Valparaiso (7-10, 2-2 Horizon)
Game #18: Saturday, January 26 - 1:35 p.m. CT
vs. # RV/RV Green Bay (14-2, 4-0 Horizon)
Athletics-Recreation Center (5,000)
Next Up in Crusader Basketball: The Valparaiso women’s basketball team returns home to host Horizon League-favorite Green Bay at 1:35 p.m. on Saturday at the ARC.
Last Time Out: The Crusaders used a 25-3 run to blow open a close game and pick up an 84-72 win at Milwaukee on Thursday. Tabitha Gerardot tallied her fifth double-double of the season with a career-high 33 points and 10 rebounds to lead Valparaiso. Shaquira Scott scored a career-high 22 points, and Charae Richardson added 14.
The Road Ahead: The Crusaders return to the Athletics-Recreation Center on Saturday, Jan. 26 to host Green Bay at 1:35 p.m.
Following the Crusaders: The game will be broadcast live on WVUR-FM, 95.1, Valparaiso, with John Kloehn and Ryan Glatzhofer on the call. A link for the live video from the Horizon League Network, as well as live stats, will be available through www.valpoathletics.com.
Head Coach Tracey Dorow: Tracey Dorow was named the seventh head women’s basketball coach in Crusader program history in April of 2012. Dorow arrived at Valpo after spending 14 seasons as the head coach at Ferris State University, guiding the Bulldogs to four NCAA Division II Tournament appearances, two Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) North Division championships, and four 20-win seasons. In her 14 seasons at Ferris State, Dorow compiled a 232-163 (.587) record, including a 23-7 mark in 2011-2012 while guiding the Bulldogs to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Series Notes: The Crusaders are 4-25 all-time against the Phoenix, with Green Bay winning all three meetings last season. Milwaukee won the regular-season games 55-47 and 50-31. Valparaiso won the match-up in the Horizon League Tournament, winning 47-39 at Milwaukee. Gina Lange scored eight points for the Crusaders in the win, and Tabitha Gerardot had six points, seven rebounds and four steals. The Phoenix have won 10 consecutive meetings.
Scouting Green Bay: The Phoenix enter the game with a 14-2 record (4-0 HL) on the year. Last time out, Green Bay won a road contest at Youngstown State 59-41. Lydia Bauer led Green Bay with 15 points. Stephanie Sension scored 12 points, while Adrian Ritchie and Jenny Gilbertson each scored nine. Ritchie, who is eighth in the Horizon League in scoring, leads the Phoenix with 14.3 points per contest. Sarah Eichler and Sension also average double-figures with 12.7 and 10.9 points per game. Five Green Bay players average at least four boards per game, led by Sension’s 4.9.
Home Sweet Home: Valparaiso opened the season by playing eight of its first 11 games on the road. While the road hasn’t been kind to the Crusaders, they have hit their stride at the Athletics-Recreation Center. Valparaiso is 5-2 at the ARC this season, including three wins during a recent four-game home stand. Valpo needs one more win to match last season’s six home wins at the ARC.
Winning Her Debut: Head coach Tracey Dorow made her regular season debut a winning one on Nov. 17 by defeating Indiana. Dorow became just the second coach in Crusader women’s basketball history to win their Valpo debut on the sidelines, joining Dick Briars, whose 1983-1984 squad downed Hillsdale 71-67 in its season opener. With the win over Purdue-Calumet, Dorow became the first Crusader women’s coach to win each of her first two games.
Downing the Big Ten: Valpo’s win over Indiana was just the second in program history over the Hoosiers, both of which have come at the ARC. Valpo’s last win over a Big Ten team also came at the ARC on Dec. 10, 2008 over Purdue.
Gerardot Named Preseason Second Team: Junior forward Tabitha Gerardot was a preseason Second Team All-League choice, and she is earning those accolades. Gerardot, who led the Crusaders in scoring at 13.0 points per game and was second with 6.8 rebounds per contest in 2011-2012, averages 14.5 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. She is one of five Horizon League players to rank in the top-10 in the league in both scoring and rebounding. Last time out, Gerardot scored 33 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in a win at Milwaukee. Gerardot needs 18 points to reach 1000 for her VU career.
