Billikens, Hawks Meet in A-10 Championship First Round
March 3, 2008
THIS WEEK: The Saint Louis Billikens (10-19, 5-9 Atlantic 10) are the No. 11 seed in the Atlantic 10 Conference Championship and will face No. 6 seed and tournament host Saint Joseph's (16-13, 8-6 A-10) in a first-round game Friday, March 7, at Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse in Philadelphia. Game time is 5 p.m. (CT). The Saint Louis-Saint Joseph's winner will face No. 3 seed Xavier (21-8, 11-3 A-10) Saturday at 5 p.m. (CT). The Billikens, who tied Rhode Island and Massachusetts for 10th place in the regular-season standings, landed in the No. 11 position after the league's tiebreaker formula was implemented. TOURNEY SCHEDULE: Here is the remainder of the A-10 Championship schedule: No. 8 Richmond vs. No. 9 Duquesne, Friday, 11 a.m. Winner plays No. 1 Temple at 11 a.m. Saturday No. 5 Dayton vs. No. 12 UMass, Friday, 1 p.m. Winner plays No. 4 Charlotte at 1 p.m. Saturday No. 7 St. Bonaventure vs. No. 10 Rhode Island, Friday, 3 p.m. Winner plays No. 2 George Washington at 3 p.m. Saturday The semifinals are Sunday at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., and the championship game is Monday at 4 p.m. FOLLOWING THE ACTION: Audio of all Saint Louis A-10 Championship games will be streamed live on the Internet at kslu.slu.edu. Access is gained by clicking on the "Listen" button. The action may also be followed live on GameTracker on SLU's official Web site, www.slubillikens.com. In addition, first-round and quarterfinal games will be shown on the Internet via Billiken All-Access. Both semifinal games on Sunday will be televised by CSTV. Should the Billikens advance, they would play in the second semifinal at 1:30 p.m. (CT). Monday's championship game, which determines the A-10's NCAA Tournament representative, will be televised by ESPN2 at 4 p.m. (CT). LET'S DO IT AGAIN: The Billikens will try for a repeat of their first-round outcome last season when, as the No. 11 seed, they knocked off No. 6 Richmond 69-61 for the program's first conference tournament victory since 2002. SLU was edged 64-63 by No. 3 Xavier in the quarterfinals.
SCOUTING SAINT JOSEPH'S: As the No. 5 seed in last season's A-10 Championship, the Hawks reached the final where they fell 65-59 to Xavier. This season, Saint Joseph's rebounded from a 2-3 start in conference play to win six of its last nine games, including two straight entering the tournament. SJU leads the league in 3-point field goals (6.1 pg) and is second in 3-point field goal percentage (35.8 percent). Freshman center Sarah Acker leads the Hawks with 12.2 ppg and is followed by senior guard Timisha Gomez with 11.2 ppg. Acker leads the A-10 in field-goal percentage (60.1percent), ranks third in total rebounding (8.9 rpg) and is tied for fourth in blocks (1.5 bpg). Junior guard Mary Kate McDade is fifth in the league in assists (4.2 apg), and senior guard Amy Wold is third in the league with a 1.74:1 assist-to-turnover ratio. Head coach Cindy Griffin owns a 175-124 career record in 10 seasons and a 127-91 mark in seven seasons at Saint Joseph's. THE SAINT JOSEPH'S SERIES: SJU leads the series 3-0 following a 65-44 victory in Philadelphia on Feb. 6 in the teams' regular-season meeting. The Bills secured a 48-39 rebounding advantage, led by Heather King's game-high 12 boards. Amanda Kemezys and Theresa Lisch scored 13 points apiece, and Kemezys added eight rebounds. The Hawks edged the Billikens 70-68 last season in St. Louis and won 69-50 in the first meeting two years ago in Philadelphia. SCOUTING XAVIER: The Musketeers captured the A-10 Championship title last season, beating Saint Joseph's 65-59 in the final. Xavier leads the A-10 in field-goal percentage defense (35.6 percent), rebounding margin (+8.8) and blocks (5.1 bpg) and is third in scoring defense (56.8 ppg). The Musketeers are led by the frontline tandem of sophomore forward Amber Harris, the reigning A-10 Rookie of the Year who also earned spots on the All-Conference first team and All-Defensive team last season, and freshman center Ta'Shia Phillips. Phillips and Harris