KENT STATE CLINCHES EAST DIVISION:
Kent State clinched its fourth straight East Division title with a
95-67 win over Ohio on Saturday. The Golden Flashes, who are the only
team to claim the East title since the MAC went to a divisional format
beginning with the 1997-98 season, have won five straight games and
eight of their last 10.
With the divisional crown, KSU is assured no worse than a No. 2 seed
in
the 2001 Kraft Mid-American Conference Women's Basketball Tournament
that begins on Mar. 3. The Golden Flashes also received a first-round
bye to the quarterfinals that will take place on Mar. 6 in Gund Arena.
TOLEDO CLINCHES SHARE OF WEST:
Toledo remains the hottest team in the Mid-American Conference,
winning
its last 10 games. The Rockets (12-1), who posted wins last week over
Northern Illinois and Central Michigan, have clinched a share of the
West Division title and will also receive a first-round bye to the
quarterfinals of the conference tournament. UT's magic number to
clinch
the MAC West Division crown is one.
KENT STATE'S HOME STREAK:
Kent State extended its school- and MAC-record for consecutive home
wins with a 95-67 win over Ohio on Feb. 17 and finished the regular
season with a 12-0 home record. The Golden Flashes' 43-game home
winning streak is the nation's longest current streak at any division.
It is also the 18th longest streak in NCAA Division I history. Along
with the current 43-game home winning streak, the Golden Flashes have
also won 52 consecutive home contests versus MAC schools.
HITTING THE 30-POINT PLATEAU:
This past Saturday saw three MAC players score 30-plus points in three
separate contests. Bowling Green's Francine Miller tied a school
record
with 35 points in the Falcons' win over Marshall. Miller already held
the mark with Jackie Motycka and Jacki Raterman after notching 35 at
Kent State last season. The game was also special for Miller as she
became only the 16th Falcon to reach the 1,000 point plateau and only
the fifth to do so as a junior. She is also the 101st in the history
of
the MAC to score 1,000 or more points.
In addition to Miller, Toledo's Kahli Carter tallied a career-high 33
points in the Rockets' win over Central Michigan, while Western
Michigan's Karen Deurloo had 31 against Miami. Earlier in the season,
Deurloo netted 33 against Kansas State and is the only player this year
in the MAC to score 30 points more than once.
THE 1,000 POINT MARK TO ADD MORE:
Bowling Green's Francine Miller is the latest -- and the 101st --
member of the conferences 1,000 point club, and that exclusive list
will likely add a couple more this week. Ohio's Heather Laughlin is 15
points from the mark and would become the 10th Bobcat to reach the
mark,
while Eastern Michigan junior Stephanie Smiley is 24 shy and Buffalo
senior Mari McClure is 28 away -- McClure hit the 1,000 point mark a
couple of weeks ago but only her final three years count as UB joined
the MAC in the 1997-98 season.
UPCOMING MAC TELECONFERENCE:
The Mid-American Conference will be hosting its second of two women's
basketball conference calls on Thursday, March 1, beginning at 10 a.m.
(ET). Each of the 13 head coaches will appear on the call and it will
serve as a preview to the 20th MAC Women's Basketball Tournament. Media
members may listen by calling (913) 981-5545.
UB'S DOZIER NETS 50TH WIN:
Buffalo head coach Cheryl Dozier picked up her 50th career win with a
78-59 win at Akron on Saturday. Dozier, who is in her third season at
UB, has a 50-29 record at Buffalo. Doziers .633 winning percentage is
the fourth-highest of all time at UB and her 50 wins to date are the
third highest total posted in UB women's basketball history.
SMILEY, EMU'S ALL-AROUND PLAYER:
Junior Stephanie Smiley has already made a place as one of the best
ever to play at Eastern Michigan University. Having started all 81
games
in her career, Smiley ranks in the top 10 in both scoring and
rebounding and is only the third player in EMU history to score
900-plus
points and grab 500 or more rebounds. She also ranks second all-time in
career assists and blocked shots, third in three-pointers made and
seventh in steals. She averages 12.0 points on 46.4% from the field and
38.6% from the 3-point arc and adding 6.7 rebounds 5.0 assists and 2.2
steals a game, while averaging 37.4 minutes a contest in her 81 games.
