DENVER The University of Denver women’s basketball team (8-6, 3-1 SBC) will host Sun Belt Conference opponent Louisiana-Monroe (10-5, 3-1 SBC) on Sunday evening in Magness Arena, immediately following the conclusion of the men’s basketball game.
Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. (MT) and fans can catch the action live via Pioneer Vision as Mitch Hyder will be calling all the action. Access to Pioneer Vision can be reached through the Denver Pioneers Web site at www.DenverPioneers.com. Live stats will also be offered for those fans not in attendance.
SCOUTING LOUISIANA-MONROE
- The Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks are sporting a 10-5 recording coming into their game against the Pioneers this Sunday and are currently riding a two-game win streak. The streak includes wins over Arkansas-Monticello (74-47) and South Alabama (67-58).
- The Warhawks are also an impressive 3-1 in Sun Belt play, their only loss coming at the hands of the Arkansas Little Rock Trojans in a 68-50 battle.
- ULM is led by Lottie Moore’s 175 points on 54-of-150 shooting from the floor. Moore also hase a team-leading 87 rebounds, 54 assists, 31 steals and 12 blocks.
- As a team, the Warhawks are averaging 65.2 points per game, while their opponents are scoring an average of 62.0. ULM is also shooting 39.7 percent from the floor and 33.0 percent from three-point range.
THE SERIES
- The Pioneers lead the all-time series 3-2, with a 2-2 mark at home and a 1-0 mark in Monroe, Louisiana.
- Both teams first met on Nov. 26, 2005, as the Warhawks defeated the Pioneers 66-54 in the Mile-High City.
- Last season, the Pioneers squeaked out a 68-65 overtime win on Feb. 16, 2008 on the road. Alisha Godette led all scorers with 19 points off the bench, while Brooke Meyer and Sara Benham finished with 12 and 10 points, respectively.
PIONEER LEADER BOARD
- Just 14 games into the 2008-09 season, freshman Kaetlyn Murdoch leads the Pioneers with 142 points, while junior Ashly Robinson and sophomore Britteni Rice each have 140.
- Murdoch is shooting an impressive 60.0 percent (60-of-100) from the floor and 53.7 percent (22-of-41) from the free-throw line. The forward is also second on the team with 93 total rebounds, and leads the team with 31 total blocks.
- Robinson is leading the way on the glass as she has grabbed 103 total rebounds.
- Freshman Jenny Vaughan is leading the way from the charity strip for the Pioneers as she is shooting an impressive 93.3 percent on 14-of-15 shooting, while sophomore Britteni Rice is leading Denver with 45 total assists.
- As a team, the Pioneers are shooting 71.0 percent (152-of-314) from the free-throw line and are averaging 64.1 points per game. Denver is averaging 35.2 rebounds, 5.0 blocks and 8.6 steals per contest, while also forcing 259 turnovers.
DENVER IN THE SBC
- With a 3-1 conference record, the Pioneers are tied for second place in the SBC West Division with Louisiana-Monroe. Leading the way in the West is Arkansas-Little Rock with a perfect 4-0 mark. In the East Division, Middle Tennessee is also boasting an impressive 4-0 mark in conference action, while Western Kentucky and Troy are close behind with 2-2 records.
- In conference games only, the Pioneers top the list in blocks per game with 7.25 and are second in the league in field goal percentage defense with 35.7 percent. Denver is ranked third in rebounding margin (+4.8), defensive rebounds (33.8) and field goal percentage (43.5).
- In all games, Denver is ranked first in field goal percentage (44.7) and assists per game (15.43). The Pioneers are ranked second in free-throw percentage (71.0) defensive rebounds (34.1), and blocked shots (5.0).
LOWE’S SENIOR CLASS AWARDS
- Senior Nnenna Akotaobi (Thornton, Colo.) was selected as a candidate for the 2008-09 Lowe’s Senior Class Award, presented annually to an NCAA Division I student-athlete in nine sports.
