1999-2000 Denver Pioneer Women's Basketball
Vs. No. 4 Louisiana Tech, 7 p.m. (MST), Magness Arena
*Sun Belt Conference Game

UP NEXT: The Denver women's basketball team (16-7, 10-3 SBC) hosts the No. 4 team in the nation, Louisiana Tech University (22-2, 13-0 SBC) in a Sun Belt Conference rematch. The game will be televised live on KWHD-TV (Channel 53) with Mag Strittmatter and Mary Kay Mauro calling the action. The radio broadcast of the game will be live on AM 1600 and broadcast.com. Mitch Hyder and Walter Davis will call the action for the Pioneers.

THE SERIES: The Lady Techsters hold a 1-0 lead in the series with Denver. Tech beat Denver 90-45 in Ruston on Jan. 31, 2000.

PROBABLE PIONEER STARTERS:
F - #20 Candy Benson, 6-2, Sr., Wilton, Conn.
(6.1 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 42.9 FG%, 35 steals)
F - #43 Martha Dibella, 6-0, So., Littleton, Colo.
(5.1 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 38.4 FG%)
C - #45 Misa Pavlickova, 6-3, Jr., Prague, Czech Republic
(12.7 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 42.2 FG%, 64 blocks - 3rd in nation)
G - #35 Ashley Atkinson, 5-10, Fr., Springfield, Mo.,
(10.9 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 41.7 FG%, 42.0 3FG%, 60 3FG made)
G - #22 Melissa Garcia, 5-6, So., Thornton, Colo.
(10.6 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 31.8 FG%, 80.0 FT%, 80 assists, 58 steals)

OFF THE BENCH FOR DENVER:
#11 Lika Black, G, 5-7, Fr., San Diego, Calif.
(4.2 ppg, 1.4 rpg, 30.4 FG%, 43 assists)
#42 Bethie Younger, F, 6-1, Jr., Tomball, Texas
(6.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 38.8 FG%)
#44 Kellie Carwell, C, 6-3, Fr., Villa Park, Ill.
(2.3 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 45.2 FG%)
#55 Misty Staton, C, 6-2, Fr., Duke, Okla.
(2.2 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 40.0 FG%)

LOUISIANA TECH PROBABLE STARTERS:
F - #12 Ayana Walker, 6-2, So., Houston, Texas
(9.6 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 51.4 FG%, 36 blocks))
F - #42 Takeisha Lewis, 6-2, So., Lisbon, La.
(8.1 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 59.7 FG%)
G - #22 Christie Sides, 5-8, Sr., Baker, La.
(5.5 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 38.4 FG%)
G - #25 Betty Lennox, 5-8, Sr., Independence, Mo.
(17.5 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 47.1 FG%, 82 assists, 69 steals)
G - #35 Tamicha Jackson, 5-6, Sr., Dallas, Texas
(14.3 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 47.0 FG%, 79 assists, 89 steals)

LAST TIME OUT FOR THE PIONEERS: Melissa Garcia engineered Denver's 85-52 Sun Belt Conference win over UL-Lafayette in Magness Arena on Thursday night with a game-high 18 points. Three other Pioneers scored in double figures - Martha Dibella with 11, Bethie Younger with 10 and Lika Black with a career-high 10. Denver as a team shot 52.5% and combined for a season-high 25 assists. Ashley Atkinson led the way with nine assists. Despite an 11-day hiatus, the Pioneers played like a team with something to prove, posting their largest margin of victory of the season at 33 points. Every Denver player got at least 10 minutes of playing time and scored at least four points.

PAVLICKOVA SETTING MARKS: Misa Pavlickova's 27 points and 17 rebounds against FIU on Feb. 3 moved her over the 800-point and 500-rebound career marks. Through 23 games this season, the junior center from Prague, Czech Republic now had 872 career points and 548 career rebounds. Her one blocks versus UL-Lafayette also moved her closer to Denver's all-time career mark for blocked shots with 188. Pavlickova needs 4 blocks to move into first place past Sue Pearce who blocked 191 shots from 1984-86. She continues to be one of the top shot blockers in the NCAA Division I ranks for the second season in a row. Pavlickova is currently ranked No. 3 with a 2.9 blocks per game average. She is the second Denver athlete this year to be nationally ranked in blocks. Denver volleyball player Jen Mainprice ended the 1999 season as the 11th best blocker in Division I.