A LOOK AT TOLEDO'S STREAK:
Toledo has won 10 consecutive games, and the Rockets can thank its
defense for much of the teams recent success. UT is holding its last
six opponents (10 games) to an average of 58.6 points per contest. The
Rockets' foes are only hitting on 38 percent of its shots from the
floor
and 27 percent from beyond the arc and are committing 17.7 turnovers
per
contest. UT's Kahli Carter and Melantha Herron have been quite of an
offensive and defensive tandem during the streak. The duo are
averaging
30.9 points and 15.0 rebounds per game over that span.
MCCLURE IS NAILS FROM THE STRIPE:
Buffalo senior Mari McClure is a perfect 21-for-21 from the free throw
line in her last five games. She leads the team and the MAC with a
.874
free throw percentage this season (97-for-111). For her career,
McClure
currently has a .827 percentage (267-for-323) which would make her UB's
career leader if the season were to end today. She is currently in
sixth place all-time in career free throws made at UB with her 267.
DOUBLING YOUR PLEASURE:
Northern Illinois' Jennifer Youngblood and Kent State's Julie Studer
are tied for the league lead in the MAC in double-doubles with nine.
Studer tied Youngblood for the top spot on Saturday when she scored 15
points and pulled down 11 boards Last year, Studer recorded only one
double-double -- 21 points and 11 rebounds in the semifinals of the MAC
tournament against Eastern Michigan. Below is a list of the league
leaders in double-doubles:
MAC Double-Double Leaders
Jennifer Youngblood, NIU -- 9
Julie Studer, KSU -- 9
Kahli Carter, UT -- 8
Tamara Bowie, BSU -- 8
Karen Deurloo, WMU -- 6
Tiffany Bell, UB -- 5
Beth Kindel, CMU -- 5
Shani Charles, EMU -- 5
Five tied with 4
A LOOK AT THE RPI:
In this latest installment of the College Basketball News Women's RPI
Report and the WBCA Summerville RPI rankings (through games of Feb.
18),
the Mid-American Conference was ranked No. 17 and No. 15, respectively
among 31 conferences in both listings. The MAC has five schools in the
top-150 -- six in the WBCA -- and eight in the top-200.
School CBN/WBCA
Toledo 71/65
Kent State 102/104
Ball State 117/117
Eastern Michigan 122/121
Buffalo 129/128
Northern Illinois 151/150
Miami 161/161
Western Michigan 167/172
KNOCKING DOWN THE TREYS:
Kent State freshman Christi Shibata has
hit a team-leading 44 three-pointers this season. The 44
three-pointers
in a season are the fourth most of any freshman at Kent State and sixth
best mark in a single-season at KSU. Senior Carrie Nance has made 32
from long range. In her career Nance has made 103 treys and attempted
307 which both rank sixth all-time at Kent State. Her .336
three-point
field-goal percentage is seventh all-time.
BSU SETS SCHOOL RECORD FOR WINS:
Ball State posted its school-record 18th win of the season in last
Wednesdays 97-70 victory over Western Michigan. The 18-7 record after
25 games
is the best record in the 26-year history of the program. The 1974-75
team (17-6) and the 1989-90 team (17-11) held the previous best record
for wins in a season. BSUs 34 wins over the last two season are the
most victories in back-to-back years.
SAMUELSON A MAC SCORING MACHINE:
Western Michigan freshman Emily Samuelson has made an immediate
scoring
impact for the Broncos. The first-year player averaged 16 points in
games against Ball State and Miami last week. Samuelson had 18 points
versus the Cardinals, including hitting three treys, then hit three
more
beyond the arc and finished with 14 points versus Miami. In MAC
competition, she is eighth in field goal percentage (.534) and 15th in
scoring (13.9), which are second and third, respectively, among
freshman
in the league.
YOUNGBLOOD HARD AT WORK:
Northern Illinois forward Jennifer Youngblood is among a strong group
of talented freshman in the MAC. Youngblood is tied for the league
leads the with nine double-doubles this season, including 24 points and
ten rebounds at Ohio on Feb. 10. Youngblood is averaging 11.0 points
and 7.6 rebounds per game overall, but her numbers in MAC games improve
to 14.1 points and 8.4 caroms per contest.
Youngblood is also shooting at a league-leading 65.2 percent
(73-of-112) from the field in conference play, and six of her
double-doubles have come in league action. She had scored in double
figures nine consecutive times before being held to eight points and
eight rebounds versus Toledo.
MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION:
Akron senior Jamie Scott is enjoying her final season in more ways
than
one. First, Scott is coming off a knee injury in Feb. 1999 that
sidelined her the entire 1999-2000 season, a malady that originally
looked to be career ending. Second, she is going to end up as one of
the school's top scorer and rebounders. Scott is second on the team
this year in scoring (9.0) and rebounding (6.0). She is currently is
sixth all-time at UA in career rebounds (683) and is 10th in scoring
(887). Scott is 17 rebounds and 13 points short of becoming only the
fourth Zips player to score 900 points and grab 700 rebounds.
MUNZ DRAINING THE LONG BALL:
Central Michigan junior Molli Munz drained six three-pointers last
Wednesday at Eastern Michigan en route to a team-high 18 points.
Munz's
trey total versus EMU marked the third time in her career that she had
hit six in a game, which is the second most in one game by a Chippewa.
Munz, who earlier in the year became CMU's all-time leader in
three-point field goals, is fourth among active MAC players with 141.
LANCASTER GOING ALL OUT:
Miami freshman Kim Lancaster leads Miami and all MAC freshman in
scoring with a 14.1 scoring average and is also fifth in field goal
percentage (.551), which also paces all rookies. Lancaster netted a
pair of 19-point performances last week against Bowling Green and Ohio,
both of which led to RedHawk victories. This past Saturday against
Western Michigan, Lancaster fell ill prior to the game and managed to
play 15 minutes, scoring four points and pulling down three rebounds.
PRESEASON POLL REVISITED:
Below is a comparison of the league's preseason poll, which was
released back in October, in relation to where the teams stand with two
weeks remaining in the regular season.
East Division Pick/+/-
Kent State 1st/even
Buffalo 4th/+2
Miami 2nd/-1
Bowling Green 5th/+1
Ohio 6th/+1
Akron 3rd/-3
Marshall 7th/even
West Division Pick/+/-
Toledo 4th/+3
Ball State 3rd/+1
Eastern Michigan 2nd/-1
Northern Illinois 5th/+1
Western Michigan 1st/-4
Central Michigan 6th/even
KSU'S SENIOR DOMINANCE:
The four Kent State seniors, Carrie Nance, Liz Beggs, Lisa Wube and
Julie Studer finished their careers at home Saturday in the 95-67 win
over Ohio.
The four were honored before the game at the M.A.C. Center. Wube
transferred to KSU from Indiana and has played two seasons while the
other three are all three-year letterwinners.
The three four-year players finished their careers 43-1 at home with
the only loss coming in the first home game of their careers. Overall
the three have won four straight MAC East Division titles, they own
three MAC regular season championships and two tournament
championships. In the four years they are 87-27 overall and 59-5 in
conference games.
THREE BALL CORNER POCKET:
Eight of Ball State's 11 players who have seen playing time this
season
have hit at least one three-pointer, while five Cardinals have
connected
on 20-or-more long range bombs. After registering the top 10
three-point shooting efforts in a game last season, the Cardinals have
matched those totals four times this season. Four of BSU's top five
three-point shooting performances in school history have happened this
season - 15 vs. Eastern Michigan Jan. 27, 14 vs. Western Michigan Feb.
14, 13 vs. Marshall Jan. 4 and 11 vs. Illinois-Chicago Dec. 30.
DEURLOO'S STREAK CONTINUES:
Western Michigan junior Karen Deurloo extended her impressive streak
this past week against Ball State and Miami. Deurloo scored 31 points
and grabbed 14 rebounds versus the RedHawks. She has now scored 10 or
more points and shot .500 or better from the field in 13 straight
contests and 17 times overall this year. For the week, Deurloo
averaged
26.0 points and 10.5 rebounds per game while shooting 56 percent from
the field.
NEARING THE 20-WIN MARK:
Toledo leads the league with 19 overall victories and is one victory
shy of recording the team's 11th 20-win season in the last 13 years.
The only other times that Toledo failed to reach 20 wins in that span
was in 1993 (18-10) and last year (14-15).
3-POINT STREAKS AROUND THE MAC:
Toledo has currently made at least one three-point field goal in each
of its last 163 contests, dating back to Jan. 24, 1996. While the
Rockets' current streak trails Western Michigans 175 consecutive
games,
Toledo has hit a three-pointer in 366 of its last 367 games.
