Marquette University Athletics
Women's Basketball Hosts Wisconsin; Goes To Syracuse
12/7/1999 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 7, 1999
MILWAUKEE -
COMING UP Head coach Terri Mitchell's Marquette women's basketball team (5-1) concludes a three-game homestand on Wed., Dec. 8, when the Golden Eagles welcome cross-state rival Wisconsin to the Milwaukee Arena at 7 p.m. (CT). Marquette will look to extend its current five-game winning streak against the Badgers.
The Golden Eagles close the week with a trip to Syracuse on Sat., Dec. 11. The Orangewomen host the Golden Eagles in Manley Field House at 1 p.m.
WISCONSIN AT A GLANCE After allowing Tennessee's Pat Summitt to earn her 700th victory in an 85-62 loss to the Lady Vols in their most recent outing this past Sunday, the Badgers arrive in Milwaukee with a 4-2 mark. Coach Jane Albright's squad is lead by an imposing frontline comprised of 6-3 LaTonya Sims, 6-3 Jessie Stomski and 6-4 Nina Smith, the consensus high school player of the year last season. Stomski, a sophomore, paces UW with averages of 17.0 points and 8.7 rebounds per game, while Sims adds 15.2 points and 6.8 rebounds.
Albright is in her sixth season at the Madison school, where she is 100-54 (.649). In 16 seasons overall as a head coach, she has a 286-164 (.636).
Wisconsin holds a 7-2 edge in the all-time series with Marquette, however the Golden Eagles scored a come-from-behind 81-73 upset of the nationally-ranked Badgers in Madison last season. Down 12 at the half, Kiesha Oliver and Heidi Bowman led a second-half surge to knock off #21 Wisconsin. Bowman paced Marquette with 21 points, while LaTonya Sims tallied 13 for the Badgers.
SYRACUSE AT A GLANCE Head coach Marianna Freeman's Orangewomen are 5-2 after splitting a pair of games at their own Carrier Classic last weekend. Syracuse opened the tournament with a 64-63 win over Northern Iowa before falling to nationally-ranked Old Dominion 71-46 in the title contest. Freeman has compiled a 59-112 (.345) in seven years at SU and has an nine-year head-coaching record of 80-139 (.365).
Syracuse has a high-powered offense that features four players in double-digits. Leading the way is 5-11 junior swing player Beth Record, who is averaging 18.6 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. Forward Leigh Aziz scores at a 12.3 ppg clip, while leading the team with 9.1 rebounds per game. Guards Shannon Perry and Jaime James add 10.6 and 10.4 points per game, respectively.
The series between Marquette and Syracuse is tied at 1-1. The teams last met during the 1993-94 season, when the Golden Eagles downed the Orangewomen 101-85 in Milwaukee.
LAST WEEK
Marquette 70, UW-Milwaukee 51
The Marquette women's basketball team earned the fictional city championship tonight, pounding out a 71-50 victory against crosstown rival UW-Milwaukee in the Panthers' Klotsche Center. The Golden Eagles rode the able shoulders of senior Abbie Willenborg, who recorded her first double-double of the season with 24 points and 12 rebounds, and a strong effort from the bench to improve to 4-1.
"Obviously, Abbie was feeling it tonight, but we established a solid overall inside presence," Marquette head coach Terri Mitchell said. "That's our plan every game: we're always going to get the ball inside. We're blessed with Abbie and Lisa Oldenburg inside, so we have to see how a defense is going to handle them. We stick to what we do well."
Marquette jumped out to a comfortable lead in the first half behind a stifling defense that created 12 Panther turnovers and limited UWM to five field goals. The Golden Eagles also established their inside game, as Willenborg had already racked up 10 rebounds and Oldenburg had scored 10 points before the break. Marquette went into the intermission up 30-20.
"We changed defenses a lot in the first half," Mitchell said. "We gave them denial man, regular man and some zones, and we confused them a little."
Willenborg and the Marquette reserves increased the margin in the second half. After a slow start from the field, the 6-2 senior center ended up going 10-19 en route to a season-high 24 points. Junior Jenelle Ristau came off the bench to go 3-4 for seven points, while freshman Rachel Klug tossed in six and Ebony Williams tallied six points, four boards and two blocks. UW-Milwaukee was led by senior guard Daryl Schaffeld, who had team highs of 11 points and eight boards. The Panthers managed to shoot only 30% from the field, including 5-21 from behind the three-point arc.
Marquette 67, Dayton 60 (ot)
Kiesha Oliver scored early and scored late, as the Marquette women?s basketball team overcame a sluggish second half to win its fourth straight, 67-60 in overtime, against Dayton on Sat., Dec. 4, in the Milwaukee Arena. All three Marquette seniors reached double-digit point totals, and Abbie Willenborg registered her second consecutive double-double, but it was Oliver who stepped up late to help the Golden Eagles get past the surging Flyers. Marquette improved to 5-1 with the win, while Dayton dropped to 3-4.