ABOUT THE LOUISIANA TECH LADY TECHSTERS: Louisiana Tech and head coach Leon Barmore come into Saturday night's game at Magness Arena ranked No. 4 in the nation in the Associated Press and USA Today/ESPN polls released on Feb. 21. The Lady Techsters bring a 12-game winning streak to Denver. The streak began after a disappointing 90-63 loss to Connecticut on Jan. 2. Tech started the season huge with a 69-64 win over Tennessee in Knoxville in November. They lost the second game of the season, 74-72, to a tough Mississippi State team then proceeded to cakewalk through the next eight games of the season, including an early Sun Belt game against Louisiana-Lafayette in December, 95-40, before hitting the Connecticut speed bump.

Tech boasts one of the best backcourts in the nation with Sun Belt Conference Preseason Player of the Year Tamicha Jackson and Betty Lennox. The two seniors combine for 31.8 points per game and 70 three-pointers. Lennox is second in the SBC in scoring with 17.5 points per game and sits in front of Pioneer Ashley Atkinson in first place in three-point field goal percentage. Jackson has broken out of an early season slump, moving up to 10th in the SBC in scoring, is second in the league in steals and assist/turnover ratio right behind Denver's Melissa Garcia.

Tech is still missing senior center Shaka Massey for at least one more week. Massey had knee surgery about a week after she scored 17 points against Denver on Jan. 31. She is expected back for the SBC Tournament.

AFTER THE LOUISIANA TECH GAME: The Pioneers leave for what they hope will be a very long road trip on March 1. Denver plays its final two regular season games on the road before heading to the SBC Championship Tournament. The Pioneers play Arkansas State in Jonesboro on March 2 before traveling to Bowling Green, Kentucky to try to exact some revenge on Western Kentucky on March 4. The team will stay in Kentucky for the SBC Tournament that begins on March 8 at E.A. Diddle Arena in Bowling Green.

ATKINSON AMONG THE TOP FRESHMEN IN SUN BELT: Ashley Atkinson is one of several freshmen in the Sun Belt Conference that have cracked the statistical rankings in their first season of collegiate basketball. Atkinson is currently the second-best three-pointer shooter in the SBC with a shooting percentage of 42.0% and 2.61 threes made per game. She is also one of the top scorers in the league among the freshmen at No. 16 with 10.9 points per game.

With the 52-42 win over South Alabama, Denver claimed the 400th victory of the program. The Pioneer women's program began playing at the varsity level 25 years ago. Meanwhile, Denver head coach Pam Tanner is closing in on her 75th career win. She is three wins away from the milestone with a 72-59 record as a collegiate head coach. Tanner also received a major honor in January when she was recognized by The Denver Post as one of the Most Powerful Women in Colorado Sports in 1999. Tanner made her first appearance in the paper's third annual poll at No. 18.

SUN BELT CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT INFORMATION: The 2000 Wendy's Sun Belt Conference Women's Basketball Tournament will be played at E.A. Diddle Arena in Bowling Green, Ky. from March 8-11, hosted by Western Kentucky University. The only game played on the 8th will be the first round game between the No. 8 and No. 9 seeds at 6 p.m. (MST). Quarterfinal action begins at 11 a.m. (MST) on the 9th with the No. 6 vs. No. 3 game. The No. 2 vs. No. 7 seed is scheduled to start at 1:30 p.m. (MST), followed by No. 5 vs. No.4 at 5 p.m. and No. 1 vs. the No. 8/9 winner at 7:30 p.m. The semifinals of the tournament will take place at 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. (MST) on Friday, March 10. The championship game is set for 6 p.m. (MST) on Saturday, March 11.

Every tournament game, with the exception of the first round game, is scheduled to be televised live by College Sports Southeast. Every Denver game of the tournament will be broadcast on 1600 AM with Mag Strittmatter and Mary Kay Mauro calling the action. Tickets are available through the University of Denver ticket office at 303-871-2336.

The 1999-2000 Pioneers
(Sun Belt rankings through Feb. 24)

#11 Lika Black, G, 5-7, Fr.-HS, San Diego, California - dished out a career-high 7 assists in her first collegiate start at Louisiana-Lafayette, playing all 40 minutes...recorded a career-high 10 points against Louisiana-Lafayette at home...career-high 3 rebounds vs. Davidson and at UL-Lafayette...had a career-high 3 steals vs. Weber State and at New Orleans...missed two games with a broken pinky on her shooting hand, suffered during shoot-around on Jan. 15.

