Grace College (8-5)
at Valparaiso (4-4)

Game No. 9 – Saturday, Dec. 10, 2016 – 1:30 p.m. CT
Athletics-Recreation Center (5,000) – Valparaiso, Ind.

Next Up in Crusader Basketball: The Valparaiso University women’s basketball team welcomes Grace College to the Athletics-Recreation Center for a Saturday matinee. With a victory, the Crusaders can get off to their best nine-game start since 2005-2006 and equal their best nine-game start to a season since 1999-2000.

Last Time Out: The Crusaders played the No. 1 team in the nation for the first time in program history on Sunday at the Purcell Pavilion. Notre Dame prevailed 114-54. The Crusaders held the Fighting Irish off the scoreboard for the first 1:40 of the game, the longest any team has prevented Notre Dame from scoring to start a game this season.

Following the Crusaders: Saturday’s game will be broadcast on ESPN3, WatchESPN and the ESPN app. It can also be heard on 95.1 FM Valparaiso, WVUR, and the TuneIn Radio app. Jake Wulbert will provide play-by-play, with Ben Ariano adding color commentary. Links to live video, audio and stats will be available on ValpoAthletics.com.

Head Coach Tracey Dorow: Tracey Dorow (37-94) is in her fifth season at the helm of the Valparaiso women’s basketball program in 2016-17. She collected her 250th career victory on Nov. 14, 2014 with a 91-57 win over Butler. In her first season, Dorow led the Crusaders to 11 victories, 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. Ferris State posted the No. 1 grade point average in all of Division II for the 1999-2000 women’s basketball season as well as the No. 2 ranking in 2002-03.

Series Notes: The Crusaders and Lancers have met on seven prior occasions, but the most recent showdown between the two squads occurred during the 1984-85 season. The Crusaders own a 6-1 all-time edge in a series that began in 1973-1974.   

Worth Noting

• With a victory, the Crusaders will have a winning record this late in the season for the first time since 2008-2009, when they were 9-7 through 16 games.
• Valpo can get off to its best nine-game start since 2005-2006 and equal its best nine-game start since 1999-2000, when the team started 6-3.
• The Crusaders can move to 4-1 at home, their best home start since 2012-2013, when then first-year head coach Tracey Dorow guided the team to a 5-1 record at home to begin the year.
• Valpo can capture its fifth nonleague win, which would be the most since 2012-2013 and equal the most since joining the Horizon League. With still two nonleague games remaining, Valpo would have already matched the most nonleague victories since 2006-2007, when the Crusaders notched six nonconference triumphs in their final season in the Mid-Continent Conference.
• The Crusaders have had a better shooting percentage than their opponent in seven of their eight games this season, with the only exception coming on Sunday at No. 1 Notre Dame.
• Sophomore Allison Schofield connected on two 3-pointers on Sunday against the Fighting Irish and finished with a career-high eight points.
• The Crusaders have not won the turnover battle against a Division-I team this season.

Donchetz Breakout Season

• The 2016-2017 season thus far has marked a breakout campaign for Georgi Donchetz.
• The Valpo junior was plagued by missing games for injuries and family reasons throughout her first two seasons.
• She has more total points (47) in eight games this season than she did in 19 career games before this year (32).
• Has made three 3-pointers in her last two games after totaling two in the first 25 games of her Valpo career.
• Ranks second on the team in assists with 27. She had four career assists before this year.
• Reached double figures for the first time in her Crusader career with 10 points on Sunday at No. 1 Notre Dame.
• Averaging 9.3 points per game in her last three contests and 8.6 ppg in her last five after totaling four points in the season’s first three games.
• After playing a career-high 25 minutes on Saturday against Eastern Illinois, established a new watermark with 26 minutes on Sunday at Notre Dame.
• Has equaled or set a career high in scoring in each of her last three games.

Inside the Crusaders

• In its 45th season, Valpo is 516-611 all-time.
• Valpo has made two NCAA Tournament appearances (2002-03, 2003-04) and earned one WNIT berth (2001-02).
• The Crusaders have had more all-freshman team honorees in the last two years (3) than they did in the previous 12 seasons combined (2).
• Valpo reached double-figure wins for the first time since 2012-2013 a year ago with 10 victories. They also captured five league wins for the first time since ’12-13.
• Valpo has seven players on the roster listed at 6-foot or taller. The last time Valpo had that many players measure in at 6-foot or taller was the 2010-11 season.
• The five freshmen are also Valpo’s most since 2010-11.

