Valparaiso (2-14, 0-3 Horizon)
at UIC (13-4, 2-2 Horizon)
Game #17 - Tuesday, January 21 - 7 p.m.
UIC Pavilion (8,000) - Chicago, Ill.
Next Up in Crusader Basketball: The Crusaders will make the trip up I-90 Tuesday for their final road game of January. UIC possesses the best overall win percentage of any team in the Horizon League (.765), but its 2-2 conference record has the Flames in a logjam for fourth place in the HL. Valpo is in search of its third straight victory over UIC.
Last Time Out: Valpo shot a season-best 54.3% from the field but couldn’t get past Wright State Saturday at the ARC. The Raiders forced 23 Crusader turnovers and grabbed 19 offensive rebounds in a 79-65 victory over the Brown and Gold. Kim Demmings matched a career-high with five three-pointers en route to a 31-point afternoon. Though she shot just 7-for-21 overall, Demmings collected 12 points from the foul line. Sharon Karungi was 8-for-10 from the floor as the junior scored 19 points. 42 of Valpo’s 65 total points came in the paint.
Following the Crusaders: Audio - WVUR (95.1 FM, Valparaiso) - Joey Basil (play-by-play) and Parker Gatewood (color). Video - Horizon League Network. Links for the audio and live stats will be available at ValpoAthletics.com. In addition, ValpoGameday.com is a one-stop shop for live video, stats and social media interaction, all on the same page.
Head Coach Tracey Dorow: Tracey Dorow (13-34) is in her second season at the helm of the Valparaiso women’s basketball program in 2013-14. In her first season, Dorow led the Crusaders to eleven victories overall, including five in Horizon League play. Dorow arrived in Valparaiso after 14 seasons at Ferris State. She compiled a 232-163 record while with the Bulldogs. Furthermore, Ferris State posted the #1 grade point average in all of Division II for the 1999-2000 women’s basketball season as well as the #2 ranking in 2002-2003.
Series Notes: Valparaiso leads the all-time series 21-18 over UIC. The two teams met three times last season. The Crusaders beat the Flames 67-57 in the opening round of the Horizon League Tournament last March after splitting the regular season series. Valpo’s last win at the UIC Pavilion came on March 6th, 2010. UIC has since won three in a row in the Windy City.
Storylines...
- Tuesday will be the 40th meeting all-time between UIC and Valpo.
- The only team Valpo has faced more often is Chicago State (41).
- The Crusaders and Flames played each other on January 21st in Chicago two years ago. UIC won that game 54-43.
- Jessica Carr, Lexi Miller, and Charae Richardson combined to shoot 11-for-20 (55%) from beyond the arc in the three games versus the Flames last season.
- UIC won the turnover battle 55-36 in the 2012-13 season series.
- The Crusaders enter Tuesday’s contest third in the nation in free-throw shooting (79.7%).
- UIC and Valpo finished the 2012-13 season with identical 5-11 records in Horizon League play.
@uicflamesdotcom
- @uicflamesdotcom leads the HL in offensive rebounding (41.4%).
- @uicflamesdotcom has been limited to single digit offensive boards just once this season, and have collected more than 20 five times.
- @uicflamesdotcom’s starters are all averaging more than 30 mins/game.
- Only 19 players in the nation have compiled more double-doubles than @uicflamesdotcom forward Ruvanna Campbell (10).
- Campbell is averaging 14.8 points and 11.0 rebounds per game.
- @uicflamesdotcom guard Rachel Story leads the team with 18.3 PPG.
- @uicflamesdotcom is also getting over 12 points and eight rebounds a game from redshirt senior Katie Hannemann.
- Regina Miller is in her third season as head coach of the Flames.
- Miller has appeared in three Final Fours: one as a player and two as an assistant coach.
Jessica Carr
- Got back in double figures Saturday for first time in four games.
- Scored 12 points and had four assists in just her second game of the season.
- Made her season debut versus Western Michigan on Dec. 29th, where she scored five points and notched an assist, steal, and rebound.
Elizabeth Hamlet
- Scored a season-high 12 points versus her alma mater (Oakland) on Jan. 15.
- Shot 3-for-5 from the field in Valpo’s 63-61 defeat of Toledo at the Toledo Invite.
Abby Dean
- Has made 19 of her last 20 free-throw attempts.
