Marquette University Athletics
Women's Basketball Goes After C-USA Tournament Title
2/29/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 29, 2000
MILWAUKEE -
COMING UP The bracket is set for this weekend's Conference USA Tournament at the University of Louisville's Freedom Hall. By virtue of its first ever outright C-USA regular-season championship, Marquette has earned the top seed in the tournament and a first-round bye. The Golden Eagles will play in a quarterfinal contest at noon (CT) on Sat., March 4, against the winner of Friday's #8 UAB/#9 Saint Louis game.
Should the Golden Eagles (22-5, 14-2) get past their opponent on Saturday, they will play in the semifinals on Sun., March 5, at 11:30 a.m. That game will be shown live on the Fox Sports Net. The championship game, which is being telecast on a tape-delay basis by espn2, is set for 6 p.m. on Mon., March 6.
ABOUT MARQUETTE After their season-high eight-game winning streak was snapped at DePaul last weekend, the Golden Eagles seek their first-ever C-USA Tournament championship this weekend. Marquette has the top seed at the tournament for the first-time ever, and is 3-0 this season against its possible quarterfinal-round opponents, UAB (1-0) and Saint Louis (2-0). The Golden Eagles remained in both national polls for the third consecutive week.
Marquette is currently shooting 43% from the field, 29% from behind the arc and 67% from the free throw line. Marquette's opponents have converted 36% of their field goals, 31% of their attempts from three-point land and 66% of their free throws. Marquette's free throw percentage defense ranks among the Top 10 in the nation.
The Golden Eagles are out-scoring opponents by 7.9 points per game, 70.2-62.3, and are outrebounding their opponents by 5.3 rebounds per game, 42.9-37.6.
After starting the same lineup for 38 straight games dating back to the first game of the 1998-99 season, the Golden Eagles trotted out six different lineups over the first seven contests of the new year. However, Marquette has returned to its "normal" lineup - G- Kiesha Oliver and Kristi Johnson, F - Lisa Oldenburg and Heidi Bowman, C- Abbie Willenborg . Those five account for 84% of the points (58.9 ppg) and 66% of the rebounds (28.2 rpg) this season. That lineup has been the most consistent one for Marquette this season, having compiled a 16-5 mark in 21 games.
Willenborg paces Marquette with averages of 16.7 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. Oldenburg leads the Golden Eagles with 1.6 blocks and 2.1 steals per game, and shoots 56% from the field. Bowman converts 76% of her free throws. Johnson shoots 33% from three-point land while dishing out 3.0 assists per contest.
ABOUT UAB After a season-high four-game losing streak, coach Jeannie Milling's Lady Blazers rebounded to win their final two games of the regular season and claim the #8 seed at this weekend's tournament. UAB finished the regular season at 16-11 overall and 8-8 in the league. The Lady Blazers concluded the schedule with road wins over Saint Louis and UNC Charlotte.
UAB is led by Player of the Year candidate Deanna Jackson. The 6-2 sophomore forward is among the league leaders with averages of 17.9 points, 12.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game. Also, she is among the best in the conference with a field goal percentage of 47% and leads C-USA with 19 double-doubles. Junior forward Mia Thrash averages 11.4 points and 4.0 rebounds, while Lisa Jackson, Deanna's older sister, 10.9 points, 2.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game.
Milling is in her 13th season as head coach at UAB, where she has compiled a 211-163 (.564) record. In 23 seasons overall as a head coach she has amassed a 372-273 (.577).
Marquette owns an 8-5 advantage over UAB in the teams' all-time series, and the Golden Eagles have won the past three meetings. On Jan. 20 in Milwaukee, Marquette prevailed in the teams' regular-season meeting with a 72-69 overtime win. Kiesha Oliver came off the bench to lead four Golden Eagles in double-figures with 22 points, while Mia Thrash had 17 points and Deanna Jackson 16 points and 10 rebounds for UAB. The Lady Blazers hit 12 three-pointers, but were outrebounded by seven.
ABOUT SAINT LOUIS Saint Louis ended the regular-season on a four-game skid, including home losses to UAB and Memphis last weekend. The Billikens got the ninth seed in the tournament by going 11-16 overall and 4-12 in C-USA action.
Head coach Jill Pizzotti is in her fifth season with the Bills and has a 56-81 (.409) mark during that span. Her career record is the same.
