounted for 96 of the team's 150 starts last season, which translates into 64 percent. Maggie Hennegan led the way, drawing the starting nod in all 30 contests, while Theresa Lisch started 28 games. Nearly 68 percent of the Bills' scoring was produced by the freshman class.

SWISH FOR LISCH: Sophomore guard Theresa Lisch (Belleville, Ill./Althoff) led all players with 25 points, six assists and six steals and added five rebounds (three offensive) against UMSL, starting and playing a team-high 29 minutes ... was 5-of-6 from the free-throw line and committed just two turnovers ... enjoyed a rookie campaign that saw her lead the Billikens in scoring (15.0 ppg), assists (3.07 apg), steals (1.86 spg) and free-throw percentage (125-of-150, .833) en route to earning a spot on the A-10 All-Rookie team ... was the A-10's second-leading foul shooter, was ranked ninth in the league in scoring and steals and finished 12th in assists.

PAGS TO RICHES: Sophomore guard Katie Paganelli (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame) was in the starting lineup against UMSL and registered 11 points, four rebounds and four steals in 23 minutes ... was the Billikens' third-leading scorer last season with 12.3 points per game ... played in all 30 games with 16 starts, led the team with 50 3-pointers and shot 80 percent from the free-throw line.

HENNEGAN, BEGIN AGAIN: Sophomore forward/guard Maggie Hennegan (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Ursula) came off the bench against UMSL and collected 12 points, five rebounds and two blocks in 21 minutes ... shot 4-of-4 from the floor, including a 3-pointer ... was the 2006-07 SLU leader in rebounding, cleaning the glass at a 7.4 per-game clip ... was second in the A-10 in offensive rebounding with a 3.23 average ... the only Billiken to start every game ... also led the squad with 17 blocks and was fourth in scoring at 10.5 points per game.

AK-55 HITS THE TARGET: Sophomore center Amanda Kemezys (Fairview Heights, Ill./Belleville East) tied for team-high rebounding honors with seven caroms against UMSL ... started and played 15 minutes in that game ... topped the Saint Louis shooting chart last season by connecting for a .644 accuracy mark ... played in 19 games with 10 starts and averaged 10 points and 5.8 rebounds in her inaugural SLU season ... hampered by injury for a portion of the year.

KLOTZ PLAYED LOTS: Sophomore forward Amy Klotz (St. Louis, Mo./Notre Dame) contributed six points, five rebounds and two steals against UMSL ... started and played 19 minutes in that contest ... saw action in 29 games and earned 12 starts as a rookie ... averaged 3.8 points and 2.4 rebounds while collecting 12 blocks and 11 steals.

JACK ON TRACK: Senior guard Jackie Gilbert (Jonesboro, Ark./Jonesboro) chipped in six points, three rebounds and two assists and committed just one turnover in 20 minutes off the bench against UMSL ... played in 25 games and started four last season, averaging 2.1 points and recording 12 assists.

LEAKE IS UNIQUE: Senior guard Hayley Leake (Silex, Mo./Silex) started against UMSL and recorded seven points, three rebounds and four assists while committing just two turnovers in 27 minutes ... played in 24 games with three starts a year ago ... canned 79 percent of her free throws and tallied 30 assists and 11 steals in her junior season.

WAIT `TIL WE GET OUR HAYNES ON YOU: Junior forward Jameela Haynes (Miami, Fla./Pace) logged nine minutes off the bench against UMSL and had two rebounds (both offensive), one assist and one steal ... played in six games last season and netted two of her three field-goal attempts.

HOPE IS A DANGEROUS THING: Freshman forward Hope Elam (Champaign, Ill./Central) saw 14 minutes of action off the bench against UMSL ... tied for team-high rebounding honors with seven boards and added two blocks.

THE KING AND I: Senior forward Heather King (Palos Hills, Ill./Amos Alonzo Stagg) scored a basket and grabbed an offensive rebound in three minutes off the bench against UMSL.

NOT OUT OF THE WOODS YET: Freshman forward Lauren Woods (Belleville, Ill/Belleville East) was on the court for 20 minutes in a reserve role against UMSL ... had five points, three rebounds (two offensive) and an assist.

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