are the top two rebounders in the A-10 with 11.3 and 9.0 rpg, respectively. Harris averages 15.6 ppg, good for seventh in the league, and tops the A-10 in blocks with 2.66 bpg. Phillips leads the A-10 in offensive rebounding (4.31 orpg), is second in field-goal percentage (59.8 percent) and ranks 10th in scoring (14.1 ppg). Junior guard Jerri Taylor is third in the conference with 1.97 3-pointers per game. Sixth-year head coach Kevin McGuff has a 127-58 career record, all at Xavier. THE XAVIER SERIES: A 10-game winning streak has given XU a 12-6 series lead. Xavier captured a 69-52 victory in this year's regular-season meeting in Cincinnati on Jan. 30. In that game, Katie Paganelli and Maggie Hennegan scored 17 and 14 points, respectively. Heather King led the rebounding effort with seven boards, and Hennegan had six caroms as the Bills battled the taller Musketeers to a 40-40 stalemate on the glass.The Billikens last defeated Xavier 77-68 on Feb. 20, 1988. WINDEX WOMEN: Rebounding has been a Billiken strength this season. The Bills are fourth in the A-10 in rebounding margin for all games (+4.4) and third in conference games (+4.4). On the offensive boards, Saint Louis is second in all games (14.3 orpg) and second in conference games (14.5 orpg). The Billikens have tallied at least 15 offensive rebounds 14 times this season. SLU has recorded a combined +110 edge against its last 19 opponents, out-rebounding eight of those teams by a double-digit total. FREE-THROW LINE A FAMILIAR, AND FRIENDLY, PLACE: The Billikens average 17.2 made free throws and 22.6 free-throw attempts per game, both tops in the A-10. Saint Louis leads the league and is ranked 20th nationally in free-throw percentage, connecting at a 76.2-percent clip. Saint Louis has shot at least 70 percent from the stripe in 23 of 29 games and has shot 80 percent or better 14 times, including nine of the past 12 games. SLU is even better from the line in A-10 contests, leading the league with 77.9 percent. ON THE OFFENSIVE: Saint Louis is fifth in the league in scoring for all games (65.9 ppg) and tied for fifth in A-10 contests (63.2). DEFENDING THE ARC: In A-10 games only, the Bills lead the league in 3-point field-goal percentage defense, holding opponents to 26.2 percent. SLU is third in that category for all games, as 30.6 percent of the opposition's treys find the mark. NAILBITERS: Fourteen of SLU's 29 games this season have been decided by six or fewer points. The Bills are 5-9 in those contests but have won four of the last six games that fall into that category. Dating back to the fourth game of last season, SLU has had 31 of its last 56 games decided by a single-digit margin. SHE KEEPS GOING AND GOING ... : Hayley Leake played 46 of a possible 50 minutes in a double-overtime win at Fordham, all 45 minutes in an overtime loss to Rhode Island and 40 minutes against Hampton and Wyoming. Leake has played at least 36 minutes in 12 other games. LISCH LIGHTIN' IT UP: After missing the first eight games this season due to injury, Theresa Lisch has enjoyed a successful return to the lineup. In 21 games, Lisch is averaging a team-best 17.2 points, shooting a team-high 87.8 percent from the free-throw line and averaging 5.0 rebounds and 3.3 assists. She has been SLU's leading scorer in 10 of the last 15 games. KING OF THE BOARDS: Heather King has averaged 7.3 rebounds in her last 12 games, raising her season average for A-10 games to 6.4. Of her 87 caroms during that 12-game stretch, 43 have come on the offensive glass. She has collected at least four offensive rebounds in seven of those 10 contests, including six against La Salle, Saint Joseph's and Xavier. RECAPPING THE DAYTON GAME: The Bills overcame a 15-point deficit and led by four points late in the second half, but Dayton came back to win 85-75 in the regular-season finale last Saturday in Dayton. Theresa Lisch scored a game-high 21 points, including 11-of-13 from the foul line, and tied for game-high honors with five assists. Maggie Hennegan was 5-of-8 from the field and 6-of-6 from the stripe for 16 points, and Hayley Leake scored 12 points. Heather