Busy Week on Tap for Billikens
Dec. 15, 2008
COMING UP - Saint Louis women's basketball (3-6) faces a challenging schedule prior to Christmas as the Billikens play three games in a seven-day period. SLU begins its busy week Tuesday, Dec. 16, by hosting Oakland (5-3). Tipoff at Chaifetz Arena is slated for 7 p.m. The Bills then head west for the second time this month to play two contests. Wyoming (6-3) is the opponent Saturday, Dec. 20, at 7 p.m. (CT), followed by Colorado (3-4) Monday, Dec. 22, at 8 p.m. (CT). FOLLOWING THE ACTION - All home games and some road contests are available free of charge on GameTracker at www.slubillikens.com. The Oakland and Wyoming games will be available on GameTracker. 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. RECAPPING THE CANISIUS GAME - The Billikens trailed Canisius by 16 points on five different occasions Sunday, the last time coming with just under eight minutes to play. A spirited 18-2 run pulled SLU even, 60-60, at the 2:00 mark, but Canisius held on for a 67-64 win. Katie Paganelli and Theresa Lisch scored 14 points apiece, and Lauren Woods added a season-high 11 points. Paganelli was 4-of-6 from 3-point range, grabbed five rebounds and tied her season high with four assists. Lisch tallied a game-high seven assists and tied Heather King for team rebounding honors with six boards. King tied her career high with four steals, while Janisha Gearlds made three thefts. Led by Lisch's 6-of-6 effort, the Bills shot a season-high 87.5 percent (14-of-16) from the free-throw line.
SCOUTING OAKLAND - The Golden Grizzlies return all five starters and six additional letterwinners from last year's 20-10 squad that tied for second (12-6) in the Summit League. Oakland defeated St. Bonaventure of the Atlantic 10 Conference 76-72 and was edged 64-61 by then-No. 23 Georgia earlier this season. The Golden Grizzlies rank among the nation's top 25 in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.24, 12th), fewest turnovers per game (14.0, 25th) and assists per game (17.4, 14th). Oakland is also strong from the free-throw line, connecting at a 75-percent clip to rank 26th, and boasts a +5.57 turnover margin. Three players own double-digit scoring averages, led by senior guard Jessica Pike's 17.7 ppg. Pike, who ranks 12th in the nation in free-throw percentage (92.1 percent), earned a spot on the All-Summit League first team a year ago. Junior guard Melissa Jeltema scores 13.5 ppg and leads Oakland on the boards with 8.0 rpg, while sophomore forward/center Brittany Carnago contributes 11.4 ppg and 6.4 rpg. Carnago ranks ninth nationally in blocks per game (2.7), and senior guard April Kidd is 18th in steals per game (3.4). Head coach Beckie Francis is 149-95 in her ninth season at Oakland, 179-143 in her 12th campaign overall. THE OAKLAND SERIES - The Billikens and Golden Grizzlies are meeting for the first time. SCOUTING WYOMING - The Cowgirls, who will bring a three-game winning streak into their clash with Saint Louis, welcome back one starter and seven additional letterwinners from their 2007-08 team that was 24-7 overall and 12-4 (third) in the Mountain West Conference. In its first NCAA Tournament appearance, Wyoming lost to Pittsburgh in the first round last season. Freshman forward Emma Langford stands atop the Wyoming scoring chart with 15.3 ppg, while freshman guard Kristen Scheffler (10.8 ppg) and senior guard Megan McGuffey (10.7 ppg) battle for second. Langford and Scheffler shoot 41.9 percent and 41.3 percent, respectively, from beyond the arc, and Scheffler ranks 23rd nationally in 3-point field goals per game (2.89). McGuffey leads the UW rebounding effort with 7.3 caroms per game. Head coach Joe Legerski is 105-58 in six seasons, all at Wyoming. THE WYOMING SERIES - The Cowgirls lead the series 1-0 after posting a 61-57 victory in St. Louis last season. In a foul-plagued game that saw the teams combine to shoot 66 free throws, Katie Paganelli led Saint Louis with 16 points. SCOUTING COLORADO - The Buffaloes, who host UMKC Saturday before taking on the Billikens, have two starters and seven additional letterwinners back from last year's team that went 19-15 overall and 5-11 (ninth) in the Big 12 Conference. Colorado caught fire in the postseason, defeating Gonzaga, Villanova and TCU in the WNIT after receiving a first-round bye. The Buffaloes fell to Marquette in the WNIT semifinals. Colorado has lost four of its last five contests, including a 70-62 setback to Atlantic 10 Conference member Massachusetts. Sophomore forward Brittany Spears leads the Buffaloes and ranks 15th nationally in scoring (20.1 ppg), and she gathers a team-leading 7.9 rebounds per game. Senior center Kara Richards chips in 11.7 ppg and is sixth in the nation in field-goal percentage (59.3 percent). Head coach Kathy McConnell-Miller carries a 44-57 record in her fourth season in Boulder and a 135-145 ledger in 10 career campaigns. THE COLORADO SERIES - The Billikens and Buffaloes are meeting for the first time. ON TARGET - The Billikens are second in the Atlantic 10 and No. 22 nationally in 3-point percentage, connecting at a 38.3-percent clip (41-of-107). Theresa Lisch is fifth in the league in 3-pointers per game (2.11). LISCH THE LEADER - Theresa Lisch continues to pace the A-10 in scoring with 17.8 points per game. Lisch ranks 49th nationally in that category. She is also 10th in the conference with a 78.8 percent (41-of-52) free-throw shooting mark. SECOND CHANCES - As they were last season, the Billikens are strong on the offensive glass. Saint Louis ranks third in the A-10 with 14.44 offensive rebounds per game and holds a 130-105 edge (+2.78 per game) over its opponents in that category. Heather King is ninth in the conference in offensive rebounding with a 2.56 average. PICKING THEIR POCKETS - Janisha Gearlds is seventh in the conference in steals with 1.89 per game, an average that ranks her second among A-10 freshmen. CLIMBING THE CAREER LISTS - On the SLU 3-point field goals career chart, Katie Paganelli and Theresa Lisch are tied for sixth with 97 treys apiece. Lisch has moved into fourth place in free throws made with 278, while Amanda Kemezys ranks ninth with 51 blocks. LISCH HONORED BY A-10 - Atlantic 10 Conference women's basketball head coaches and media representatives voted Theresa Lisch to the 2008-09 preseason All-Conference second team. Lisch was a third-team All-Conference selection last season. The Billikens were tabbed to finish 10th in the upcoming league race. CHAIFETZ ARENA - The new Chaifetz (SHAY-fetz) Arena debuts this season. The $81 million arena has a seating capacity of 10,600 and is located on the SLU campus along Laclede Ave. west of Compton Ave. Chaifetz Arena functions as a true multipurpose campus events center, hosting a myriad of SLU events including men's and women's basketball, volleyball, commencement, cultural events, conferences and conventions. The arena houses the department of athletics offices as well as Chaifetz Pavilion, a practice facility for basketball and volleyball and a competition venue for volleyball. The building is named for Dr. Richard A. Chaifetz, who donated a $12 million naming gift to the University. A 1975 SLU graduate, Dr. Chaifetz is chairman and CEO of ComPsych Corp. |
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