OAKLAND (9-14, 5-6 Mid-Con) at VALPARAISO (13-11, 6-5 Mid-Con)

WHEN: Monday, February 24, 2003, 7:05 p.m.

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

RADIO: WVUR (95.1-FM), Valparaiso. Andrew Stem will provide the play-by-play, with Andy Viano adding the color commentary.

TV: AT&T Cable (tape-delay). Dick Harlan and Paul Curtis will broadcast the game.

THE COACHES: Valparaiso is led by Keith Freeman, who is in his 15th season of coaching, and 9th with the Crusaders. He is 279-151 overall and 150-104 with Valpo. Oakland is led by Eileen Shea-Hilliard, who is 9-14 in her 1st season overall and with the Golden Grizzlies.

SERIES RECORD: Oakland leads the overall series with the Crusaders 8-4. The Golden Grizzlies have won the last two meetings between the schools.

LAST MEETING: The Golden Grizzlies downed Valpo 53-46 in Rochester, Mich. back on Jan. 25. The Crusaders led 24-19 at halftime, but Oakland shot 56.5% from the floor in the second half after connecting on just 24% before break. Anne Hafeli led all scorers with 15 points for the Golden Grizzlies, while Jayme Wilson added 12 points. Jenna Stangler led Valpo with 13 points and 11 rebounds, while Jeanette Gray added 11 points for the Brown and Gold.

The Valparaiso Crusaders will close is home schedule on Monday evening when the Brown and Gold entertain Oakland. Valpo is coming off of a 66-56 victory over IUPUI on Saturday afternoon.

GRAY SURPASSES 700 BOARDS: Senior Jeanette Gray grabbed seven rebounds against IUPUI Saturday to become just the third Crusaders ever to reach the 700 rebound plateau for her career. Her 705 career boards have moved into second place on Valpo's all-time charts.

MORE GRAY: Gray needs just one point this evening to score 1,400 for her career. The Valparaiso, Ind. native has tallied 17 double-figure scoring games this season and has accomplished the feat 79 times over her four-year career.

HAMMEL MOVES UP SINGLE SEASON CHARTS: Suzie Hammel's 52 three-point field goals rank her seventh on Valpo's single season list. With six more makes, she will move into fifth place. The junior's 159 attempts are the sixth most in Crusader history.

FREEMAN REACHES 150: Head coach Keith Freeman registered his 150th victory at the helm of the Brown and Gold on Saturday against IUPUI. Freeman, in his 9th season with the Crusaders, began his Valpo career during the 1994-1995 season and has averaged over 17 wins per year over his first eight at Valpo.

BOONE BOARDS THEM AND DISHES THEM: Sophomore point guard Katie Boone barely missed out on double-doubles the unconventional way over the last two games. While she scored has scored just five points total over the last two games, Boone has grabbed nine rebounds and dished out nine assists in each game.

BENCH PRODUCTION: Dawn Vander Meer came off the bench to provide the Crusaders with 19 quality minutes against the Jaguars on Satuday. The freshman scored a career high 13 points on 4-for-4 shooting, while tying her career best with eight rebounds. Vander Meer also went 5-for-6 from the free throw line in the victory.

OAKLAND NOTES: Oakland travels to the ARC for its final road game of the 2002-2003 season. The Golden Grizzlies are looking to snap a two-game losing skid after falling 83-54 on Saturday afternoon at Western Illinois.

Katie Wolfe, the Mid-Con's leading scorer is averaging 19.5 points per night after pouring in 13 against the Westerwinds. The senior is shooting 46.0% from the floor and dished out a team-best 3.3 assists per contest.

Freshman Jayme Wilson has added 14.9 points per night for the Golden Grizzlies. The 86.2% free throw shooter led Oakland with 17 points against Western Illinois.

Anne Hafeli is the third player averaging in double-figures for Oakland. She has scored 10.4 points per outing while shooting 89.4% from the line.

The Golden Grizzlies are the top three-point shooting team in the Mid-Con, having connected on 37.3% of their attempts on the season. Oakland concludes the regular season next weekend hosting Southern Utah and Chicago State.

DOWN THE ROAD: Valparaiso will close out the regular season next weekend with a pair of road contests. On Saturday afternoon, the Crusaders will head to Tulsa, Okla. for a 2:05 p.m. game against Oral Roberts. Next Monday, the Brown and Gold will conclude the regular season with a 7 p.m. game in Kansas City, Mo. against UMKC. The Crusaders will then compete in the Conaco Mid-Continent Conference Tournament in Kansas City March 8, 10, and 11.