A Tough Schedule: The Crusaders have put together a challenging slate for the 2012-2013 campaign, including five contests against NCAA Tournament teams from a season ago. Highlights include a game at perennial top-ten program Duke, and contests on the road versus 2012 NCAA Tournament qualifiers Michigan and Louisville.
Hitting the Glass: Valpo has excelled early in the rebounding tallies and currently ranks second in the Horizon League with a +3.8 average rebounding margin. The Crusaders out-rebounded Indiana in their season opener by 12 boards and had a massive +26 edge on the glass in the win over Purdue-Calumet. Valparaiso had a 47-27 rebounding edge in the win over Ball State, and out-rebounded Youngstown State 46-22. The Crusaders especially have been active on the offensive boards, pulling down at least 11 offensive rebounds in 16 of their 17 games. The Crusaders rank second in the Horizon League with 14.1 offensive rebounds per game. All seven Crusader victories have come when they have out-rebounded their opponents.
Down but Not Out: Twice this season, Valparaiso has rallied from first-half deficits of at least 15 points to come back and pick up the win. Against Ball State, the Crusaders trailed 27-8 and outscored the Cardinals 50-26 the rest of the way to win 58-53. Against Youngstown State, Valpo trailed 34-19 before finishing the game on 48-25 run to claim a 67-59 win.
Sharing is Caring: The Crusaders currently average 13.6 assists per contest. Valparaiso is led by 3.6 assists per game from Laura Richards and 3.5 from Charae Richardson. Richards is second in the Horizon League with an assist/TO ratio of 2.0. In 16 games this season, Valpo has assisted on at least half of its made field goals. Last time out against Milwaukee, Valpo had 12 assists on 29 hoops. Richardson had six assists at Milwaukee, and Richards added four.
Connecting From the Floor: Valpo had its best game of the year from the floor against Youngstown State, converting on 23-of-44 (.523) shots from the field. This was the fifth time the Crusaders made at least half of their field goal attempts, with the others coming in a 27-of-53 performance against Western Michigan, a 27-of-54 performance in the win at IPFW, a 28-of-56 showing at UIC and a 29-of-of-57 performance in the win at Milwaukee. The 29 made field goals against the Panthers tied a season-high.
Setting a Record: The Crusaders were on the mark from behind the 3-point line against Western Michigan. Valparaiso shot 9-of-12 behind the arc against the Broncos, including three makes each from Liz Horton and Abby Dean. The .750 mark is the best team performance for a single game in school history.
Earning League Honors I: Junior Tabitha Gerardot won her first-ever Horizon League Player of the Week honors for her efforts against Ball State, and she added her second Player of the Week award for her performance against Youngstown State. Against the Cardinals, Gerardot recorded her second double-double of the season with career highs in both points (28) and rebounds (17). Against Youngstown State, Gerardot recorded her third double-double of the year (16th of her career) with 26 points and 17 rebounds.
Earning League Honors II: Junior Charae Richardson has twice brought home Horizon League Newcomer of the Week honors this season. Most recently, she won for totaling 16 points and six rebounds in the win over NIU. She also won the honors for recording 15 points and six assists against IPFW.
Earning League Honors III: Sophomore Shaquira Scott was named the Horizon League Player of the Week after leading Valpo with 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting in the win over IU. The sophomore was Valpo’s first player to earn weekly honors from the league office since Ashley Varner on Dec. 28, 2009.
Leading the Way: Tabitha Gerardot, who led the Crusaders in scoring and finished second on the team in rebounding a year ago, has consistently been among Valpo’s leaders on a game-by-game basis this year. Gerardot has paced Valpo in scoring seven times, and has at least tied for team-high honors on the glass 11 times. She has posted five double-doubles and has been in double figures in scoring 11 times.
A Terrific Trio: Tabitha Gerardot, Shaquira Scott and Charae Richardson did the bulk of the scoring in Valpo’s win at Milwaukee. The three combined for 69 of VU’s 84 points, with Gerardot totaling 33 (career-high), Scott 22 (career-high) and Richardson 14.