Oliver netted the first basket of the game, and picked up a quick six points as the Golden Eagles raced out to a 22-8 lead in the first half. Lisa Oldenburg was also hot in the opening minute and ended the first half with 13 points on 6-6 shooting from the field. However, Dayton started to chip away at the Marquette advantage with the effective inside-outside combo of Christi Hester and RaeLynn McIntosh. That duo helped the Flyers cut into Marquette?s lead, and the teams went into the lockerrooms with the score 27-22 in MU?s favor.
Hester and McIntosh got some help after the break, as Dayton shot 50% from the field and came back to take their first lead of the contest, 44-43, with 8:59 remaining. The elusive Hester, a 5-9 senior guard, proved particularly efficient, finishing the game with 17 points, on 6-12 shooting, seven assists and two steals. Her jumper with 1:47 left gave Dayton its largest lead of the game (53-50).
?We got away from what was successful for us,? Marquette head coach Terri Mitchell said. ?For that stretch when Dayton went up, we went away from all of that and it was frustrating because we could have made some simple adjustments to fix the problem.
After a perfect first half, Oldenburg got only five shots after the first 20 minutes, and the Golden Eagles committed 25 turnovers. However, a relentless Willenborg hit back-to-back layups to keep MU in the game, and Oliver?s layup in traffic off an inbounds play with nine seconds left gave Marquette the lead. Hester had a chance to win the game on a pair of free throws with no time left after being fouled while driving to the hoop, but made only one - sending the game to overtime with a 54-54 score.
The Golden Eagles took advantage of the extra opportunity, converting all six of their free throws and letting Oliver do what she does best. The 5-9 shooting guard slashed her way to the hoop for two acrobatic layups and also grabbed two key rebounds in the extra session, as Marquette outscored the Flyers 13-6 in the overtime period.
?Kiesha?s a senior and she knows what it takes to win games like this,? Mitchell said. ?She?s won several games for us during her career and I wouldn?t want anyone else taking that game-winning shot because she?s a gamer. A lot of people don?t talk about her lot, but I talk about her a lot and I believe in her a lot.?
Oldenburg finished with a game-high 18 points and nine rebounds, while Willenborg tallied 17 points and 13 boards. Oliver ended up with season-highs of 12 points and seven rebounds. Sophomore point guard Kristi Johnson had eight points and a season-high six assists, while her classmate, Sarah Zawodny, came off the bench for seven points and five rebounds. McIntosh added 16 points and seven rebounds for Dayton, which also got 13 points off the bench from Sarah Schloss.
Marquette 74, Brigham Young 71
Kristi Johnson hit a three-pointer with 14 seconds left to give Marquette the lead for good and Abbie Willenborg added a free throw to ice the Marquette women?s basketball team?s 74-71 victory over Brigham Young on Mon., Dec. 6, in the Bradley Center. Willenborg led the Golden Eagles with 21 points and 10 rebounds, her third straight double-double, and Marquette survived an onslaught of Cougar three-pointers to win its fifth consecutive win and improve to 6-1. BYU loses its second game of the season and falls to 5-2.
?BYU is a very good ball club, and I wouldn?t be surprised to see them in the NCAA (Tournament) at the end of the season,? Marquette head coach Terri Mitchell said. ?But tonight, once again, you could see our experience. We came up with several big steals, big stops and then KJ with that big three at the end.?
As it has in several games this season, Marquette built several seemingly comfortable leads throughout the contest, only to surrender the lead late in the second half. The Golden Eagles went up by nine late in the opening half behind Willenborg, who was 4-5 from the field in the opening half. However, BYU stayed in the contest with its weapon of choice: the three-point shot. Junior forward Cady Williams took eight in the first 20 minutes, hitting three, and center Jill Adams connected on 2-5 three-point tries and had 12 points to pull the Cougars within six, 34-28, at the intermission.
The Cougars continued their long-range bombing after the break and, behind four second-half threes from freshman point guard Erin Thorn, took its first lead of the game, 53-50, with 9:59 remaining. A surging Lisa Oldenburg, who had seven of her nine points in the second half, staked MU to a 67-58 at 3:59 left, but BYU climbed back into the game with a 13-3 run to take a one-point lead with 1:14 left. Neither team scored for the next minute, but Johnson used BYU?s best weapon against the, draining a deep three-pointer from the right wing with 14 seconds on the clock. The final of Willenborg?s team-high 21 points put Marquette up by three, and Adams? desperation three-point heave at the buzzer fell well short.
?I like the confidence (Kristi) had in taking that shot,? Mitchell said. ?She didn?t hesitate and a lot of that comes from the experience from starting every game last season as a freshman. I asked her earlier today to look for her shot. She did.?
