VALPARAISO (8-8, 3-2 Mid-Con) at IUPUI (3-12, 0-4 Mid-Con)

WHEN: Monday, January 19, 2004, 6 p.m. CST.

WHERE: IUPUI Gymnasium (2,000), Indianapolis, Ind.

RADIO: WVUR (95.1-FM), Valparaiso, Ind. Ed Schillinger will handle the play-by-play with JR Radcliffe providing the color commentary.

TV: None.

THE COACHES: Valparaiso is led by Keith Freeman, who is in his 16th season of coaching, and 10th with the Crusaders. He is 292-161 overall and 163-114 at Valpo. IUPUI is led by Kris Simpson, who is 93-139 in her 9th season overall and with the Jaguars.

SERIES RECORD: Valparaiso leads the overall series with IUPUI 13-3 dating back to a Crusader win 70-67 in Indianapolis in February 25, 1984. Valpo has won five straight in the series.

LAST MEETING: Valparaiso downed IUPUI 67-49 at the Athletics-Recreation Center just 13 days prior to this contest (Jan. 6, 2004). Jamie Gutowski led four Crusaders in double-figures with 14 points, while Kathryn Knoester added 11 points for the Brown and Gold. Angela Dancy led IUPUI with ten points, while Jessica James grabbed 12 boards for the Jaguars. Valpo held IUPUI to just 31.1% shooting from the floor and force 19 turnovers.

Valparaiso looks to move back over the .500 mark on Monday evening when the Crusaders travel to IUPUI. The Brown and Gold are coming off of a 60-56 victory over Western Illinois on Saturday afternoon, and will face the Jaguars for the second time in less than two weeks.

FREEMAN LOOKS TO SET MID-CON RECORD: Valpo head coach Keith Freeman will attempt to pass Ed DiGregorio (Youngstown State, 1992-2001) for the most victories in Mid-Continent Conference history with a win against IUPUI. Freeman has 163 victories with the Crusaders. Freeman already has coached the most Mid-Con games ever (277) and is also second all-time in conference games coached (147) and conference victories (95).

VALPO TAKES CARE OF THE BALL: The Crusaders currently rank 13th in the nation in turnovers per game according to the January 13 NCAA rankings. Valpo has turned the ball over just 14.3 times per game on the season as of the rankings.

WELCOME BACK KATIE: Katie Boone returned to the Valpo line-up after missing a game and a half on Saturday and dished out seven assists while committing just one turnover. She also grabbed six rebounds and went 7-of-8 from the free throw line, while making three steals.

BOONE SURPASSES 300 ASSISTS: Katie Boone became just the fifth Crusader ever to reach the 300 assist plateau after dishing out seven on Saturday afternoon against Western Illinois. She currently stands at 301 helpers in two and a half years at Valpo.

GUTOWSKI CATCHES FIRE: Jamie Gutowski has caught fire from the outside over the past eight games. She has posted six double-figure efforts, averaging 11.0 points per game over the span. She has also shot 52.5% (21-of-40) from beyond the arc in the eight contests. In addition, she grabbed a career-high seven rebounds on Saturday against Western Illinois.

IUPUI NOTES: IUPUI has dropped five straight contests to open the 2004 calendar year after falling to Southern Utah 73-65 in overtime at home on Saturday afternoon. The Jaguars last victory came on December 30, 2003, a 71-61 triumph over Central Michigan.

Kia Hayes leads the Jaguars in scoring averaging 13.7 points per game. She also leads the team with 32 steals on the year.

Natalie Hendricks in the only other player averaging in double-figures for IUPUI. The forward is scoring 10.9 points per game, while grabbing 5.3 boards per night.

Sophomore Brooke McAfee ranks eighth in the nation in blocked shots per game as of the last NCAA rankings, rejecting 3.2 shots per contest.

As a team, the Jaguars are averaging just 59.8 points per game, while surrendering 69.9 per night.