Valpo in the Horizon League

• Valpo has had one first-team all-league selection (Launa Hochstetler, 2008-09) and two second team all-league players (Agnieszka Kulaga, 2007-08; Tabitha Gerardot, 2012-13).
• Valpo also boasts five representatives on the all-newcomer team (Lauren Kenney, 2008-09; Gerardot, 2010-11; Dani Franklin, 2014-15; Jasmyn Walker, 2014-15; Meredith Hamlet 2015-16), an all-defensive team member (Laura Richards, 2011-12), one Freshman of the Year (Franklin, 2014-15) and one Sixth Player of the Year (Franklin, 2014-15).

Inside the Lancers  

• Members of the NAIA Crossroads League.
• Coming off a 72-70 win over Huntington on Wednesday. Darian Patton led the way with 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting and 6-of-8 at the free-throw line. Her 20-point output matched a career best. Kelsie Paterson hit 1-of-2 at the free-throw line with three seconds left, then Huntington missed on a desperation 3-point try as time expired.
• In their last game, the Lancers made 22 trips to the free-throw line to Huntington’s five, and outrebounded the Foresters 36-26.
• Riding a three-game winning streak.
• Rank third in the Crossroads League in scoring at 74.5 points per game, but eighth of 10 in scoring defense at 68.4 points per game.
• Roster features two players who hail from Northwest Indiana. Freshman guard Bobbi Douglas attended Hammond Clark, while senior Darian Morris was an all-Duneland Athletic Conference player as a senior in high school. Morris helped the Pirates to 39 straight regular season wins, including a 20-0 record during the regular season of her junior campaign.
• Led in scoring by Vironnica Drake, who averages 14.1 points per game. She’s one of four Lancers averaging double figures.
• Played an exhibition against Wright State and lost 87-56.

Grace Head Coach Scott Blum

• 13^th Season as the head coach at Grace.
• Is the program’s all-time winningest coach.
• Took over a program that averaged less than two league wins per year and turned it into a team that consistently hits double digits wins in the Crossroads League.

Meredith Hamlet

• One of three team captains for the 2016-17 season. Holds the rare distinction of serving in that capacity as a sophomore.
• Named to Horizon League all-freshman team last year.
• Finished in double figures 16 times a year ago and is Valpo’s leading returning scorer at 10.6 points per game.
• Poured in 21 points (8-13 FG) in the Crusaders’ 94-91 Horizon League Tournament win over Detroit on March 10, 2016. Her 71.4 percent 3-point performance in that contest tied for 10^th in program history.
• Exploded for 29 points at Northern Kentucky on Dec. 30, 2015. Went 10-of-11 shooting, the third-highest single-game field goal percentage in program history.
• Started in all 31 contests as a freshman, one of three Crusaders to start every game during the 2015-16 season.
• Made 69 3-pointers last season, tying for the fifth most in a single season in school history. In addition, she set the record for the most 3-pointers by a freshman.
• Older sisters Annemarie and Elizabeth also played for Tracey Dorow at Valpo.
• Reached double figures for the 17^th time in her Valpo career on Nov. 12 at Stetson, scoring 12 points.
• Hit a buzzer-beating layup to defeat Chicago State on Nov. 16, 2016.
• Posted double figures for the first time since the season opener by reaching 10 points on Nov. 30 against Evansville.

Hannah Schaub

• Led the team in steals (32) and assists (101) last season.
• Had multiple assists in 11 of her last 12 games to close the 2015-2016 campaign.
• Appeared in all 31 games and made 28 starts as a freshman.
• Went 5-for-7 from beyond the arc on Nov. 28, 2015 against Northern Colorado, tying for the 10^th best 3-point field goal percentage in a single game in program history.
• Dished out eight assists in this year’s season opener at Stetson on Nov. 12.
• Contributed a season-high eight points on Nov. 21 against IU Kokomo.
• Dished out nine assists against Liberty on Nov. 25 to match a career best and set a new career watermark against Division-I competition. The nine assists marked the most by an individual Horizon League player in a single game this season.
• Matched her career best again on Dec. 3, once again handing out nine assists in the victory over Eastern Illinois.