Despite a poor performance from the free-throw line, including missing seven of eight attempts in the final 2:32, the Golden Eagles were hot from behind the arc, hitting a season-high eight threes, and allowed the Cougars to get to the line only five times. Johnson and Kiesha Oliver each contributed 13 points, while Sarah Zawodny was strong off the bench again with eight points. The Golden Eagles only committed nine turnovers. Adams led BYU with a game-high 24 points, while Thorn had 17.
ABOUT MARQUETTE Marquette, chosen by many preseason prognosticators to finish in the Top 25 this season, has won five in a row to boost its record to 6-1. The Golden Eagles conclude a three-game homestand tomorrow night after winning their previous three contests on the road.
Marquette is currently shooting 43% from the field, 30% from behind the arc and 63% from the free throw line. Marquette?s opponents have converted 40% of their field goals, 30% of their attempts from three-point land and 68% of their free throws.
The Golden Eagles are out-scoring opponents by 4.4 points per game, 70.0-65.6, but are being edged by 1.3 rebounds per game, 38.4-39.7.
Head coach Terri Mitchell has started the same five players in the past 36 contests: G- Oliver and Johnson, F - Oldenburg and Heidi Bowman, C- Willenborg. The starters account for 85% of the points (59.2 ppg) and 68% of the rebounds (26.0 rpg) this season.
Oldenburg paces the team with an 18.7 points per game average and is shooting 68% from the field, while Willenborg pulls down a team-high 9.6 boards per game. Johnson dishes out 3.7 assists per game and shoots 39% from three-point range.
IN THE POLLS Marquette was not ranked in either the USA Today / Coaches' Poll or the AP Poll last week, but was one of the top teams receiving votes in both polls.
Several Marquette opponents did receive national recognition last week: Notre Dame was #8 by the coaches and #11 by the AP, Wisconsin was tied for #25 by the AP and was receiving votes in the coaches' poll. Tulane, Arkansas State, BYU and Saint Louis were each receiving votes from the AP, while Tulane, Arkansas State and Louisville were getting votes in the coaches' poll.
HEAD COACH TERRI MITCHELL Now in her fourth season as head coach, Terri Mitchell is 70-26 (.729) 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.
ER Jenelle Ristau (Kimberly, Wis. / Kimberly) is out for the rest of the season after deciding to have surgery to repair a stress fracture in her left foot. She will undergo surgery after finals week, which ends Dec. 18. Ristau was sidelined last season, when she sat out as a transfer from Dayton, after undergoing surgery for a stress fracture in her right foot. She will attempt to comeback next season.
SOLID GOLDENBURG Oldenburg (West Allis, Wis. / Hale) continued her fast start to the 1999-2000 season in the three games last week. Against UWM, she had a strong overall outing, registering 10 points, six rebounds, six assists and five steals. In Saturday's win over Dayton, Oldenburg went 7-11 from the field for a team-high 18 points, pulled down nine rebounds and swiped three steals. She also had a solid game against BYU, with nine points, four boards and five assists. Oldenburg is now leading Marquette with an 18.7 points per game average, and also is turning in 6.7 rebounds, 3.9 steals and 1.4 blocks per contest while shooting 68% from the field.
WILLEN' AND ABLE After a slow start to her senior campaign, Willenborg (Arlington Heights, Ill. / Hersey) has picked up her game in the past week. She tallied her third-straight double-double against Brigham Young , leading Marquette with 21 points and 10 rebounds and also getting two steals and two assists. Against Dayton, she scored 17 points and grabbed a season-high 13 boards to go along with three assists and three steals. She proved unstoppable in the paint against UW-Milwaukee, leading Marquette with then-season-highs of 24 points, 12 rebounds and three steals. On the season, Willenborg is averaging 17.3 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.4 blocks per game.
RUNNING THE SHOW Johnson (Holmen, Wis. / Holmen) is pacing the Golden Eagles' long-range attack with 10 three pointers and is shooting a team-high 39% from beyond the arc. The 5-6 point guard also is among MU's leaders with a 70% mark from the free throw line and 3.7 assists per game, and is averaging 8.6 points and 3.0 rebounds per contest.
Johnson had 13 points and went 3-4 from three-point land against BYU after racking up eight points and season-highs of six assists and three steals against Dayton. Against UWM, Johnson had five points, two assists, a rebound and a steal.
K.O. PUNCH Oliver (Racine, Wis. / Park) has come alive over the past week. She had a strong floor game against Brigham Young with 13 points, five rebounds, seven assists and two steals. Oliver sealed the victory over Dayton with six points, all on drives through the lane, in the final six minutes (including overtime). The 5-9 shooting guard finished the contest with season-highs of 12 points and seven rebounds.
Oliver is among Marquette's free-throw shooting leaders with a 70% mark from the line. She's averaging 8.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game from her shooting guard spot. Oliver has also logged ample minutes at the point 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 5-10 minutes before the scheduled tip-off on most dates.
The following games will be carried by WJYI: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: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.