Saint Louis is led by the inside-outside combo of Bridget Beckmann and Mandy Lueking. A 6-1 junior center, Beckmann averages 11.5 points, 8.9 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game. Lueking, a 5-7 senior sharpshooter, leads the Billikens with 14.6 points per game. She has been hot over the latter part of the season and is now shooting 41% from three-point range and 85% from the line. Freshman of the Year candidate Christan Shelton, a 5-10 forward, adds 10.4 points and 5.0 caroms per contest.
Marquette has never lost to Saint Louis, holding a 24-0 all-time lead over the Billikens. Marquette triumphed in both regular-season contests this season, defeating Saint Louis 64-50 in St. Louis on Jan. 14, and winning an 82-70 decision in Milwaukee on Feb. 20. Abbie Willenborg averaged 20.5 points and 13 rebounds in the pair of games, while Mandy Lueking paced Saint Louis with 17.5 points per game.
LAST WEEK
DePaul 89, Marquette 71
Lenae Williams had 28 points and Jamie Lewis added 20 as DePaul made its final game at Alumni Hall memorable by upsetting #19 Marquette 89-71 on Feb. 26.
Williams was 6-of-7 on 3-pointers, while Lewis had nine rebounds as DePaul jumped ahead early and hung on. Marquette (22-5, 14-2) had its eight-game winning streak snapped.
The Blue Demons (17-10, 10-6) dominated the first half in building a 49-29 lead against a team it lost to by a 69-36 margin in December.
DePaul won its third straight by forcing 11 turnovers in the first half. The Golden Eagles pulled within 13 with 13:19 left but never got closer.
Abbie Willenborg led Marquette with 16 points and 12 rebounds before fouling out. The school's leading career scorer needs only three rebounds to become Marquette's career leader in rebounding as well.
Heidi Bowman added 13 points, Lisa Oldenburg 12 and Kiesha Oliver 11 for the Golden Eagles.
Marquette's loss didn't affect the C-USA standings. The Golden Eagles clinched the overall championship last week and will be the top seed in the conference tournament, which starts Friday in Louisville.
Alumni Hall has been the Blue Demons' home since the 1974-75 season. They were 9-5 at home in their final season at Alumni Hall. (AP)
IN THE POLLS Despite the loss at DePaul, Marquette remained in both polls for the third straight win. The Golden Eagles dropped to #24 in both the Associated Press Poll and the USA Today / ESPN Coaches' Poll.
Several Marquette opponents also received national recognition this week: Notre Dame dropped to #6 in both the AP and the coaches' polls, while C-USA foe Tulane dropped to #23 in the AP and #21 in the coaches' poll. Drake is receiving votes in both polls, while DePaul is getting votes in the AP poll.
HEAD COACH TERRI MITCHELL Now in her fourth season as head coach, Terri Mitchell is 86-30 (.741) at the helm of the Golden Eagles. She has led the Golden Eagles to their first-ever outright C-USA regular-season championship this season, and has Marquette poised to set a new single-season record for victories. Marquette's 22 wins this season make Mitchell the first head coach in the program's history to earn 20 wins or more in each of her first four seasons. She also is the first coach in the program's history to lead the team to a regular-season title, four-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.
WILLEN' AND ABLE Willenborg (Arlington Heights, Ill. / Hersey) concluded the regular season with her third straight double-double at DePaul. The 6-2 senior tallied 16 points and 12 rebounds for her team-leading 12th double-double of the season. She also tallied an assist, a block and a steal before fouling out of the contest. Willenborg paced Marquette against UNC Charlotte on Feb. 18, getting 21 points and 10 boards to help the Golden Eagles overcome a sluggish first half. She dominated the paint in the Feb. 20 Saint Louis contest, registering 24 points, a season-high 16 rebounds and a career-high five steals. Conference USA's all-time leading rebounder, Willenborg currently leads Marquette with averages of 16.7 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. She is shooting 48% from the field and 69% from the line. She has set career-highs in assists, blocks and steals, averaging 1.9 assists, 1.2 blocks and 1.6 steals per outing.
SOLID GOLDENBURG Oldenburg (West Allis, Wis. / Hale) gave the fans something to cheer about in her final home game at the Milwaukee Arena on Feb. 20, notching her third double-double of the season with 19 points and 10 rebounds against Saint Louis. She also three assists, two blocks and a steal in 33 minutes. Oldenburg turned in a solid performance against UNC Charlotte, getting 10 points, eight rebounds, three assists, three blocks and two steals in 26 minutes. Against DePaul this past Saturday, Oldenburg had 12 points, two rebounds and two blocks.