- Akotaobi was one of 30 men’s and women’s basketball candidates nominated for the award, with the criteria focusing on the “Four C’s” of classroom, character, community and competition. The winner of the award will be selected by national balloting of head basketball coaches, national media and college basketball fans.
- From each of the two lists of 30 nominees, a national media committee will select 10 finalists for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award in February 2009. Those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot for a nationwide vote. In addition to voting by Division I head basketball coaches and national media, college basketball fans will also be able to submit ballots by text voting or on-line at www.seniorclassaward.com.
FRESHMEN CONTRIBUTIONS
- Of the four newcomers on the Pioneer squad, freshmen Jenny Vaughan (Dundas, Ontario) and Kaetlyn Murdoch have combined for 209 points on 82-of-166 (.494) shooting from the field, 9-of-33 (.273) from beyond the arc and 36-of-56 (.643) from the charity stripe. The duo has also combined for 111 rebounds, 32 assists and 33 blocked shots in just 14 games so far.
BLOCK PARTY
- In the Pioneers 64-63 win over Arkansas State (1/7/09), freshman Kaetlyn Murdoch (Temple, Texas) had a career-high 13 blocked shots, setting a new DU program record for blocks in a single game. Murdoch’s 13 blocks set a Sun Belt Conference record for most blocked shots in an SBC game and also ties the conference record for blocks in all game by an SBC member institution. The record for most blocks in all games by an SBC school was previously set by Anne Donovan for Old Dominion against Boston University on Feb. 18, 1983.
- Murdoch becomes the sixth player in NCAA history to finish with 13 blocks in a game, ranking her tied for fourth all-time on the most blocks per game list. The record of 16 blocks in a game was setby Sandora Irvin on Jan. 16, 2005 in the TCU vs. UAB game.
LAST TIME OUT
- The University of Denver women’s basketball team (8-6, 3-1 SBC) defeated the Arkansas State University Red Wolves (3-12, 0-4 SBC) 64-63 on Wednesday evening at Magness Arena in record setting fashion as freshman Kaetlyn Murdoch (Temple, Texas) recorded a record 13 blocks.
- The team totaled 19 blocked shots in the win, tying an NCAA team record that was previous set by New Orleans on Feb. 13, 1990 against Western Kentucky, and again on Jan. 16, 2006 by TCU vs. UAB.. The last time a DU team blocked at least 10 shots was at Texas-Pan American on Jan. 30 1999.
- Sophomore Britteni Rice (Pampa, Texas) led the Pioneers with 13 points and was 6-of-7 in free throws, while junior Ashly Robinson (Bloomington, Minn.) closely followed with 10 points.
- For the game, the Pioneers shot 44.3 percent from the field on 23-of-52, while finishing 76.2 percent from the free-throw line at 10-of-13. Denver and ASU each scored 22 points in the paint. The Pioneers also out-rebounded the Red Wolves, grabbing 40 boards compared to ASU’s 35. Denver is 6-1 when grabbing more rebounds than its opponents.
- The Pioneers shot 47.4 percent from the floor in the first half on 11-of-23 shooting and 20 percent from beyond the arc on 1-of-5 shots.
- Arkansas State jumped out the gates on an 11-3 run to start the game, with the Pioneers’ lone basket coming off a three-pointer by senior guard Andie Mason (Gilbert, Ariz.) just 2:47 into the contest. The Pioneers rallied back with a run of 11 points, starting with sophomore forward Brianna Culberson (Jefferson City, Mo.) with 13:46 left in the first period. However, ASU took a 31-26 advantage into the locker room at the break.
- The Pioneers trailed by as many as 15 in the second half, and ASU led 57-46 with 8:07 to play. Denver used a 10-0 run to come within one at 57-56 with 4:33 remaining.
- Senior Celena Otero (Aurora, Colo.) broke a 58-58 tie with her second three-pointer of the night with 1:13 remaining and the Red Wolves came within one on a pair of free throws by Ebonie Jefferson with 44 seconds to play.
