Marquette University Athletics
Women's Basketball Continues Four Game Road Trip
12/13/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 13, 2002
Owning its first winning streak of the season, Marquette looks to extend that streak with the first of two road games this week. The last time Marquette had a three game win streak was at the end of January last season. MU was finishing up a six-game win streak at the time. The Golden Eagles' first contest this week comes nine days after its last game. MU meets La Salle on. Start time is 7 p.m. (EST). Last year, Marquette defeated the Explorers 63-54 at the U.S. Cellular Arena.
The Golden Eagles will finish up the four-game road trip at Virginia Commonwealth on Wednesday, Dec. 18 with a 7 p.m. start. Marquette and Virginia Commonwealth will meet for the first time.
Scouting La Salle
Marquette and La Salle meet for the second time in as many years with each team owning a 3-2 record. The Explorers are coming off a 15 point loss at Villanova on December 7, ending a three game win streak.
Freshman guard Davineia Payne has been the Explorers' go-to player this year. She leads the team in scoring (14.8 points per game), rebounding (7.6 per game), and assists (3.4 per game). She is coming off an 18-point, five rebound, two assist game against Villanova. She has hit double figures in scoring in four out of the five games this season with a high of 23 against Delaware. She opened up the year with a 13-point, 12-rebound performance against Wake Forest.
After the five starters, production diminishes from the reserves. The top five scorers on the team are the five starters. Of La Salle's 63.2 points per game, 16.1 comes from the bench.
The Explorers have proven accurate from the field this season. They are hitting 44.0 percent of their shots and are shooting 30.9 from three point range. La Salle has outshot its opponents in each of its three wins, but has struggled defensively in the two losses. La Salle allowed Wake Forest to shoot 54.4 percent in its season-opening 87-71 loss and allowed Villanova to shoot 47.3 percent.
On the Air: The Marquette/La Salle game will not be broadcast on any media outlet.
Possible Starting LineupMarquette Ht Yr PPG RPG 2 Carolyn Kieger G 5-8 Fr. 10.4 2.6 12 Katie O'Grady G 5-8 Jr. 12.2 1.8 22 Katie Alsdurf G 6-0 So. 9.8 6.2 44 Crystal Weaver F 5-11 Jr. 5.6 3.8 21 Rachel Klug C 6-0 Sr. 15.6 6.2
La Salle Ht Yr PPG RPG 4 Chrissy Walker G 5-11 Sr. 6.4 2.2 22 Jill Marano G 5-7 So. 9.8 2.2 25 Davineia Payne G 5-9 Fr. 14.8 7.6 44 Ekaterina Markova F 6-0 Jr. 5.6 6.0 54 Kat Foley F 6-0 Jr. 11.0 6.4
Scouting Virginia Commonwealth
After nine days off, Virginia Commonwelath will step back into action playing at Richmond on December 15.
The Rams have started off the season a sluggish 1-3. A 43 point win over North Carolina A&T did not offer a precursor of things to come. Liberty won by 17, 21st ranked George Washington was a 41 point winner and Charlotte won at VCU by four.
For the Rams, the focus of the offense is Kristine Austgulen. She domintes the glass while leading the team in scoring. She averages 16.5 points per game and pulls down 10.8 boards per contest. She's a 43.5 percent field goal shooter and has quick hands, leading the team in steals with seven. She scored 12 points and had 12 rebounds in against Liberty. She scored 18 and had 12 rebounds against Charlotte and her best game came in the season opener, scoring 12 points with 11 boards against North Carolina A&T.
Her scoring partner is Cyncy Wilks. Wilks is second on the team with a 15.3 scoring average per game. She is the three-point specialist for VCU. Of the team's 51 long range attempts, she has 29. She is hitting 37.9 percent from three-point range this season.
On the Air: The Marquette/Virginia Commonwealth game can be heard at vcurams.vcu.edu. Nate Edwards provides the coverage.
