Women's Basketball Goes West For OSU Classic

Nov. 23, 1999

MILWAUKEE -

COMING UP Head coach Terri Mitchell's Marquette women's basketball team (1-1) plays two games at the OSU Classic in Corvallis, Ore., over the extended Thanksgiving Weekend. The Golden Eagles battle Pacific in the opening game of the tournament on Fri., Nov. 26, at 7 p.m. (CT). Marquette then plays either Idaho State or host Oregon State on Sat., Nov. 27. The consolation game is scheduled for 7 p.m., while the championship contest is slated for 9 p.m.

PACIFIC AT A GLANCE

The game against Marquette in the OSU Classic on Friday will be the second regular-season contest for head coach Sherri Murrell's Tigers, who open the 1999-2000 season by hosting Gonzaga tonight. Entering her second season at the Stockton, Calif., school, Murrell directed Pacific to a 14-13 (.519) record last year, when the Tigers tied for second in the Big West Conference. Pacific returns four starters from that squad, including 1998-99 Big West Freshman of the Year Selena Ho, a 5-5 guard who averaged 15.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game last season. The Tigers also feature 5-10 senior guard Eden Palacio, a two-time All-Big West Honorable Mention selection who averaged 11.9 points and 2.9 rebounds per game off the bench last season.

This will be the first meeting between Marquette and Pacific.

IDAHO STATE AT A GLANCE Coach Ardie McInelly's Bengals head into this weekend's tournament with a 2-0 record after hosting the American Dream Classic in Pocatello, Idaho, last weekend. Behind Sarah Nelson's 17-point outing, Idaho State opened the season with a 72-68 win over San Diego State. Sophomore Mandi Carver led the way for the Bengals in their 95-92 overtime win over Wyoming in the championship game of the Classic. Carver tallied 37 points on 11-19 shooting from the field and 15-16 shooting from the charity stripe.

Now in her fourth season at Idaho State, McInelly has compiled a 40-42 (.488) record. The Bengals went 8-18 last season and finished seventh in the Big Sky Conference. Seniors Angela Munger and Ashley Wiseman lead seven returning letterwinners, including Big Sky Freshman of the Year runner-up Carver, a 6-2 forward who averaged 9.2 points and 6.2 rebounds a game last year.

OREGON STATE AT A GLANCE Like Marquette, all five starters return for head coach Judy Spoelstra's Oregon State squad that finished 11-16 last season, when the Beavers tied for ninth in the Pac-10 Conference. Leading that group is 6-4 senior center Sissel Pierce, who averaged 10.9 points and 5.6 rebounds per game last year. The backcourt is run by twin sisters, Chassie and Cherrith Wiersma. The pair combined to average 10.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game a year ago.

The Beavers opened the season with a 65-47 victory over Portland State last night. Felicia Ragland led the way with 13 points.

LAST WEEK

Marquette 69, Iowa 64

Marquette opened its 1999-2000 season on Fri., Nov. 19, holding off a scrappy Iowa team en route to a 69-64 victory. Redshirt freshman Kristen Seffern (Van Dyne, Wis. / North Fond du Lac) came off the bench for a fouled-out Abbie Willenborg (Arlington Heights, Ill. / Hersey) and scored five of her seven points in the game?s last minute to propel the Golden Eagles to the victory over Iowa. Lisa Oldenburg (West Allis, Wis. / Hale) led Marquette with 20 points, three blocks and a career high eight steals to go along with six rebounds as the Golden Eagles improve to 1-0.

?This was a fun, great, exciting game to coach in and it?s a shame someone had to lose,? said Marquette head coach Terri Mitchell. ?It came down to every possession and to the little things. Then our experience kicked in. This team knows how to win. And Kristin Seffern came of age tonight.?

Despite a poor shooting night from the field, Willenborg had 17 points when she fouled out with 53 seconds remaining and Marquette down by one. However, Seffern, the 6-2 redshirt from Van Dyne, Wis., scored the next five Golden Eagles? points to give MU a 67-64 edge. Kiesha Oliver (Racine, Wis. / Park) iced the game with two free throws with seven seconds left.

?The difference now is we?re not just relying on Abbie to get us wins anymore,? Mitchell said. ?Lisa has her all-around game, Kristi (Johnson) can hit some threes, Kiesha will drive to the hoop and we?ll get someone else to step up like (Seffern) did tonight and it will all come together for us.?

