CONCORDIA, WIS. (2-1, 0-0 Lake Michigan) at VALPARAISO (1-2, 0-0 Mid-Con)

WHEN: Saturday, November 30, 2002, 2:05 p.m. CST.

WHERE: Athletics-Recreation Center (5,000), Valparaiso, Ind.

RADIO: WVUR (95.1-FM), Valparaiso. Ed Schillinger will provide the play-by-play, with Tim Harwood providing the color commentary.

TV: None.

THE COACHES: Valparaiso is led by Keith Freeman, who is in his 15th season of coaching, and 9th with the Crusaders. He is 267-142 overall and 138-95 with Valpo. Concordia is led by Chuck Oliver, who is 11-18 in his 2nd season overall and with the Falcons.

SERIES RECORD: This marks the first meeting between Concordia (Wis.) and Valparaiso.

The Valparaiso Crusaders look to rebound from its defeat against Texas Tech on Wednesday evening in its home opener against Concordia (Wis.). The Crusaders are beginning a three-game homestand.

TWO CRUSADERS EARN MID-CON PRESEASON HONORS: A pair of Crusaders were named to the Mid-Continent Conference Preseason Teams. Senior Jeanette Gray averaged 12.6 points and 6.9 rebounds per game last year to help earn her a spot on the Preseason First Team. Sophomore Katie Boone, last year's Mid-Con Newcomer of the Year, was named to the Preseason Second Team after averaging 5.0 points and 4.8 assists per contest last season. She led the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio.

GRAY ON THE CHARTS: Valparaiso senior Jeanette Gray is among the Crusaders top-ten all-time in several categories. Her 1,140 points rank seventh all-time, while her 553 rebounds rank her ninth. Gray also ranks seventh with 460 field goals and has moved into sixth with 154 career steals.

GRAY NAMED TO ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM: Jeanette Gray was named to the Spartan Chevrolet Classic All-Tournament Team after averaging 13.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game over the weekend. The senior also registered five steals. Gray tallied 20 points in the consolation game victory over Fresno State.

VALPO IN HOME OPENERS: Valparaiso is 11-17 in home openers dating back to the 1974-1975 season. Last year, the Crusaders defeated Marian (Ind.) 76-44 in the home opener after dropping two straight.

FOR THREE: Entering the Texas Tech game, Valpo has made at least one three-pointer in 92 consecutive contests. The last time the Crusaders failed to knock down a trey was Nov. 23, 1999 against Purdue. Valpo has hit at least one in 120 of its last 121 games.

CONCORDIA NOTES:
Concordia enters the ball game with a 2-1 record after defeating Silver Lake 95-66 on Tuesday evening. All 15 Eagles scored in the victory, led by Jaime Diehl who tallied 21 points. JQ Stewart added 11 points for the Eagles, while Beth Degler grabbed nine rebounds. Samantha Stark added eight boards for Concordia in the victory.

The Eagles opened their season last weekend at the Capital Tournament in Columbus, Ohio. Concordia downed the hosts 79-69 in the opening round, before falling to Concordia (Minn.) 84-68 in the championship game.

Diehl leads the Eagles in scoring on the season with 14.0 points per game, while Diehl is tallying 13.0 ppg. On the glass, Degler leads Concordia with 7.0 boards per contest, while Jennifer Sweeney is bringing down 6.3 rebounds per game.

Concordia forced 30 turnovers on Tuesday evening in the victory while outrebounding Silver Lake 47-28.

The Eagles will travel to Cardinal Stritch on Tuesday evening for the second of three straight road games.

DOWN THE ROAD: The Crusaders will continue their three-game homestand on Sunday afternoon when the Brown and Gold entertain Navy at the Athletics-Recreation Center in a 2:05 p.m. contest. Valpo will then host nationally-ranked Notre Dame on Wednesday evening in a 7:05 p.m. game before traveling to Indianapolis on Saturday, Dec. 7 for the Hoosier State Classic. Valpo will battle Ball State at 1 p.m. CST on the campus of Butler University.