Possible Starting LineupVirginia Commonwealth Ht Yr PPG RPG 3 Meagan Evans G 5-9 Jr. 7.3 0.3 15 Cyndy Wilks G 5-11 Jr. 15.3 3.0 21 Kristine Austgulen F 6-0 Sr. 16.5 10.8 24 Maria Giovannetti F 5-11 So. 3.5 2.0 43 Candice Phelps C 6-3 Fr. 4.5 3.5
Equality of the Opponent
When it meets La Salle on Dec. 16, Marquette will be playing a team with the same record as it for the third straight and fourth of six contests. Marquette and La Salle come into the game at 3-2. Both MU and Georgia State were 2-2 prior to that contest. Chicago State and Marquette were 1-2 before its game, and Wis.-Milwaukee matched Marquette's record at 0-1 prior to that contest.
Double Take
Marquette played its first double overtime game in two years on December 7 against Georgia State. MU had previously played two double overtime games in school history, losing both. Senior center Rachel Klug (Cedar Grove, Wis.) scored MU's first eight points in the second overtime before fouling out, setting up the Golden Eagle victory. Three players in the game played more than 40 minutes - Klug with 43, junior forward Crystal Weaver (Kentwood, Mich.) in 42 and freshman guard Carolyn Kieger (Roseville, Minn.) with 41. In all, Marquette owns a 9-12 record in overtime games. In all, head coach Terri Mitchell is 6-3 in overtime games for her career.
Tournament Champions
For the first time since the 1999-2000 season, Marquette won a regular season tournament title. The Golden Eagles claimed the championship of the Hyatt Regency Atlanta Invitational. MU won the OSU classic in November of 1999 in its last tourney win. Freshman guard Carolyn Kieger (Roseville, Minn.) was named the tournament's MVP. She averaged 15.5 points in the victories over Chicago State and Georgia State. She also had seven assists and seven rebounds in the win over Georgia State. Senior center Rachel Klug (Cedar Grove, Wis.) was also named to the all-tournament team. She scored 20 against Georgia state and had six points in limited action due to foul trouble against Chicago State.
Three Players with 10 or More
For the first time since the end of the 1999-2000 season, Marquette has three players averaging 10 or more points per game. Senior center Rachel Klug (Cedar Grove, Wis.) leads the team with 15.6 points per game. Junior guard Katie O'Grady (Chicago, Ill.) is second with 12.2 points per game and freshman guard Carolyn Kieger (Roseville, Minn.) rounds out the trio with 10.4 points per game. Sophomore guard Katie Alsdurf (Forest Lake, Minn.) is just out of the 10 points per game category with 9.6 per contest.
All or Nothing with Klug
Senior center Rachel Klug (Cedar Grove, Wis.) has had a feast or famine beginning to the 2002-03 season. Klug has scored in double figures in three of MU's five games, scoring 20 or more points in each. When she is below 20 points, she has only scored five against Dayton and six while in foul trouble against Chicago State.
With a 20-point effort against Georgia State, it marked the seventh time in Klug's career she scored 20 or more points and was the 25th time with 10 or more points. She also recorded her fourth career double double with 11 rebounds to go with her 20 points.
O'Grady Hits Her Stride
In the first 20 minutes against Chicago State, junior guard Katie O'Grady (Chicago, Ill.) played what was perhaps the best basketball she has played in college. In the first half against the Cougars, O'Grady was 5-of-6 and was was 4-of-5 from three point land to total 17 points. She added two in the second half to finish with 19 points to set a new career high. It was the third time she topped the 10 point barrier. Against Dayton, she was 7-for-10 from the floor and set a then career high with 17 points. Against UWM, she was effective, scoring 10 points, marking the first time in her career she has scored 10 or more in back to back games. For her career, O'Grady has six career 10 or more point outings, with three coming her freshman year.
Inching Over the .500 Mark
Heading into the 2000-01 season, Marquette women's basketball owned a 346-346 all time record. With a .500 winning percentage all-time, the team last season did nothing to change that fact with a 14-14 record. Heading into this season MU had an all time record of 360-360, exactly .500. Currently, MU has an all-time record in its 28th season of 363-362 (50.07 percent).
Taking What is Free
Through five games, Marquette is making the most of its free throw attempts. The Golden Eagles are 87-of-108 from the line this year, hitting 80.6 percent. Last year, Marquette was 70.8 percent from the line. The Golden Eagles are currently second in the league in free throw accuracy and senior center Rachel Klug (Cedar Grove, Wis.) is sixth in the league at 87.0 percent. Twice this season has a player gone 10-for-10 from the line. Klug shot that against Saint Francis (Pa.) as part of a 26-point effort. Freshman guard Carolyn Kieger (Roseville, Minn.) went 10-for-10 against Georgia State, scoring 16.