- Leads the Horizon League in free-throw percentage (91.9%).
- Has knocked down five field goals in five different contests.
- Has compiled 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, and 17-point games this season.
- Has started every game for the Crusaders.
- Registered a career-high 17 points at Tennessee Tech on 11/24/13.
- Scored first collegiate points at Cameron Indoor Stadium on 11/23/12.
- Made collegiate debut on November 14th versus Purdue-Calumet.
- Tossed in 11 points in 19 minutes vs.Western Michigan last season.
Lexi Miller
- Listed as questionable for Tuesday’s game (back); was out Saturday.
- Tallied 13 assists to five turnovers during the Toledo Invite.
- Scored a career-high 18 points vs. Tennessee Tech on 11/24/13.
- Owns best assists/turnover ratio of any Crusader (32:30).
- Accumulated 15 points, four rebounds, four assists, and three steals (all career highs at the time) at Saint Louis on 11/10/13.
- Made collegiate debut against the Indiana Hoosiers 11/9/12.
- Made first start in Hinkle Fieldhouse versus the Butler Bulldogs.
- Scored 13 points in Valpo’s 88-62 victory over UIC on 2/16/13.
Charae Richardson
- Has recorded at least one steal in each of the last five games.
- Has scored 13 or more points in six of team’s 16 games.
- Scored a career-high 23 points versus Montana State.
- Dished out a season-high seven assists at Tennessee Tech.
- Leads team in points/game (11.2) and total assists (44).
- Scored 15 points in the season opener at Saint Louis on Nov. 10th.
- Played in all 31 games for the Crusaders last season, including 28 starts.
- Carried an 84.1 free-throw percentage.
- Finished second on the team last season in 3-pointers (24) and assists (95).
Liz Horton
- Made five of six three-point attempts en route to a career-high 20 points at Tulsa on 1/4/14.
- Snapped an eight-game three-point streak Wednesday at Oakland.
- Shot 23-of-45 from the field in December including 10-for-19 from behind the arc.
- Leads team in three-point field goal percentage (43.8%) and in total FG% (47.3%)
- Has scored exactly 11 points on four different occasions this season (Illinois, #6 Notre Dame, Montana State, Toledo).
- Appeared in 30 games for the Brown and Gold a season ago.
- Named Crusaders’ Most Improved Player in 2012-13.
- Scored 19 points, including 3-for-3 shooting from behind the arc, at Western Michigan on Dec. 19th.
Sharon Karungi
- Shot a season-best 80% (8-10) from the floor Saturday vs. WSU.
- Scored a career-high 21 points in her first HL game (1/9/14).
- Leading rebounder (7.8) for the Crusaders.
- Averaging 10.8 points per game.
- Grabbed 14 rebounds in both games of the Toledo Invite en route to Most Valuable Player recognition.
- Scored the game-winning put-back with three seconds to play against Toledo.
- Registered 17 points and 14 boards versus FIU for her third double-double of the season.
- Tallied her second double-double at Tennessee Tech, scoring 11 points and collecting 10 rebounds.
- Recorded her first double-double at Illinois on Nov. 12th, throwing in 15 points and grabbing 12 boards.
Jessi Wiedemann
- An 80.8% FT shooter, she hasn’t attempted a free throw since Jan. 4th.
- Named to Toledo Invite All-Tournament Team after scoring 15 versus Chicago State and 14 against Toledo.
- Double figure scorer in seven games for the Crusaders.
- Has made multiple three-pointers in six games in 2013-14.
- Notched a career-high 14 points on 5-of-13 shooting at Tennessee Tech.
- Snapped a season-starting 0-14 slump from behind the arc at #6 Notre Dame, nailing three treys in a nine-point game.
- Played all 40 minutes in the season opener at Saint Louis and set career highs in blocks (4) and steals (3) while scoring six points.
- Appeared in all 31 games including four starts as a freshman.
- Made collegiate debut versus Indiana.
- Scored 13 points off the bench versus Detroit on Mar. 9th, 2013.
Roster Breakdown
- Valpo welcomes six new players (two freshmen, four transfers) to its team this season.
- Haylee Thompson and Annemarie Hamlet will sit out this season per NCAA transfer eligibilty rules.
- The Brown and Gold boast players from six different states and two countries.
- Liz Horton is the only true senior on this year’s squad.