King and Amanda Kemezys collected nine and eight rebounds, respectively. RECAPPING THE TEMPLE GAME: In a game that featured 18 ties and 11 lead changes, a late 12-0 Temple run gave the Owls a 77-66 win last Wednesday in St. Louis. Theresa Lisch led the Bills with 16 points, 11 rebounds and five assists. Maggie Hennegan poured in 15 points, Hayley Leake netted 11 and Katie Paganelli scored 10. Heather King added eight rebounds. HEAD COACH Shimmy Gray-Miller: Third-year head coach Shimmy Gray-Miller has the Billiken program headed in the right direction. Inheriting a team that won only four games during the 2004-05 campaign, her first SLU squad went 7-20. However, Gray-Miller led the 2006-07 Bills to a 13-17 record that included the program's first conference tournament victory since 2002, a 69-61 win over Richmond. Gray-Miller, a 1994 University of Michigan graduate, is the sixth head coach in Saint Louis women's basketball history and carries a 30-56 career record. HOPE IS A DANGEROUS THING: Freshman forward Hope Elam (Champaign, Ill./Central) had three rebounds and a block against Dayton ... collected three rebounds against Temple. JACK ON TRACK: Senior guard Jackie Gilbert (Jonesboro, Ark./Jonesboro) tallied five points, three rebounds and an assist against Dayton ... had an assist against Temple. WAIT `TIL WE GET OUR HAYNES ON YOU: Junior forward Jameela Haynes (Miami, Fla./Pace) did not play last week. HENNEGAN, BEGIN AGAIN: Sophomore forward/guard Maggie Hennegan (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Ursula) is ranked fourth in the A-10 in free-throw percentage for conference games (86.7 percent) ... scored 16 points on 5-of-8 field goals and 6-of-6 free throws, grabbed four rebounds and blocked a shot against Dayton ... tallied 15 points, a rebound and an assist against Temple. AK-55 HITS THE TARGET: Sophomore center Amanda Kemezys (Fairview Heights, Ill./Belleville East) is fifth in the A-10 in offensive rebounding (2.69 orpg), fifth in free-throw percentage (81.3 percent), sixth in total rebounding (7.8 rpg), 10th in field-goal percentage (48.2 percent) and tied for 10th in blocks (1.1 bpg) for all games ... shooting 83.3 percent from the stripe in A-10 games, good for eighth in the league ... had seven points, eight rebounds, a career-high three assists, a block and a steal against Dayton ... posted three points, five rebounds and an assist against Temple. THE KING AND I: Senior forward Heather King (Palos Hills, Ill./Amos Alonzo Stagg) is ranked third in the A-10 in offensive rebounding for conference games (3.21 orpg) ... scored nine points and grabbed nine rebounds against Dayton ... had seven points and eight rebounds against Temple. SPOTS FOR KLOTZ: Sophomore forward Amy Klotz (St. Louis, Mo./Notre Dame) did not play last week. LEAKE IS UNIQUE: Senior guard Hayley Leake (Silex, Mo./Silex) is ranked sixth in the A-10 in assist-to-turnover ratio for conference games (1.68:1) ... had 12 points, four rebounds and an assist in a game-high 39 minutes against Dayton ... registered 11 points, four assists and a steal against Temple. SWISH FOR LISCH: Sophomore guard Theresa Lisch (Belleville, Ill./Althoff) is ranked fifth in the A-10 in scoring (16.5 ppg), seventh in free-throw percentage (83.8 percent) and tied for 10th in 3-pointers (1.64 pg) for conference games ... scored a game-high 21 points, including 11-of-13 free throws, to go with five assists, four rebounds and a steal against Dayton ... had team bests of 16 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, two steals and a block in a team-high 35 minutes against Temple. PAGS TO RICHES: Sophomore guard Katie Paganelli (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame) had five points, four assists and a rebound against Dayton ... collected 10 points, two assists, a rebound and a steal against Temple. NOT OUT OF THE WOODS YET: Freshman forward Lauren Woods (Belleville, Ill./Belleville East) saw action against Dayton ... tied her career high with five rebounds and added four points and an assist against Temple. |
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