One of the most versatile players in C-USA, Oldenburg (West Allis, Wis. / Hale) is again displaying the skills that have earned her All-C-USA honors the past two seasons. The 6-2 senior forward leads Marquette with 1.6 blocks and 2.1 steals per game, and a 56% field goal percentage. She also sports impressive averages of 16.1 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game, and is converting 71% of her free throw attempts. Oldenburg is the only player in C-USA to rank among the top 15 in scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage, free throw percentage, steals and blocks.
Oldenburg was named to the GTE Academic All-District V First Team this week.
K.O. PUNCH Oliver (Racine, Wis. / Park) 11 points, including 7-10 from the line, three rebounds, and three assists at DePaul. This season, she is averaging 10.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game, and is shooting 70% from the line.
THROWING BOWS After a sluggish first semester, in which she was playing her way back into shape after resting a sore back over the Summer, Bowman (Piercy, Calif. / South Fork) has rounded into form during the heart of the C-USA schedule, and is now averaging 8.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. She also has converted 76% of her attempts from the free throw line, which leads the team.
The 6-0 junior had 13 points, five boards, three assists and a steal against the Blue Demons in the final game of the regular season.
RUNNING THE SHOW Johnson (Holmen, Wis. / Holmen) is pacing the Golden Eagles' long-range attack with 38 three pointers and is shooting a team-high 33% from beyond the arc. The 5-6 point guard paces the Golden Eagles with 3.0 assists per game and also is averaging 7.4 points and 3.0 rebounds per contest while hitting 75% of her free throws.
IN THE LANE Ebony Williams (Davenport, Iowa / Bettendorf) went 4-5 from the line and had eight points and three rebounds at DePaul ... Oldenburg, Oliver and Willenborg are each tied for fourth on Marquette's all-time games played Top 10 with 116 games played, the all-time record is 120 games, held by both Lori Goerlitz (1992-95) and Christine Kennedy (1992-95).
STAT PACK Several Golden Eagles were ranked among the final regular-season statistical league leaders. Lisa Oldenburg is third in the league in field goal percentage (56%), ninth in scoring (16.1 ppg), tenth in rebounding (7.1 rpg), ninth in free throw shooting (71%), 11th in steals (2.1 spg) and third in blocked shots (1.6 bpg). Abbie Willenborg is eighth in scoring (16.7 ppg), fourth in rebounding (9.3 rpg), fifth in field goal percentage (48%), 13th in free throw percentage (69%), and sixth in blocked shots (1.2 bpg). Kristi Johnson is 14th in assists (3.0 apg) and 11th in three-point field goals made (1.4 3FGpg). Kiesha Oliver is 12th in free throw percentage (70%), 13th in blocked shots (0.70 bpg) and 24th in scoring (10.0 ppg).
As a team, Marquette is third in scoring offense (70.2 ppg), first in scoring defense (62.3 ppg), second in scoring margin (+7.9), fourth in field goal percentage (43%), first in field goal percentage defense (36%), first in rebounding margin (+5.3), first in blocked shots (5.1 bpg) and third in assists (15.3 apg).
GOLDEN EAGLES ON THE AIR Select Marquette women's basketball games this season have been carried 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 the Golden Eagles' games at the Conference USA Tournament on WJYI.
The following games will be carried by WJYI:March 4 Quarterfinal Game NoonMarch 5 Semifinal Game 11:30 a.m.March 6 Championship Game 6 p.m.
Both semifinal games will be shown live on the Fox Sports Net. The championship game is being telecast on a tape-delay basis by espn2 at 7 p.m. (CT).
QUOTING TERRI MITCHELL: "Every team in the league is back to 0-0 again, and the tournament atmosphere is always exciting for that reason. Anything can happen.
"We've reached several of the goals that we had set for ourselves, however, we have a great opportunity to accomplish some more of those over the next few weeks, starting this weekend. We need to overcome some of the things that led to the loss at DePaul and get back to playing our game."
HEADS UP The Marquette Athletics Department will host an NCAA Tournament Selection Show party for the women's basketball team, family, friends and fans at the Union Sports Annex on Sun., March 12, at 3:30 p.m.
FOR MORE INFORMATION Contact Marquette assistant sports information director Josh Sutter at (414) 288-6980 or at: joshua.sutter@marquette.edu