When Schwerman Hits 10 or More
Twice this season has junior sixth player Kelly Schwerman (Waukesha, Wis.) hit scored 10 or more points and times, Marquette came away with a win. Schwerman scored 12 off the bench against Chicago State and tossed in 10 against Georgia State. Schwerman is fifth on the team in scoring with 6.6 points per game. Last season, Marquette was 5-0 when Schwerman came off the bench for 10 or more points. Combined with this year's total, Marquette is 7-0 when Schwerman comes off the bench to score 10 or more.
Spreading it Around
Freshman Carolyn Kieger (Roseville, Minn.) had four assists in her collegiate debut. She continued to find open players against Wis.-Milwaukee, dishing a season high six assists. She improved her assist-to-turnover ratio against UWM, turning over the ball just twice against the Panthers. She then set a career high with seven against Georgia State. She averages 4.6 assists per game.
Strength of Schedule Always Difficult
Marquette owns the 43rd best overall and 52nd best non-conference schedule according to the Richie Summerville/WBCA preseason RPI release. The Golden Eagles have the fourth-toughest strength of schedule among C-USA teams according to the release. TCU has the nation's fourth most difficult schedule. Tulane is ranked 28th in the preseason strength of schedule and DePaul is 36th.
Marquette's 2002-03 schedule contains four teams ranked in the preseason USA Today/ESPN/WBCA Top 25. Notre Dame was ranked 10th in that poll. Iowa State owned an ranking of 18. C-USA schools TCU and Cincinnati were ranked 19th and 21st respectively.
Balanced Attack
Against Wis.-Milwaukee, all 12 players played and no single MU player played more than 27 minutes. In addition, 11 of the 12 players scored and 10 hit field goals. All but one player grabbed a rebound as well. Eight players logged assists and seven different players grabbed a steal in the 73-53 victory.
Golden Eagles Ink Three in Fall Signing Period
Head women's basketball coach Terri Mitchell has announced the signing of three high school players to national letters of intent. The incoming freshman class includes Danielle Kamm from Saginaw, Mich.; Jasmine McCullough from St. Louis, Mo.; and Christina Quaye from Chicago, Ill. Kamm is a small forward for Nouvel Catholic Central High School in Saginaw, Mich. She averaged 20.7 points and 11.8 rebounds per game as a junior and was named to Street & Smith's High School All-America Team. McCullough is in her senior year at Rosary High School in St. Louis, Mo.. She averaged 18.9 points, 10.2 rebounds and 2.9 steals last year as a junior and was named first-team all-state for the second straight year. Quaye is a power forward, playing her senior year, at Regina Dominican High School in Willamette, Ill. Last season, she scored 15.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per game as she was selected third-team all-state.
Golden Eagles to be Heard on WRRD and WISN
Every Marquette home game and select MU road games can be heard on WRRD 540 AM or WISN 1130 AM. All contests can be heard on the world wide web via Marquette's internet site at www.gomarquette.com.
Six MU telecasts will be carried on WRRD 540 AM. WRRD - "The Word" - is a member of the Marquette radio network for the first time this season.
In addition, seven broadcasts will be carried on WISN 1130 AM. WISN boasts one of the strongest AM signals in southeast Wisconsin and is known for its sports coverage. Kent Sommerfeld is back for his third season as Marquette's play-by-play man. Former MU star Kareeda Chones is in her fifth season with the MU radio network.
The Terri Mitchell Show
Saturday afternoons, WISN 1130 AM will carry "The Terri Mitchell Show." In its fifth year, host Kent Sommerfeld and head coach Terri Mitchell will highlight the previous weeks' action, player features, interviews and a listener call in period. The first show of the series will air on Saturday, Nov. 23 at 3:05 p.m. The show will air twice in December (14th and 21st) and return on January 4 to its weekly spot through the end of the regular season.
The Golden Eagles on TV
Currently, two MU games are schedule to hit the airwaves for local broadcast. The C-USA Television Network will team up with WMLW-Ch. 41 to carry two regular-season C-USA games. MU hosts UAB at noon on Jan. 19. The Golden Eagles visit DePaul on March 2 for a 2 p.m. start.
