Detroit (3-14, 0-4 Horizon)
at Valparaiso (2-15, 0-4 Horizon)
Game #18 - Thursday, January 23 - 7:05 p.m.
Athletics-Recreation Center (5,000) -
Valparaiso, Ind.
Next Up in Crusader Basketball: The leading scorer in the Horizon League will be on display Thursday night when the Crusaders entertain the Detroit Titans at the Athletics-Recreation Center in a 7:05 pm jump ball. Senee Shearer is averaging 21.1 points per game and has amassed a league-high 56 three-pointers. Detroit is in search of its first road win while the Brown and Gold vie for their first home victory.
Last Time Out: The Crusaders shot 15-of-25 (60%) in the first half, but they shot 5-of-30 (16.7%) in the second half as the UIC Flames claimed a 69-51 win in Chicago. Valpo’s last field goal of the game came with 9:08 on the clock and was then followed by 14 straight missed shots from the floor. A Charae Richardson free-throw in the waning seconds of the game ended a nearly eight-minute scoring drought. UIC senior Katie Hannemann was pulled after being whistled for her third foul with just under seven minutes left in the first half. She returned in the second half to score 14 of her game-high 18 points.
Following the Crusaders: Video only - Horizon League Network (Tommy Mantice and Brandon Vickrey). Links for the video and live stats are 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 (13-35) 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: Detroit leads the all-time series 11-6 over Valpo. The Crusaders snapped a four game losing streak to the Titans last March thanks to a 73-53 victory at the ARC. The Brown and Gold have lost in regulation only once to Detroit in five January contests.
Storylines...
- Both teams are searching for their first Horizon League win of the season.
- Detroit’s Senee Shearer leads the league in 3-pointers made (56) and is on a streak of three straight 20+ point contests.
- Shearer has made 13 threes in six career games versus Valpo.
- Jessi Wiedemann was 7-for-11 field goal shooting in the season series against Detroit last year.
- Valpo and Detroit are ranked 8th and 9th, respectively, in scoring defense.
- The Crusaders and Titans split the 2012-13 season series with each team winning at home.
- After finishing the regular season with a 17-13 record, Detroit was crowned WBI champions after victories over Belmont, College of Charleston, Penn and McNeese State.
@Detroit_Titans
- @Detroit_Titans enters Thursday’s game on a seven-game losing skid.
- Ellisha Crosby has shined in the shadows of Shearer: the junior is averaging 17.5 points and 7.4 rebounds per game for @Detroit_Titans.
- The @Detroit_Titans are just a 64.7% free-throw shooting team.
- Shearer’s 21.1 PPG average is 24th in the nation. Her 3.29 three-point field goals per game ranks 4th.
- Opponents hold a 59-25 advantage in blocks over @Detroit_Titans.
- Autumn Rademacher is in her sixth season as head coach of the Titans.
- Rademacher graduated from Detroit where she is the third-leading scorer in school history.
- Rademacher spent time as an assistant coach at Green Bay and Western Michigan before returning to Detroit.
Jessica Carr
- Gave out a career-high six assists at UIC on Tuesday night.
- 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
- Leads the Horizon League in free-throw percentage (89.7%).
- Has knocked down five field goals in six 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
- 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 six games.
- Has scored 13 or more points in six contests.
- Scored a career-high 23 points versus Montana State.
- Dished out a season-high seven assists at Tennessee Tech.
- Leads team in points/game (11.1) and total assists (49).
- 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 (43.1%) and in total FG% (47.9%)
- 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 (7.5) for the Crusaders.
- Averaging 10.2 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.
- 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.