Georgi Donchetz

• One of three team captains for the 2016-2017 season.
• Appeared in 10 games as a freshman and nine games as a sophomore. Has seen an uptick in playing time this season.
• Racked up a career-high seven assists on Nov. 12 at Stetson. After playing no more than nine minutes in any one game a year ago, she played 22 minutes off the bench in the season opener.
• Had five rebounds against Liberty on Nov. 25 to match a career high. Finished the game with eight points, including 6-of-6 from the free-throw line. Hit two clutch free throws to tie the game late, then provided the assist on the game’s final play by floating an inbounds pass into the lane, where Amber Lindfors received the pass and finished a buzzer-beating layup.
• Equaled a career high with nine points on Nov. 30 against Evansville.
• Made it back-to-back games with nine points on Dec. 3 against Eastern Illinois. Utilized two triples to reach that total, her first made 3s of the season. The two made 3s in a game marked a career high.
• Reached double figures for the first time in her Valpo career on Dec. 4 at No. 1 Notre Dame by scoring 10 points.

Imani Scott-Thompson

• Rose up to the competition last season against Louisville on Dec. 5, 2015, leading the team with 12 points.
• Set the NJCAA record for 3-pointers in a single season (143) in 2014-15 at Dakota College at Bottineau.
• Sat out the first three games of the season due to illness.
• Made her season debut on Nov. 21 against IU Kokomo and turned in seven points.

Amber Lindfors

• Finished the 2015-16 season with 71 blocks, the second most in a single season in program history.
• Was the first Crusader to reach 70 blocks in a single season since Michelle Mader in 1991-1992.
• Led the Horizon League with 2.4 blocks per game in 2015-2016.
• Blocked six shots in a game on three separate occasions last season (Miami of Ohio, IU Northwest, Cleveland State), becoming the first player in program history to notch six blocks or more in three different games.
• At 6-foot-4, she is the tallest Crusader since Stefani Lang (2010-2012).
• Turned in eight points and hauled in eight rebounds in the season opener at Stetson on Nov. 12.
• Matched a career high with six blocks on Nov. 16 against Chicago State. That marked the fourth time she’s blocked six shots in a game in her Valpo career. There have only been 10 individual six-block performances in Valpo history, and four of them belong to Lindfors. The six blocks in a single game ties for third in program history.
• The six blocks were the most in a single game by any player in the Horizon League so far this season.
• Reached double figures with 11 points on 5-of-10 shooting on Nov. 16 against Chicago State. The 11 points marked a career high against Division-I opposition.
• Scored 13 points and hauled in 12 rebounds on Nov. 21 against IU Kokomo, notching Valpo’s first double-double this season and third of Lindfors’ career. She established a new career high in boards, bettering her previous best of 11, set a year ago against IU Kokomo.
• Had a buzzer-beating layup in a win over Liberty on Nov. 25. Grabbed 12 rebounds to match a career best and establish a new career high against a Division-I team.
• Sat out the game against Evansville on Nov. 30 with an ankle injury.
• Returned to the court on Dec. 3 against Eastern Illinois and pulled down eight rebounds.

Dani Franklin

• One of three team captains for the 2016-2017 season.
• Played in all 31 games last season as a sophomore, coming off the bench on each occasion. Made three starts as a freshman. She’s a regular starter for the first time this season.
• Horizon League Freshman of the Year and Sixth Player of the Year in 2014-15.
• Shot 43.3 percent from 3-point range as a freshman in 2014-2015, the fourth best single-season mark in program history.
• Set a career high and notched Valpo’s best individual scoring performance since 1992 and fifth-best in program history with 34 points at Stetson on Nov. 12.
• Franklin bested her previous career high by nine points, a mark that was established on Dec. 30, 2014 against Purdue Calumet and matched on Feb. 11, 2016 against Oakland.
• Only two players in program history have reached the 34-point mark before Franklin. Debbie Bolen did so three times, while Stephanie Greer owns the all-time single-game scoring record with 39 in 1990.
• The 34-point night is the best individual scoring performance in the Horizon League so far this season.
• Franklin went 12-of-19 shooting and 5-of-7 from 3-point range. The 71.4 single-game 3-point shooting percentage tied for 10^th in program history. The 12 made field-goals and five made 3-pointers marked career bests.
• In the first half on Nov. 12 against Stetson, Valpo went on an 11-0 run during which Franklin scored all 11 points.
• Scored 24 points on Nov. 21 against IU Kokomo.
• Made eight free throws on Nov. 25 against Liberty to set a career high.
• Matched a career-best with five made 3-pointers against Liberty on Nov. 25, equaling her mark set at Stetson this season. Had her first double-double of the year with 29 points and 11 rebounds in the win over the Flames.
• Set a rebounding career high with 16 against Evansville on Nov. 30. Bettered her previous watermark, which had stood since her third game in a Crusader uniform in 2014, by four boards.
• Scored 33 points on Dec. 3 against Eastern Illinois, finishing one shy of a career high. She became just the third player in program history who has scored 33 points or more in at least two games. Matched a career best with 12 made field goals, and went 6-of-7 at the free-throw line, with the misfire just her second of the year.
• Has led the team in scoring in seven of her team’s eight games.
• Owns the two highest individual single-game scoring outputs in the Horizon League this season.