#12 Natalie Ryan, C, 6-2, Sr.-1L, Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia - pulled down a season-high 8 rebounds vs. Colorado-scored a season-high 11 points vs. Arkansas-Little Rock...had one of best games of the season against UL-Lafayette at home with 9 points, 7 rebounds and 3 steals, while shooting 50% from the field.

#20 Candy Benson, F, 6-2, Sr.-3L, Wilton, Connecticut - scored game-winning basket against FIU...missed a majority of the last game with Tech on Jan. 31 when she was diagnosed with strep throat in Ruston...scored a season-high 14 points against Western Kentucky-tied her career-high of 13 rebounds against Weber State and again against Western Kentucky-had a career-high 5 steals vs. Oklahoma-recorded sixth double-double of career against Western Kentucky, the second of this season-had a big night at the free throw line against Arkansas State, making 7 of 8...second on team in steals with 35 and rebounding with 5.8 boards per game-Sun Belt Conference rankings: 15th in rebounding.

#22 Melissa Garcia, G, 5-6, So.-1L, Thornton, Colorado - tied her career-high with 22 points vs. UNLV (last time Nov. 27, 1998 at Loyola Marymount)-also tied career-high in rebounding with 7 vs. Oklahoma...had career-high in steals with 7 against Arkansas State-kicked in a season-high 7 assists versus New Orleans-missed UL-Lafayette game on Jan. 6 with a knee injury...team leader in free throw shooting at 80.0%, assists with 80 and steals with 58-second on team in 3-pointers made with 36-Sun Belt Conference rankings: 17th in scoring, 7th in assists, 5th in steals, 9th in 3FG%, 8th in 3FG made, 1st in assist/turnover ratio-named to the Santa Clara Diet Coke Shootout all-tournament team.

#23 Heather Floyd, G, 5-7, Sr.-1L, Fullerton, California - has been the main sources of moral support for the team...dressed out one time this season at Radford, played one minute in the first half, since having foot surgery prior to the beginning of the season...has not played since the Radford game-missed most of last season with chronic knee injury.

#34 Jamie Rhoads, G, 5-10, Jr.-2L, Midland, Texas - had a season-high 8 points at Louisiana-Lafayette-had season-high 3 assists vs. Davidson, at Radford, vs. Weber State, at UL-Lafayette, at New Orleans and vs. UL-Lafayette-had a season-high 4 rebounds vs. Colorado, at Old Dominion, and at New Orleans-season-high 4 steals vs. Arkansas-Little Rock-Denver is 7-2 when Rhoads has been in the starting lineup-struggling with inflammation in the arch of her foot.

#35 Ashley Atkinson, G, 5-10, Fr.-HS, Springfield, Missouri - made first collegiate start against Colorado-scored a career-high 25 points against New Orleans-had career-high 7 rebounds at South Alabama-dished out career-high 9 assists vs. UL-Lafayette-career-high 7 three-pointers and 7 steals against New Orleans-leads the team in three-pointers with 60 and 42.0%-second on team in scoring with 10.9 points per game-Sun Belt Conference rankings: 16th in scoring, 2nd in 3FG%, 2nd in 3FG made...NCAA rankings: 24th in 3-point FG made...named The Denver Post Women's Basketball Player of the Week on Jan. 14.

#42 Bethie Younger, F, 6-1, Jr.-TR, Tomball, Texas - came off the bench vs. Colorado to score 15 points...scored a career-high 16 points at Arkansas-Little Rock-scored 13 vs. Davidson in first start for Denver-pulled down season-high 6 rebounds vs. Davidson, against Arkansas State, vs. Western Kentucky and at Arkansas-Little Rock-passed out season-high 4 assists at Old Dominion...started at Louisiana Tech in place of the injured Rhoads.

#43 Martha Dibella, F, 6-0, So.-1L, Littleton, Colorado - pulled down 6 rebounds and 2 points in her first action of the season, playing 13 minutes vs. UNLV after missing the first three games of the season with a severe ankle sprain-has started every game since Dec. 12 at Old Dominion-scored a season-high 15 points against South Alabama-tied season-high for rebounds with 6 against Weber State and against Arkansas State...dished out a career-high 5 assists against New Orleans...blocked a season-high 3 shots vs. South Alabama.

#44 Kellie Carwell, C, 6-3, Fr.-HS, Villa Park, Illinois - scored first points as a Pioneer vs. Davidson, finished with 2...scored a season-high 6 points at Florida International and at Arkansas-Little Rock-pulled down a season-high 6 rebounds vs. Arkansas-Little Rock...matched season-high for scoring at South Alabama, including two free throws with 1.3 seconds left to win the game in overtime.

