Complete PDF Notes

Game #4: Sunday, November 18, 1 p.m. CST
Valpo (0-3, 0-0 Horizon)
at Xavier (1-1, 0-0 Atlantic 10)
Cintas Center (10,250) - Cincinnati, Ohio

Coming Up in Crusader Hoops: Valparaiso wraps up its weekend in Cincinnati, Ohio on Sunday afternoon as the Crusaders battle Xavier (Ohio).  The Brown and Gold is looking to rebound from a 96-69 defeat on Friday at the hands of Cincinnati.

On the Air: Friday’s game at Cincinnati will be carried live on WVUR (95.1-FM, Valparaiso) and online at www.valpo.edu/athletics.  Nick Kovatch and Matt Engelbrecht will call all the action live from Fifth Third Arena.  All 29 regular season games will be broadcast live over the internet in addition to many games on the radio.

Series Notes: Xavier has won all seven previous meetings between the two schools in a series that dates back to January 11, 1988.  The Musketeers hold a 4-0 series edge in Cincinnati, including a 58-44 win in the last meeting on November 26, 2005 in the championship game of the National City Xavier Invitational.

Wrapping Up Cincinnati: The Bearcats went on an 18-6 run during the first half to build a double digit advantage as Cincinnati went on to defeat the Crusaders 96-69 on Friday evening.  The Bearcats outrebounded Valpo 45-20 in the contest, grabbing 18 boards on the offensive end of the floor.  Launa Hochstetler and Rashida Ray led the Crusaders with 12 points each while Whitney Farris and Agnieszka Kulaga added 11 points a piece.  Tenishia Benson led Cincinnati with 25 points while Kahla Roudebush added 22 more for the Bearcats.

Scouting Xavier: The Musketeers moved to 1-1 on the season with a come-from-behind victory against Penn State, 72-68, on Thursday evening at Xavier.  Amber Harris scored 30 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead the Musketeers and is now averaging 25.5 points and nine rebounds per game.  Jerri Taylor is averaging 20 points per contest after scoring 26 for Xavier in the opener at Florida.  Ta’Shia Phillips also grabbed 13 boards for the Musketeers against Penn State in the victory.

Freeman Winningest Coach in Valpo History: Head coach Keith Freeman’s 229 victories are not only most in Valpo history, but also ranked him a top the Mid-Continent Conference prior to the Crusaders’ move to the Horizon League.

Ray Tallies First Double-Figure Scoring Night at Cincy: Freshman Rashida Ray scored 12 points, her first double-figure effort of her career, in her third collegiate game at Cincinnati.  The rookie hit 4-of-7 three-point field goals for the Crusaders in 20 minutes of action coming in off of the bench.

Launa Hochstetler Leads Crusaders in Scoring in Two Straight Games: Launa Hochstetler had her second highest scoring day of her career Monday against Purdue.  The junior guard tallied 17 points, including three three-pointers.  She followed that effort up on Friday at Cincinnati with 12 points, sharing team-high honors, making 4-of-8 shots from the floor.

Balanced Scoring Thus Far for Valpo: With Valpo graduating more than 50% of its offense from last season, the Crusaders have spread the points around this year.  While Launa Hochstetler leads the Crusaders averaging 10.7 points per contest, she is the only player to average double figures through the first three games.  However, five players are averaging at least seven points per contest.

Crusaders Continue Shooting Well from Long Range: After setting a school record shooting 37.4% from three-point range last year, Valpo has picked up where it left off, shooting 45.8% (27-of-59) from long range in the first three games.  The Crusaders made their first five triples at Purdue on the way to making 11-of-17 (64.7%) on the night.

Valpo Picked Fifth in Horizon League Race: Valparaiso has been tabbed to finish in fifth place in the Horizon League in its inaugural season according to the preseason poll conducted of the league’s head coaches, sports information directors, and selected media outlets.  Milwaukee was picked to win the league followed by nine-time defending regular season champion Green Bay.

Who Made This Schedule?: Valparaiso is set to play 10 of its 29 regular season games against teams that participated in either the 2007 NCAA Tournament or the WNIT.  In the preseason polls (USA Today and Associated Press), seven of Valpo’s opponents were either ranked or receiving votes in at least one of the two.  Bowling Green was receiving votes while Purdue was ranked 20th in the USA Today coaches poll.  Xavier is also receiving votes in both polls.