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Westerwinds start five-game road trip at Illinois State

January 14, 2008 on 8:50 pm | In Athletics |

MACOMB, Ill. - After being at home for two weeks, the Western Illinois women’s basketball team returns to the road for the first of five games away from Macomb. The Westerwinds (3-6, 1-0 The Summit League) travel to Normal, Ill., to face Illinois State, Wednesday, December 19 at 7:05 p.m. in Redbird Arena.

About Illinois State
The Redbirds enter this Wednesday’s game with an 8-1 record. Illinois State’s only loss this year came at Redbird Arena to DePaul (November 25), 80-75. After that loss the Redbirds have won four straight games, including three straight road victories.

Four out of Illinois State’s starters are averaging double-digit point totals during 2007-08. Kristi Cirone is the team’s leading scorer with an average of 15.4 points per game. Tiffany Hudson tallies 13.4, Maggie Krick adds 11.7, and Ashleen Bracy garners 10.2 per game for the Redbirds. All five of the starters are strong shooters, with all recording a shooting percentage over 45 percent. Nicolle Lewis is the fifth starter for Illinois State, and she nets 8.8 points per game and a .547 shooting percentage.

As a team the Redbirds shoot 47.7 percent and were ranked in the No. 16 position in the nation in games through December 9. The team also ranks in the top 25 in eight out of 16 statistical categories reported by the NCAA and in 10 of the top 50 categories.

The highest spot Illinois State holds is the No. 2 spot in assists (20.0). The team also ranks 13th in scoring offense (77.4). Individually Cirone is fifth in assists per game (7.6), while Hudson is 27th in three-point field goal percentage (45.9) and 69th in field goal percentage (51.9).

The Series
This will be the 43rd meeting between Western and the Redbirds since the 1971-72 season. Illinois State leads the all-time series 40-2. The Redbirds earned the last victory in the series, with a 53-50 decision in Normal, December 22, 2001. The Westerwinds were victorious in the previous outing in Macomb (74-64), November 29, 2000.

Holiday Hugelier
During the 2006-07 season, then-junior Gina Hugelier turned her game around during the holiday season. The Elmhurst, Ill., native went from averaging only 0.8 points per game and 0.7 rebounds per game in the 2006 portion of the season to 7.4 points and 2.9 rebounds per game at the end of the season.

The 2007-08 season started out slow again for Hugelier as she was garnering just 4.6 points and 3.6 rebounds per game before the December 5 game at Wichita State. Since that game she has recorded at least 14 points in each contest and is now tallying 10.4 points and 3.8 boards per game.

Hugelier continued her increase in the scoring column against Robert Morris, December 16. She tallied a season-high 22 points and recorded a career-high nine field goals made. Hugelier also garnered new shooting percentage bests, with a .643 (9-14) mark from the floor and a .750 (3-4) percentage from beyond the arc.

Quigle Rising
Senior Samantha Quigle has stepped up her playing time and has set several new career highs in the last four games. In Western’s 77-63 victory over Robert Morris, December 16, the Colchester, Ill., native recorded new career bests for points (5), assists (4), and field goals (2). Quigle also set new season highs for rebounds (2), and free throws (1).

Among the Nations Best
Western ranks 40th in the nation and leads the league in three-point field goal percentage. The Westerwinds have connected on 36.8 percent of their shots from beyond the arc.

Senior Stephanie Lovingood is currently 56th in the country with her 9.0 rebounds per game. The number is also the best in the league. She also leads the conference in offensive rebounds per game (3.75).

Junior Amanda Walker is the only other Western player on the national charts. She is ranked 25th is assist/turnover ratio (2.18).

On the Airwaves
This season all games can be heard live on WIUS 88.3 FM and on the internet at www.wiuathletics.com. Links to each broadcast are available on the women’s basketball “Schedule/Results” page. Click on the speaker to link to the broadcast. Play-by-play is provided by Ryan Thomas, while color commentary is added by Nick McCay.

A link to this Wednesday’s live stats has been placed on the women’s basketball schedule page. The stats are provided by www.gorebirds.com.

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.

Up Next
Western continues its five game road trip with a stop in Iowa City, Saturday, December 22. The Westerwinds and the Hawkeyes tip-off at 4:05 p.m. in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Western will then have 11 days off before battling with Kansas State, January 2, 2008 in Manhattan, Kan.

Western Quick Sets
The Westerwinds scored the most points in a game this season against Robert Morris (77)…for the first time this year all five starters recorded double-digits in the points column against the Lady Eagles…Hugelier had 22, junior Walker
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