Allison Schofield

• Appeared in 13 games as a freshman a year ago.
• A four-year letterwinner at Heritage Christian High School, where she led the Eagles in 3-point shooting and free throw shooting every season. The team went 57-4 with her in the starting lineup.
• Made her first appearance of the season at Chicago State on Nov. 16.
• Scored her first points of the season on Dec. 3 against Eastern Illinois.
• Set a career high with eight points including two made 3s on Dec. 4 at No. 1 Notre Dame.

Haylee Thompson

• The longest-tenured Crusader as she enters her fourth season with the program. Only her third year playing after sitting out one season due to transfer rules.
• Came to the Crusaders from Utah State.
• Led the team in field goal percentage at 51.9 percent last season.
• Missed the exhibition game against Indianapolis with concussion-like symptoms. Returned to the court in time for the season opener at Stetson on Nov. 12.
• Matched a career high with 16 points on Nov. 21 against IU Kokomo.
• Made her first start since Jan. 7, 2016 against Evansville on Nov. 30. She scored eight points on 4-of-9 shooting.
• Had a career-high four assists on Dec. 4 at No. 1 Notre Dame. Previously, she had reached three assists on five occasions.

Caitlin Morrison

• The lone freshman in the starting lineup for each of Valpo’s first two games this season.
• Father Scott Morrison is a former Valparaiso men’s basketball player.
• Second-team all-state last season after averaging 16.6 points and 7.1 rebounds per game at Glenbrook South High School.
• Started her first collegiate game on Nov. 12 at Stetson, scoring six points and notched three rebounds in 29 minutes.
• Had seven rebounds on Nov. 16 against Chicago State, matching Dani Franklin for the team high.
• Established a career high with nine points at Illinois State on Nov. 19.
• Chipped in nine points on Nov. 25 in a win over Liberty.
• Matched a career high with nine points and pulled down a career-best eight rebounds on Dec. 3 against Eastern Illinois

Maya Meredith

• Scored 16.1 points per game at Cathedral last season.
• Received honorable mention all-state recognition as a senior in high school.
• Made her Valpo debut on Nov. 11 at Stetson, playing three minutes.
• Scored her first collegiate point on Nov. 16, making a free throw in the win over Chicago State.
• Doubled that scoring output with two points, both on free throws, on Nov. 19 at Illinois State.
• Made the first field goal of her collegiate career on Nov. 21 against IU Kokomo.

Grace Hales

• Averaged 19.2 points, 3.2 assists and 4.7 rebounds at Westview last year.
• Was named all-state by both the Indiana Coaches of Girls Sports Association and the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association.
• Scored nine points at Stetson on Nov. 12, marking the third straight year a Valpo freshman has score nine points or more on opening night. Meredith Hamlet and Dani Franklin did so each of the last two seasons, and both went on to make the Horizon League all-freshman team.
• Knocked down three 3s in her Crusader debut, becoming the first player to do so since Annemarie Hamlet in 2014. Hales became the first freshman to pour in three 3s in a season opener in the last decade.

Marlee Profitt

• Had 17.1 points per game at Highland High School in Ohio before having her season cut short by an ACL injury.
• Collected honorable mention all-state accolades her senior season.
• Made her Valpo debut on Nov. 16 against Chicago State, seeing three minutes of action off the bench.
• Sat out Saturday’s game at Illinois State due to injury.
• Scored the first points of her collegiate career with two free throws on Nov. 21 against IU Kokomo.
• Out with injury.

Addison Stoller

• Illinois Basketball Coaches Association first-team all-state selection last year.
• Averaged 18.1 points per game at Cissna Park High School as a senior.
• Scored two points and had two rebounds in 13 minutes in her Valpo debut on Nov. 12 at Stetson.
• Had a career day with nine points and seven rebounds on 3-of-6 shooting on Nov. 19 at Illinois State.
• Out with injury.

Deja Horn

• Sat out the 2015-2016 season after transferring from Saint Joseph’s College.
• Out with injury.