#45 Misa Pavlickova, C, 6-3, Jr.-2L, Prague, Czech Republic - against FIU scored single game career-high 27 points and pulled down single game career-high 17 rebounds...pulled off first double-double of the season with 16 points and 11 rebounds against Colorado-after further review had a season-high 6 blocked shots at Old Dominion...tied that mark against New Orleans-has 16 career double-doubles, 7 this season-cracked the 500-rebound career mark against FIU, now has 548-broke the 800-point career mark against FIU, now has 872...currently in second place on Denver's all-time block list with 188, needs 4 to become career leader-team leader in scoring with 12.7 points per game, rebounding with 8.8 per game and blocked shots with 64-Sun Belt Conference rankings: 12th in scoring, 2nd in rebounding, 10th in field goal percentage, 1st in blocked shots, 1st in defensive rebounds-NCAA ranking: 3rd in blocked shots-preseason all-Sun Belt Conference selection-named to the Santa Clara Diet Coke Shootout all-tournament team...named The Denver Post Women's Basketball Player of the Week on Feb. 11.

#55 Misty Staton, C/F, 6-2, Fr.-HS, Duke, Oklahoma - scored first points as a Pioneer vs. Davidson, finished with 4...scored a season-high 10 points at Florida International-pulled down a season-high 5 rebounds vs. Arkansas-Little Rock and at Louisiana Tech...came up with 2 steals vs. Arkansas State.

#5 Nikki Weddle, G, 5-4, Jr.-RS, Denver, Colorado - will sit out this season after transferring from Colorado in August-was a high school All-American for Montbello High School in Denver.

Head Coach Pam Tanner - is 72-59 (10-3 Sun Belt) in her fifth season at the helm of the Pioneer program, moving Denver from Division II to Division I. Tanner spent five seasons as an assistant at the Division I level prior to taking over at Denver - two seasons at San Diego State and three at Tennessee where she earned her master's degree. Tanner played for four seasons at Illinois State, graduating in 1989 with a degree in physical education. She was named the Gateway Conference Player of the Decade and was inducted into the Illinois State Hall of Fame in 1995.

Assistant Coach Tracy Tripp is also in her fifth season with the Pioneers. Tripp was an assistant with Tanner at San Diego State prior to joining the Denver staff. She is a 1990 University of Colorado graduate-Assistant Coach Ellen Grosso is in her second season at Denver. Grosso spent four seasons as an assistant at Monmouth University in New Jersey before coming to Denver last season. She is a 1990 graduate of Bridgeport with a master's from East Stroudsburg-Assistant Coach DeeDee Dominguez is in her third season with Denver. Dominguez was an assistant coach for one season at Colorado State before coaching the Pioneers. She is a 1997 graduate of Colorado State.

Pioneer Record by lineups:

Pavlickova, Garcia, Benson, Atkinson, Rhoads	1-0 (1.000) - vs. Colorado
Pavlickova, Garcia, Benson, Atkinson, Younger	2-2 (.500) - vs. Davidson, at Santa Clara, vs. UNLV,
						at Radford
Pavlickova, Garcia, Benson, Atkinson, Dibella	6-2 (.750) - at Old Dominion, at Wright State, vs. Oklahoma,
						vs. Weber State, at Arkansas-Little Rock, 
						vs. New Orleans, vs. South Alabama,
						vs. Louisiana-Lafayette
Pavlickova, Garcia, Benson, Dibella, Rhoads	4-2 (.667) - vs. Loyola Marymount, vs. Arkansas State,
						vs. Arkansas-Little Rock, vs. Western Kentucky,
						at Florida International, at South Alabama
Pavlickova, Benson, Dibella, Rhoads, Black	2-0 (1.000) - at Louisiana-Lafayette, at New Orleans
Pavlickova, Garcia, Benson, Dibella, Younger	1-1 (.500) - at Louisiana Tech, vs. Florida International

Current Records (through 2/24/2000):

	        	  Sun Belt		Overall
1. Louisiana Tech	  13-0	1.000		22-2	.917
2. Western Kentucky	  12-3	.800		18-8	.692
3. Denver       	  10-3	.769		16-7	.696
4. Florida International  8-6	.571		13-12	.520
5. Arkansas State	  6-7	.462		15-9	.625
   New Orleans  	  6-7	.462		10-14	.417
7. Louisiana-Lafayette	  5-9	.357		12-13	.480
8. Arkansas-Little Rock	  1-13	.071		4-20	.167
9. South Alabama	  0-13	.000		5-19	.217