Women's Basketball to Participate in the Blue Sky Classic
12/28/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 28, 2007
HANOVER, N.H. -
Dartmouth Game Notes in PDF Format
The Marquette women's basketball team will close out 2007 when it heads to Hanover, N.H., for the 31st edition of the Blue Sky Classic hosted by Dartmouth College.
Marquette (6-4) will play host Dartmouth (1-8) in the second game of the opening round on Saturday, Dec. 29, at 6 p.m. CT. The Golden Eagles will either play No. RV/23 Arkansas or Delaware on Sunday, Dec. 30 at 4/6 p.m. CT. The consolation game is at 4 p.m., with the championship at 6 p.m.
In its last time out, Marquette defeated Ark.-Pine Bluff, 83-54, at the Al McGuire Center. The Golden Eagles had all five of their starters score in double figures with junior Kelly Lam spearheading the effort with 15 points.
Junior All-America candidate Krystal Ellis leads the Golden Eagles with 20.6 points per game. She is also contributing 4.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game.
Along with her 10.1 ppg, senior Svetlana Kovalenko continues to dominate on the glass posting a team best 8.8 rpg, which also ranks seventh in the BIG EAST. She gave the Golden Eagles a career-high 13 rebounds against Northwestern and has pulled down 10 or more boards on five occasions this season.
Marquette is 39-41 all-time in regular season tournament games. Last season, the Golden Eagles won the U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jame over the Thanksgiving holiday.
Below is a glance at the tournament field.
Dartmouth
The Big Green (1-8) of the Ivy League enter the tournament with just one win under their belts, a 53-50 victory at Sacred Heart on Dec. 4. Dartmouth has yet to win a game at Leede Arena this season. The Big Green have dropped their last three at Stony Brook (65-48), at Denver (67-61) and at Colorado (57-43).
Kristen Craft leads Dartmouth with 9.7 points per game and has been the most accurate from the floor shooting 34.1 percent. Koren Schram follows with 9.6 ppg.
Sisters Margaret and Brittney Smith have been dominant on the glass averaging 7.7 and 7.6 rebounds per game, respectively. It will be the first all-time meeting with the Golden Eagles and the Big Green.
Arkansas
The Lady Backs (12-0) out of the SEC found themselves nationally ranked for the first time this season coming at No. 23 in the in this week's ESPN/USA Today WBCA Coaches' Poll. Arkansas remains outside of the Associated Press poll this week, moving to second among those also receiving votes.
Lauren Ervin leads Arkansas as she averages a double double with 16.7 points and 10.9 rebounds per game. Whitney Jones follows with 13.3 ppg. As a team, the Lady Razorbacks have outscored their opponents by an average of 19.9 points.
Arkansas will play Delaware in the opening round game.
Delaware
The Blue Hens (1-9) ride a school-record nine-game losing streak into their meeting with Arkansas in the first game of the Blue Sky Classic. Delaware took down Delaware State in its season opener, but has faltered since. Kyle DeHaven leads the Blue Hens with 11.3 ppg. Collectively, Delaware is averaging just 48.4 ppg.
