 First Road Game on Tap for Billikens
Nov. 17, 2009
THIS WEEK - The Saint Louis Billikens (1-0) hit the road for the first time this season Wednesday, Nov. 18, when they travel to Springfield, Mo., to take on Missouri State (0-1). Game time at JQH Arena is 7:05 p.m. The Bills return to Chaifetz Arena Saturday, Nov. 21, for a 2 p.m. tip against Butler (0-1). 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. 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. ALUMNI WEEKEND - Saint Louis University women's basketball will host its third annual Alumni Weekend Friday and Saturday, Nov. 20-21, with activities centered around the Billikens' game against Butler. Festivities get under way Friday with a reception at Humphrey's Restaurant beginning at 7:30 p.m. An alumni game will be played at Chaifetz Arena Saturday at 11 a.m., and alumni will be recognized at halftime of the SLU-Butler game. For more information, contact women's basketball administrative assistant Kim Burke at (314) 977-5076 or kburke13@slu.edu. BILLIKENS BLAST SALUKIS IN SEASON OPENER - Amanda Kemezys registered a game-high 21 points, just one point fewer than her career best, and a team-high 11 rebounds to lead Saint Louis to a 71-45 victory over Southern Illinois in the season opener Nov. 13 at Chaifetz Arena. Lauren Woods scored 14 points and Katie Paganelli added 11 for the Billikens, who shot 52 percent from the field. Janisha Gearlds tallied a career-high eight assists and did not commit a turnover, while Ayriell Robinson pulled down six rebounds. The win gave SLU a 2-0 record in Chaifetz Arena openers.
SCOUTING MISSOURI STATE - The Lady Bears, who opened the season with a 79-55 loss to Georgetown last Saturday, return four starters and four additional letterwinners from last year's team that finished 10-20 overall and 6-12 (seventh) in the Missouri Valley Conference. Sophomore guard Casey Garrison tallied 15 points, six rebounds and six assists against Georgetown, freshman forward Christiana Shorter collected 12 points and four steals, and sophomore guard Jasmine Malone notched seven rebounds and three steals. Garrison, the nation's leading scorer among true freshmen last season, garnered first-team All-Conference laurels and was named MVC Freshman of the Year. Sophomore guard Jaleshia Roberson joined Garrison on the MVC All-Freshman team. Head coach Nyla Milleson is 21-40 in her third year at Missouri State, 206-76 in her 10th career campaign. THE MISSOURI STATE SERIES - Missouri State leads the series 11-3, but Saint Louis has won the last two meetings by an average of 16.5 points. The Billikens posted a 68-53 victory last season in St. Louis, forcing the Lady Bears into 26 turnovers that included a career-high six steals for Janisha Gearlds. SCOUTING BUTLER - The Bulldogs, who host IPFW Wednesday before coming to St. Louis, suffered an 87-66 loss at Kentucky in Sunday's season opener. Butler returns four starters and five additional letterwinners from its 20-12 team that placed second (14-4) in the Horizon League a year ago. The Bulldogs went on to defeat Duquesne of the Atlantic 10 Conference in a first-round WNIT game before being eliminated by Marquette. Junior guard/forward Brittany Bowen led Butler with 16 points and seven rebounds against Kentucky. Senior forward/center Susan Lester netted 14 points, junior guard Terra Burns scored 12 and junior guard Alyssa Pittman added 11. Junior forward Chloe Hamilton grabbed six rebounds. The Bulldogs also feature senior forward Melanie Thornton, a Horizon League All-Defensive selection last season. Head coach Beth Couture is 105-104 in her eighth year at Butler, 363-233 in her 20th career season. THE BUTLER SERIES - The Bulldogs hold a 6-5 series edge and have captured five of the last six games between the teams after the Billikens won four of the first five. SLU and Butler have not met since the Bulldogs posted a 71-38 victory Feb. 7, 1991. SHOOTING FOR A GRAND - Seniors Katie Paganelli and Amanda Kemezys are close to becoming the 14th and 15th Saint Louis women's basketball players to score 1,000 career points. Paganelli and Kemezys have 916 and 875 points, respectively. In addition, Paganelli ranks sixth on the Bills' career 3-point field goals list with 114, while Kemezys is sixth with 62 career blocks. PRESEASON ACCOLADES - Amanda Kemezys was named to the Atlantic 10 Conference preseason All-Conference second team by the league's head coaches. Last season, Kemezys was selected to the All-Conference third team after averaging 12.6 points and a team-best 7.5 rebounds. A LOOK AHEAD TO NEXT WEEK - Saint Louis travels to Los Angeles to participate in the Courtyard by Marriott Los Angeles Westside Thanksgiving Classic, hosted by Loyola Marymount. The Billikens face the host Lions Friday, Nov. 27, at 3 p.m. (CT) before taking on Montana or South Florida the following day at either 3 p.m. or 5 p.m. (CT) |
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