Below is
a
look at each of the teams present streak of consecutive games with a
made three-point field goal.
Consecutive Games With A 3-Point Field Goal Made (Start of streak):
Western Michigan -- 175 (1/18/95)
Toledo -- 163 (1/24/96)
Eastern Michigan -- 126 (12/22/96)
Central Michigan -- 104 (11/29/97)
Bowling Green -- 80 (3/13/98)
Miami -- 78 (11/14/98)
Marshall -- 42 (12/29/99)
Kent State -- 41 (1/15/00)
Ball State -- 34 (2/5/00)
Buffalo -- 27 (2/25/00)
Akron -- 17 (12/8/00)
Ohio -- 14 (1/3/01)
Northern Illinois -- 10 (1/13/01)
MARSHALL SNAPS STREAK:
Marshall ended a seven-game losing streak last Wednesday with a 70-60
win at home over Akron. The Thundering Herd had five players reach
double digits in scoring, paced by Au'Yana Fergusons 14 points.
Toni
Patillo added 13 points and five steals in the contest for the
Thundering Herd, who picked up their ninth win of the season -- the
teams most since the Herd joined the MAC. Patillo later led the team
with 17 points and added seven boards in a road loss to Bowling Green.
THE NON-CONFERENCE LOOK:
The Mid-American Conference finished the regular season with a 67-76
record in non-conference action (.468), including a 2-9 slate versus
nationally-ranked opponents. The MAC completed the 1999-00 season with
a
62-77 non-conference record, which translated into a .446 winning
percentage. That mark also included a 1-9 record against
nationally-ranked opponents. In 1998-99, the MACs record in
non-conference play was 59-66 (.472).
A LOOK AT KENT STATE'S STREAK:
Kent State started the season 3-5 but have won 15 of its last 17
games. They had a season-best seven game winning streak start Dec. 21
when they defeated Boston College 72-68 at home.
During the current five-game streak, senior Julie Studer is averaging
21.2 points and 9.2 rebounds while shooting 64 percent (45-of-70) from
the floor. Senior guard Carrie Nance is averaging 17.8 points, 4.2
rebounds and 5.4 assists per game.
As a team Kent State is averaging 79.2 points while giving up just
60.6
(+18.6) per game. They are shooting 48.0 percent (143-of-298) from the
field
while holding the opponents to 37.5 percent (104-of-277).
BECOMING HOME SWEET HOME:
After an early period of struggle at its new home, Eastern Michigan
has
found its rhythm and confidence inside the Convocation Center. In
almost
three years since the home court was opened, EMU is 18-14 overall.
However, Eastern has won 13 of its last 15, including an 8-2 mark this
season. The Eagles had a Convo record nine-game home winning streak
snapped with the loss to Northern Illinois, Jan. 9. EMU, winners of
three straight and five of its last six, end the regular season with
four of its final six regular games at home. Having defeated Marshall
and Central Michigan in the first two, the Eagles host Bowling Green
and
Toledo this week before completing the regular season schedule at
Western Michigan on Feb. 28.
BSU FEATURED IN DIARY ON ESPN.COM:
The Ball State women's basketball team, under the direction of
second-year head coach Brenda Oldfield, will receive national attention
for the remainder of the basketball season on ESPN.com. Sophomores Amy
Zercher and Tamara Bowie will provide an inside look to BSU women's
basketball every week by submitting a diary which will be posted on the
front page of the womens college basketball site on ESPN.com.
MAC TOURNEY MOVES TO GUND:
The 2001 Mid-American Conference Women's Basketball Tournament returns
to Cleveland for a second consecutive year but will have a new location
and a title sponsor. The MAC Womens Basketball Tournament will be
held
at Gund Arena, Tuesday, March 6 and Friday-Saturday, March 9-10. The
league office announced in October at its media day that Kraft has
signed a two-year agreement and will serve as the title sponsor of the
tournament.
Five first-round games are slated for Saturday, March 3, with the two
division winners and the team with the next best overall MAC record and
winning percentage receiving a bye to the quarterfinals. Eight teams
will convene in the Rock N Roll city for quarterfinal action on
Tuesday, March 6. Two semifinal contests are set for Friday, March 9,
while the championship game is slated for Saturday, March 10.
Individual game tickets for action at Gund Arena went on sale Monday,
Jan. 29. General admission tickets for adults will be $10, while
student general admission seating is $5.