March 10, 2009
Complete Release in PDF Format
SPEEDWAY HORIZON LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP
First-round games
Monday, March 9
#8 Detroit 72, #9 Loyola 67
#7 Milwaukee 70, #10 Youngstown State 49
Quarterfinal games
Wednesday, March 11
#7 Milwaukee at #2 Butler, 7 p.m. ... HLN
#6 UIC at #3 Cleveland State, 7 p.m. ... HLN
#8 Detroit at #1 Green Bay, 8 p.m. ... HLN
#5 Wright State at #4 Valparaiso, 8 p.m. ... HLN
Semifinal games
Friday, March 13
5:30 and 8 p.m. local time ... HLN
(at highest remaining seed)
Championship game
Sunday, March 15
1 p.m. ... ESPNU
(at site of semifinals)
$ = Horizon League game
All times are Eastern
HLN = Horizon League Network webcast (www.horizonleaguenetwork.tv)
LAST WEEK IN THE HORIZON LEAGUE
Thursday, March 5
$ Butler 61, Youngstown State 42
$ Detroit 63, UIC 55
$ Valparaiso 70, Cleveland State 52
$ Wright State 64, Loyola 44
Saturday, March 7
$ Butler 68, Cleveland State 59
$ Detroit 57, Loyola 49
$ Green Bay 66, Milwaukee 56
$ Wright State 49, UIC 48
$ Youngstown State 54, Valparaiso 38
$ = Horizon League game
THE HORIZON LEAGUE SPOTLIGHT
Green Bay has clinched at least a share of the Horizon League's regular-season title in each of the past 11 seasons. That ranks as the nation's longest active streak.Green Bay has guaranteed itself a 32nd consecutive winning season. The Phoenix has not dipped below the .500 mark since the 1976-77 campaign. That ranks as the nation's third longest active streak.Green Bay has allowed just 51.1 points per contest this season. That figure currently ties for fifth in NCAA Division I Women's Basketball history for fewest points allowed in a single season.
HORIZON LEAGUE TOURNAMENT NOTESFourth-seeded Cleveland State captured the 2008 Horizon League Women'sBasketball Championship. The Vikings posted wins over #5 Butler (79-68), #1Green Bay (90-60) and #2 Wright State (70-56) en route to the title.Cleveland State's trip to the 2008 NCAA Tournament was its first in school history.Green Bay has captured eight of the last 11 Horizon League Women's BasketballTournament crowns, dating back to the 1997-98 campaign.The top seed has won the Horizon League Women's Basketball Tournament title in eight of the last 10 seasons.Green Bay owns eight Horizon League Tournament championships, while former League member Notre Dame ranks second all-time with five titles.The Horizon League has sent two teams to postseason play just three times in conference history. The last occurance was in 2008 when Cleveland State went to the NCAAs and Green Bay qualified for the WNIT.
HORIZON LEAGUE TEAM NOTES
BUTLER BULLDOGS (19-10 overall, 14-4 HL)Butler's 14 wins in Horizon League play are tied for the most in a single season since 1992-93.The Bulldogs are 15-2 when holding opponents to fewer than 60 points and 13-0 when their foes score 50 or fewer.Sophomore Brittany Bowen has averaged a team-best 13.0 points per game over her last 21 contests. She has led the team in scoring seven times and boasts 17 double-figure scoring games during the stretch.After shooting just 29 percent from the field in the first half on Thursday at Youngstown State, the Bulldogs rallied to hit 56 percent in the second half.
CLEVELAND STATE VIKINGS (18-12 overall, 12-6 HL)Cleveland State saw its season-high five-game winning streak come to an end on Thursday against Valparaiso.Junior Kailey Klein has scored 512 points this year after scoring 654 last season. She is first player in Cleveland State history to score at least 500 points in two different seasons.Kailey Klein has moved into fourth place on the all-time scoring list at CSU with 1,483 points.Kailey Klein has played 1,068 minutes this year, becoming the first player in school history to play more than 1,000 minutes in two different seasons.CSU's 12 Horizon League wins this season are a program record, while the Vikings' 18 victories are the third most in school history.
DETROIT TITANS (12-18 overall, 7-11 HL)Detroit enters Wednesday's quarterfinal game at top-seeded Green Bay on a three-game winning streak. The streak is UDM's longest since winning five in a row Jan. 5-21, 2006.Detroit closed out the regular season with back-to-back victories over UIC (63-55 on Thursday) and Loyola (57-49 on Saturday). It was UDM's first two-game winning streak in Horizon League play since Feb. 28-March 1, 2008.Senior Sandi Brown led all scorers with 21 points against UIC. The performance marked UDM's fifth 20-point game this season.Sandi Brown has reached the 10-point plateau 23 times this year, including her last six games (16.3 ppg).
GREEN BAY PHOENIX (26-3 overall, 18-0 HL)Green Bay received 22 votes in this week's Associated Press poll, and 16 votes in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Poll.Green Bay leads the nation in scoring defense (51.1) and turnover margin (7.10). The Phoenix also ranks sixth in steals (12.3) and ninth in field-goal percentage (.458).Head coach Matt Bollant is now 35-1 in Horizon League regular-season games. Green Bay has also won 29 straight regular-season conference home games.Green Bay became just the third team in League history to run the table in conference action and the first to win 18 affairs.Green Bay has won at least 20 contests in 10 straight seasons, and has received a postseason berth each year since 1998.Green Bay's 18-game winning streak is the second longest in school history.
MILWAUKEE PANTHERS (13-17 overall, 7-11 HL)Milwaukee outrebounded Youngstown State, 59-30, on Monday in the first round of the Horizon League Championship. It was UWM's fourth game of 50 or more rebounds and tied for the fourth most in school history.The Panthers are five rebounds from tying the school record for boards in a season (1,182) and are 33rd in the nation in rebounding margin (+5.6).Senior Traci Edwards leads the Horizon League in scoring (17.9) and rebounding (9.0). She has led the circuit in both categories in each of the last two seasons.
UIC FLAMES (14-15 overall, 8-10 HL)UIC heads into the Horizon League Championship this week looking for its first-ever tournament crown. The Flames' only title-game appearance came in 2006.UIC is 10-20 all-time in postseason League tournament action and is 3-0 all-time against Cleveland State in the conference tourney.UIC and Cleveland State last met in the postseason in 2007 with the Flames rolling past the Vikings, 69-50, in the League quarterfinals.
VALPARAISO CRUSADERS (16-13 overall, 10-8 HL)Senior Agnieszka Kulaga made her first six three-point attempts en route to 23 points on Thursday against Cleveland State.Agnieszka Kulaga has moved up to 15th in school history with 952 career points.Valparaiso will be hosting its first Horizon League Tournament game ever, and hosting a postseason game for the first time since the 2002 WNIT quarterfinals against Houston.Valparaiso has had six different players score 20 or more points in a game this year.
WRIGHT STATE RAIDERS (14-15 overall, 10-8 HL)After dropping five straight to start the second round of Horizon League play, the Raiders enter this week's tournament having won four in a row.Wright State used a 13-0 run to take control on Thursday vs. Loyola. The Raiders maintained at least a nine-point advantage from that point forward.The Raiders outrebounded the Ramblers, 48-29, and held the upper hand in points in the paint (46-8), points off of turnovers (27-17) and second-chance points (19-7).Junior Kanisha Ward buried a three with 4.8 seconds left on Saturday to give Wright State a 49-48, come-from-behind victory over UIC.Wright State led by 10 points with 13:47 to play, but the Raiders went the next 8:31 without scoring as the Flames tallied the next 15 points.