A back-and-forth contest was marked by strong backcourt play from the Hawkeyes and a relentless resiliency from the Golden Eagles. Iowa shooting guard Lindsey Meder scored a game-high 22 points and seemed to hit a key basket every time Marquette seemed poised to make a run. Patrice Jennings came off the bench for 16 points and seven boards, while Milwaukee native Jerica Watson pulled down 16 boards for Iowa. Marquette countered with Oldenburg, who was 6-8 from the field, and Kristi Johnson (Holmen, Wis. / Holmen), who was 4-7 from three-point land.

?Kristi always has the green light,? Mitchell said. ?She has great range.?

Seffern also helped, with seven points and three boards in her first real game since Marquette?s 61-46 victory at George Mason last Nov. 21. She missed the remainder of last season with a stress fracture on the top of her left foot.

Drake 76, Marquette 55

The Golden Eagles shot 19% in the second half and lost its first game of the 1999-2000 season, falling at Drake 76-55 on Mon., Nov. 22 at the Bulldogs' Knapp Center. The Golden Eagles hit only seven field goals after the intermission and fell to 1-1. Drake earned its first win of the season, improving to 1-1.

"Drake is an experienced team that knows how to go for the kill," Marquette head coach Terri Mitchell said. "They took full advantage of our poor shooting in the second half."

A back-and-forth first half ended when Erin Richards drilled a three-pointer at the buzzer to give Drake a 34-31 lead. Just as in last year's meeting, Drake stayed alive in the opening frame with the three-point shot, as Richards and senior Megan Wright each had two from behind the arc. Both Richards and Wright tallied 10 points to lead the Bulldogs in the first 20 minutes. Led by Oldenburg, who had 12 points, Marquette led for a majority of the half, but couldn't pull away and surrendered the lead on Richards' buzzer-beater.

The Bulldogs rode the momentum from that last-second shot and never looked back after the break. They opened the second frame with a 15-4 run, led by freshman center Carla Bennett. The 6-3 freshman, in the lineup for hobbled All-American candidate Tammi Blackstone, had 11 of her 13 points in the second half.

"Not having Blackstone for a full game hurts them, in theory," Mitchell said. "But Bennett did more than just fill in for her. She gave them an athletic unit that was able to give us a number of different looks. She came up big when they needed her."

Oldenburg paced the Golden Eagles with 16 points and also had six rebounds, six steals and two blocks. Abbie Willenborg had 11 points and a team-high nine boards. Besides its poor shooting from the field, Marquette also struggled from the line, shooting 14-31 (45%). The Golden Eagles were 1-13 from three-point land. Wright led Drake with 15 points.

"We'll get over this loss, but we have some work to do," Mitchell said. "We need to get back to basics before the Thanksgiving Tournament."

ABOUT MARQUETTE Marquette returns all five starters from a team that went 21-8 a year ago. The Golden Eagles earned a tie for the Conference USA regular-season championship, won more than 20 games for the third straight season, and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive season. At the NCAA Tournament, Marquette was awarded the #8 seed in the Midwest Region, its highest seed ever. However, the Golden Eagles fell to nationally-ranked Kansas 64-58 in the opening round at West Lafayette, Ind.

Marquette is currently shooting 33% from the field, 19% from behind the arc and 55% from the free throw line. Marquette?s opponents have converted 41% of their field goals, 26% of their attempts from three-point land and 69% of their free throws.

The Golden Eagles are being out-scored by 8.0 points per game, 70.0-62.0 and are being edged by 8.5 rebounds per game, 50.5-42.0.

Head coach Terri Mitchell started the same five players in every game last season and in both of this season's contests: G- Oliver and Johnson, F - Oldenburg and Bowman, C- Willenborg. The starters accounted for 85% of the points (60.5 ppg) and 71% of the rebounds (29.5 rpg) last season.

Oldenburg paces the team with an 18.0 points per game average and is shooting 63% from the field, while Willenborg pulls down 8.5 boards per game. Johnson and Oliver each dish out 3.5 assists per game.

IN THE POLLS Marquette was not ranked in any postseason polls following last season, but the Golden Eagles have garnered national attention in several of this year's preseason polls. The Golden Eagles are #10 by the Women's Basketball Journal, #20 by Women's Basketball, #25 by Street & Smith's and #29 by Basketball News.

Marquette was among other teams receiving votes in both the AP and USA Today / ESPN Coaches' polls this week.

TOURNEY TIME In the 24-year history of the program, Marquette is 24-32 (.429) in regular-season tournament action. Under Mitchell, the Golden Eagles have gone 3-3 (.500) in such tournaments. On Nov. 23, 1996, Marquette lost a 83-68 decision to Tennessee in the Howard Bank Classic in Mitchell's first game as head coach. The Golden Eagles rebounded to defeat Canisius 108-93 the next day, earning Mitchell her first head-coaching win.

