Valparaiso (6-24, 3-13 Horizon)
at Green Bay (20-8, 13-3 Horizon)
Game #31 - Wednesday, March 12 - 7 p.m.
Kress Events Center (4,018) - Green Bay, Wis.
Next Up in Crusader Basketball: For the third straight season, the Horizon League Conference Tournament takes Valpo to Green Bay, Wisconsin for a postseason tilt with the Phoenix. It’s tourney time and that means one thing: win or go home. The Crusaders have their work cut out from them as the Phoenix have lost just once in 19 HL Tournament quarterfinal games. Since joining the league, Green Bay is 45-7 overall in the tourney.
Last Time Out: The Crusaders won their first game in the Horizon League Tournament for the third straight year Monday night, scoring a 76-69 win over Detroit at Calihan Hall. Liz Horton registered a career-high 25 points on 9-of-16 shooting. The senior was a perfect 6-for-6 from the foul line in addition to securing five rebounds. Jessica Carr nailed three treys en route to a 14-point, five-assist night.
Following the Crusaders: Audio - WVUR (95.1 FM, Valparaiso) - Brandon Vickrey (PxP) and Renee Turpa (color) will have the call. Video - Horizon League Network. Links for the audio, video 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 (17-44) 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: Green Bay has won 30 of 34 meetings over Valpo in a series that began in 1986. The last Crusader victory came on January 19th, 2008 in a 90-88 overtime tilt at the ARC. The Phoenix have since won fifteen straight contests including a 53-49 nail-biter over the Brown and Gold on March 1st in Valparaiso.
Storylines...
- Wednesday night’s game marks the third consecutive season Valpo and Green Bay have met in the postseason.
- The Crusaders are looking for their first win in Green Bay since March 8th, 1991.
- The Phoenix have won 16 consecutive Horizon League regular season titles, the longest active streak in the country.
- March 1st’s 53-49 contest between these two teams was the closest game since Valpo beat the Phoenix 90-88 in OT in January of 2008.
- Lexi Miller was a combined 8-for-9 from the field in the two regular season tilts versus Green Bay.
- Tracey Dorow is in search of career win No. 250 Wednesday night.
@gbphoenixwbb
- @gbphoenixwbb has won at least 20 games each of the past 15 seasons.
- @gbphoenixwbb possesses the best defense in the HL (58.7 PPG).
- @gbphoenixwbb is 102-11 inside the Kress Events Center.
- @gbphoenixwbb is in the top 40 nationally in scoring defense (27th), assists/game (16.4, 29th), assist-TO ratio (1.14, 33rd), and turnover margin (3.75, 30th).
- @gbphoenixwbb has a +193 scoring difference versus opponents in the first halves of games.
- Kaili Lukan leads the @gbphoenixwbb with 11.4 points per game.
- Tesha Buck (10.2 PPG, 115 total assists) was named Freshman of the Year in the Horizon League last week.
- Kevin Borseth is in his first season as head coach of @gbphoenixwbb.
- Borseth coached at Green Bay from 1998-2007 before serving as head coach at Michigan from 2007-2012.
Jessica Carr
- Dished out a career-high seven assists at Wright State on Saturday.
- Set career-highs in scoring in back-to-back games last month (16 vs. Oakland on 2/22, 21 at Detroit on 2/26).
- Tallied seven steals versus Detroit on 1/23/14.
- Scored 12 points and had four assists vs. South Dakota on 12/31/13.
- 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
- Poured in a career high 20 points and six steals vs. Detroit on 1/23/14.
- Has knocked down exactly five field goals in seven different contests.
- Tallied a then career-high 17 points at Tennessee Tech on Nov. 24th.
- 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
- Hasn’t missed more than one free throw in a game since Nov. 21st.
- Her 83.6% FT percentage is second in the Horizon League.
- Scored 13 points off the bench on 5-of-6 shooting at Green Bay on 2/3.
- Tallied 13 assists to five turnovers during the Toledo Invite.
- Scored a career-high 18 points vs. Tennessee Tech on 11/24/13.
- 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
- Currently at 99 assists for the season and 194 for her career.
- Distributed a career-high nine assists at Wright State Saturday.
- Posted a career-high 24 points in Valpo’s 94-80 win over Milwaukee (3/5).
- Valpo’s leading scorer (11.5 PPG).
- Tallied 23 points versus Montana State.
- Leads team in total assists (99) and steals (41).
- 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
- Scored a career-high 25 points (9-16 FG) Monday night in Detroit.
- Has converted on 16 straight attempts from the foul line.
- Made five of six three-point attempts en route to a 20 point afternoon at Tulsa on 1/4/14.
- 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 (40%)
- 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
- Tied Tabitha Gerardot for the 4th-best shooting performance in school history after a 9-for-10 (90%) afternoon at Wright State.
- Secured a career-best 16 rebounds last Saturday vs. Oakland in addition to pouring in 22 points for her first double-double since 12/7.
- Posted a career-high 25 points at Cleveland State on 2/13/14.
- Has finished in double figures in points in each of the last eight tilts.
- Scored a then career-high 21 points in her first HL game (1/9/14).
- Leading rebounder (7.4) for the Crusaders.
- 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 vs. 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
- Registered a career-high 21 points vs. Cleveland State on 1/27/14.
- Named to Toledo Invite All-Tournament Team after scoring 15 versus Chicago State and 14 against Toledo.
- Double figure scorer in sixteen games for the Crusaders.
- Has made multiple three-pointers in 13 games this season.
- 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.