- However, as the seconds ticked down and only 20 seconds on the clock, Mason put DU back up by three with two free throws before Rice made her seventh free throw of the night to give Denver a 64-60 lead. The Red Wolves nailed a three-pointer at the buzzer, giving DU the 64-63 victory.
ADDING SOME DEPTH
- The Pioneers have signed Laura Palmere (Denver, Colo.) and Sarah Feeney (Bismarck, N.D.) to National Letters of Intent to play for Denver beginning in the 2009-10 season.
- Palmere, who is currently a senior at Mullen High School, has been a standout for the Mustangs’ basketball team throughout her high school career. Last year, she was the first junior to be selected as a team captain in program history. She led the Mustangs across a variety of statistical categories, including points per game (12), assists per game (3) and steals per game (3). Palmere scored double-digit points in 19 of Mullen’s 26 games, en route to being named first-team all-Centennial League and honorable mention all-state for the second consecutive year. She was also selected to the academic all-state first team by the Colorado High School Activities Association. During her sophomore season, Palmere was honored as the Centennial League Player of the Year and MVP, receiving 58 out of 60 first place votes. She started all 25 of the Mustangs’ games, leading the team in scoring with 13.5 ppg, and recording a career-best 29 points in a single game. Palmere also averaged four assists, 2.5 steals and three rebounds per game. In addition to her basketball accomplishments, Palmere was a vital member of Mullen’s 2007 4A State Champion Girl’s track team. As a sophomore at the state finals, she placed second in the 400m dash, fourth in the 100m dash, fifth in the 200m dash and first in the 4x400m relay.
- Feeney joins the Pioneers from Bismarck High School in Bismarck, North Dakota. In 2008 Feeney was named to the All-State and All-Conference teams as she averaged 14.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 3.5 steals per game. In addition to her efforts on the court, Feeney was also a stand-out member of the cross country team, earning six All-Conference and four All-State honors. She was also named North Dakota’s Senior Athlete of the Year in cross country.
CHANGING OF THE GUARD
- Heading into its 35th season of competition, the Pioneer women’s basketball program is under new direction. Coach Johnson became Denver’s eighth coach on April 30, 2008 and is looking forward to taking the Pioneers to new heights this season.
- Johnson did not waste any time securing his support staff, as he hired former Boston College assistant and colleague Yvonne Hawkins as his right hand. Hawkins brings over 25 years of coaching experience to the Pioneers, as well as four years as a player for Ashland University.
- Johnson didn’t stop there as he secured another key acquisition in University of Colorado star Shelley Sheetz. Along with her eight seasons of assistant coaching experience, Sheetz brings with her an illustrious collegiate and professional playing career that has taken her around the world.
- Adding the final piece of the coaching staff puzzle is assistant coach Lisa Faulkner, who joins the Pioneers after spending one season at Northern Arizona and two seasons at perennial NAIA powerhouse Vanguard. Adding to her credentials, Faulkner played at national power Oregon City High School and also brings playing experience from two universities as she spent two seasons at UC Irvine and her final two seasons at Vanguard.
PIONEERS PICKED SIXTH
- The Pioneers were chosen to finish sixth in the Sun Belt Conference West Division by the conference head coaches in the preseason poll.
- Arkansas-Little Rock (five first-place votes) and Arkansas State (eight first-place votes) tied with 83 points to lead the West Division, while Middle Tennessee (six first-place votes) claimed the top spot in the East with 71 points.
- North Texas finished third in the West with 57 points, seven ahead of Louisiana-Monroe who finished with a 17-13 overall mark last season. New Orleans (38 points), Denver (34 points) and Louisiana-Lafayette (19 points) rounded out the final three spots in the West Division.
- Garnering six first-place votes, Western Kentucky finished in the runner-up slot behind Middle Tennessee in the East Division with 68 points, while South Alabama grabbed the third spot with 48 points. Just five points behind, Florida International took the fourth slot and Troy the fifth with 24 points. Rounding out the East Division was Florida Atlantic with 19 points.
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