Last season Marquette competed in Duke's Ronald McDonald Classic in Durham, N.C., over the Thanksgiving Weekend. The Golden Eagles knocked off #13 Florida 77-61 on Nov. 28 before bowing to eventual national runner-up Duke 91-60 on Nov. 29 in Cameron Indoor Stadium.

HEAD COACH TERRI MITCHELL Now in her fourth season as head coach, Terri Mitchell is 65-26 (.714) at the helm of the Golden Eagles. Marquette's 21 wins last season made Mitchell the first head coach in the program's history to earn 10 wins or more in each of her first three seasons. She is also the first coach in the program's history to lead the team to a regular-season title, three-consecutive 20-win seasons and three straight appearances in the NCAA Tournament.

Mitchell was named the Conference USA Coach of the Year following the 1997-98 season after leading the Golden Eagles to a 22-7 mark and a second straight NCAA Tournament appearance.

In her debut season of 1996-97, Mitchell led Marquette to a 21-10 record, an 11.5 game turnaround from the Golden Eagles? 8-20 season the year before. The jump marked the largest improvement by a first-year head coach in NCAA Division I that year.

A 1989 graduate of Duquesne, where she was also a four-year letterwinner for the Duchesses? basketball team, Mitchell started her coaching career as a graduate assistant at Arizona State during the 1989-90 season. After a one-year stint as the Director of Camps and Promotions for Future Stars International, Mitchell came to Marquette as an assistant coach in 1991. She served as an assistant at the university until she was named head coach on June 6, 1996.

Mitchell is assisted by Tracey Tarkington, Jon Cain, Michelle Nason and special assistant Kelly Johnson.

PRESEASON HONORS For the second straight season, Willenborg was named by the league's coaches to the Preseason All-C-USA Team. The center has been honored by the league following each of her first three seasons in a Golden Eagle uniform. Willenborg was an All-C-USA First Team selection at the conclusion of the past two seasons after earning C-USA All-Freshmen Team accolades following the 1996-97 season.

The 12 C-USA coaches picked Marquette to tie for the league championship with Tulane. The Golden Eagles and Green Wave were the top team in the American and National Division, respectively.

LEADING THE FLOCK Seniors Oldenburg, Oliver and Willenborg will serve as Marquette's captains this season.

GOLDEN EAGLES ON THE AIR Select Marquette women's basketball games will be broadcast live on the Marquette Basketball Radio Network by WJYI-1340 AM and WISN-1130 AM this season.

Kent Sommerfeld and Kareeda Chones will call all the action for at least 16 games this season, with at least two others being simulcast. WJYI will carry at least 14 games, with WISN airing at least four. Additional games from the postseason may be added.

The Golden Eagle Pregame Show will start approximately 15 minutes before the scheduled tip-off on most dates.

The following games will be carried by WJYI:Dec. 1  at UW-Milwaukee 7 p.m.Dec. 6  BYU 7 p.m.Dec. 8  Wisconsin   7 p.m.Dec. 11 at Syracuse 1 p.m. (simulcast - tentative)Dec. 18 Arkansas State  7 p.m.Dec. 30 DePaul  7 p.m.Jan. 7  Louisville  10 p.m. (tape-delayed)Jan. 20 UAB 7 p.m.Jan. 28 South Florida   7 p.m.Feb. 3  at Southern Miss    7 p.m.Feb. 13 at Louisville   1 p.m.Feb. 18 UNC Charlotte   7 p.m.March 3-6   C-USA Tournament    TBA    The following games will be carried by WISN:Dec. 4  Dayton  1 p.m.Jan. 9  Cincinnati  2 p.m.Jan. 30 Houston 2 p.m.Feb. 20 Saint Louis 2 p.m.(The broadcast schedule is tentative and subject to change.)

The Golden Eagles will be featured on two nationally-televised games this season. Marquette's Sat., Feb. 5, game at Tulane will be aired by espn2 at 3 p.m. FOX Sports Net will carry the Golden Eagles' final game of the regular season, at DePaul on Sat., Feb. 26, at 11 a.m. Midwest Sports Channel will air the South Florida contest at the Milwaukee Arena on Fri., Jan. 28, at 7 p.m.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Contact Marquette assistant sports information director Josh Sutter at (414) 288-6980 or at: joshua.sutter@marquette.edu