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Westerwinds set to start 2007-08 season with two exhibition games

November 24, 2007 on 9:40 pm | In Athletics |

MACOMB, Ill. - The Western Illinois women’s basketball team begins the 2007-08 season with two exhibition games on Waste Management Court at Western Hall. The Westerwinds first face Illinois-Springfield, Thursday, November 1 at 6 p.m. and then battle with Lewis, Sunday, November 4 at 2 p.m.

About Illinois-Springfield
The Prairie Stars finished the 2006-07 campaign with a 15-17 overall mark and a 10-5 record in the American Midwest Conference. UIS’s season ended on March 1, 2007 with a loss to Columbia College in the semifinals of the American Midwest Conference Tournament, 73-82.

Tiffany Spellman is the top returner for the Prairie Stars. She averaged 6.6 points per game and 2.1 rebounds per game, while recording a .335 (74-221) shooting percentage. Illinois-Springfield graduated its first All-American Midwest First Team member, Jasmin Woolfolk. Woolfork had averaged 10.1 points and 5.9 rebounds per game for the Prairie Stars.

Against the Prairie Stars
During the 2006-07 season Western defeated Illinois-Springfield 68-37 in a regular season game, December 17, 2006.

The Westerwinds were lead by then-junior Stephanie Lovingood. The Peoria, Ill., native tallied 14 points and added five rebounds. Jameka McElroy, Amanda Walker, and Nicole Myers also garnered double-digits in the points column, with 12, 11, and 10 respectively.

About Lewis
The Flyers had a successful season in the Division II ranks advancing to the Great Lakes Regional semifinals before falling to Drury, 62-67.

Lewis ended the 2006-07 season with a 28-4 overall record and a 17-2 mark in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, good for first place in the East standings.

The Flyers lost their top two players from a season ago, as Darcee Schmidt and Mary Moskal were lost to graduation. Schmidt averaged 21.7 points and 7.5 rebounds per game and shot .514 (262-510) from the floor. Moskal contributed 17.1 points and 6.8 rebounds per game for Lewis.

Jenna Mooberry is the top returner for the Flyers. She averaged 7.4 points and 3.6 rebounds per game.

Against the Flyers
Western battled with Lewis in an exhibition game during the 2006-07 season. The Flyers earned a 50-42 victory.

The Westerwinds were paced by Myers and Lovingood. Myers recorded a team-high seven points, while Lovingood added six points and a team-high 10 rebounds.

Returning to Normal
The look of the Western Illinois women’s basketball roster will be more familiar to fans this season, as the squad will be back up to 14 members and have more upperclassmen and experience than the 2006-07 season. The team will consist of three seniors, seven juniors, two sophomores, and two freshmen. There will be five new faces on the team, as three junior college transfers and two true freshmen were added.

Senior Sensations
The 2007-08 senior class will have three members, including two that gained valuable experience on the court last season. Gina Hugelier and Stephanie Lovingood became the scoring leaders for Western a year ago. Each contributed a total of six games with double-doubles and 22 games in double-digits in the scoring column for the Westerwinds.

Hugelier earned her first conference post-season honor with a spot on the All-Mid-Continent Conference Second Team. Lovingood was the second member of the Westerwinds to earn post-season honors, with an honorable mention selection.

The Elmhurst, Ill., native averaged 11.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game against league competition, and started the final 13 games for Western. Hugelier turned up her performance at the start of the 2007 portion of the season after averaging just 1.8 points and 0.8 rebounds per game.

Lovingood, a native of Peoria, Ill., led the team in rebounds, with 8.1 per conference matchup. Lovingood also contributed 7.4 points per contest and recorded nine blocks against league opponents.

Bolstering the Front Line
After losing just one senior, DeeDee Murphy, at the end of the 2006-07 season, the coaching staff hit the road recruiting and added five members to the 2007-08 squad. Of the five new recruits, four will be forwards to compete for a spot on the floor with Lovingood and juniors Jameka McElroy and Nicole Myers.

Among the new recruits is junior college transfer, Katy Davenport. The Manhattan, Kan., native transferred from Johnson County Community College where she was named a 2006-07 NJCAA Basketball First Team All-American. Davenport lead JCCC in scoring (19.8/gm), rebounding (7.9/gm), and blocked shots (25), while helping the team to a 23-10 overall record.

Davenport will also be joined by junior college transfer Rasheena Salter (Cloud County Community College), and freshmen Annelose Kodde and Lindsay Wutt.

Salter helped Cloud County earn a national ranking of 16th and advanced to the Region 6 semifinals. The McKeesport, Pa., native had limited playing time due to injury, but shot .390 from the floor and .667 from the free throw line.

As a member of Club Binnenland, Kodde helped her team to the Netherlands under-20 championship April 21, 2007 with a 66-61 victory over Celeritudo at the 2007 Final Four. She tallied 37 points and four rebounds in the tournament, while shooting .476 from beyond the arc (10-of-21) and forced four steals.

Wutt comes to Western from Waterford High School. She helped the Wolverines advance to two straight sectional appearances, and finish second in the WIAA Division I championship in 2005-06. Wutt averaged 15 points and 9.3 rebounds per game her final season with Waterford and was named the Lakeshore Conference Player of the Year, first team all-county, and honorable mention all-state.

Adding Speed
The lone addition to the guards is Barton County Community College standout ChrisDell Harris.

Besides helping the Cougars to a 27-3 overall and 15-1 mark in the Jayhawk West Conference in 2005-06, the Wichita, Kan., native was also a track and field standout for Barton County. In 2005-06 she earned All-America status in the 100m dash and won gold at the NJCAA Championships as part of the Cougars 4×100m relay team. In 2006-07 Harris finished first at the NJCAA Regional VI Outdoor Championship in the 100 meter dash, with a time of 12.01 seconds.

Crane expects Harris to frustrate teams in the full-court with her defensive prowess and her speed with the ball to the basket.

New Teams; New Conference
On June 1, 2007 the Mid-Continent Conference officially changed its name to The Summit League. The conference name change also included the loss of Valparaiso University as a league member and the addition of IPFW, North Dakota State, and South Dakota State.

The addition of the new teams is set to increase the competitiveness among Summit League schools and in the Division I basketball ranks. Two of the new additions ended the 2006-07 season with RPI in the top 150 and above the top Mid-Con team (Oral Roberts-169). South Dakota State finished the year 25-6, with an RPI of 45, while North Dakota State had an RPI of 139 after finishing 14-11.

Originaly from Source