Warriors Begin Season Hosting Annual Tip-Off Tournament
WLC plays Hamline Friday at 7 p.m.
November 15, 2012
Krissy DayMILWAUKEE – The Wisconsin Lutheran College women’s basketball team opens its 2012-2013 season Friday and Saturday hosting the Dunn’s Sporting Goods Tip-Off Tournament at the Recreation Complex. The Warriors will play Hamline Friday at 7 p.m. and then face either Wis.-Stout or fourth-ranked DePauw Saturday afternoon. The tournament marks the 17th straight year the Warriors have opened the season on their homecourt.
LIVE COVERAGE: Twenty regular season women’s basketball games will be webcast live on wlcsports.com with the pregame show beginning 15 minutes prior to tipoff. Jon Henseler (play-by-play) and Sam Siemers (color analyst) will call the action courtside. All games, which are archived back to the 2003-2004 season, are accessible to listeners at wlcsports.com. Fans can also follow the action via live stats and live video at all home games throughout the 2012-2013 season.
WISCONSIN LUTHERAN UPDATE: The Warriors are coming off a second consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament after finishing 24-5 last season, including a fourth straight NAC division title. The Warriors fell to the fifth-ranked Calvin Knights 59-47 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament a season ago. WLC advanced to the Big Dance after winning the NAC Tournament, defeating Dominican 85-61 in the championship game. Three starters return in senior guards Alyssa Allister (Lake Mills, Wis./Lakeside Lutheran) and Krissy Day (West Allis, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran), as well as sophomore center Kristen Schulz (Safford, Ariz./Arizona Lutheran). Also back is Second Team All-NAC performer Shavon Dillon (Milwaukee, Wis./Hope School).
HEAD COACH KLAY KNUEPPEL: Klay Knueppel is in his ninth season as head coach of the Wisconsin Lutheran College women's basketball program. He enters the season-opening tournament with an overall collegiate coaching record of 142-77. Knueppel, the third head coach in program history, spent 12 seasons (1992-2004) as an assistant with the Warriors before being named head coach in 2004. He has guided WLC to four consecutive regular season NAC championships and is 87-22 in conference games since the league's 2006-2007 inception.
SEASON OPENERS: The Warriors are 17-11 all-time in season-opening games. WLC has enjoyed recent success in its season openers, going 9-2 over its last 11 games, including winning seven straight from 2002-2008. Last season, the Warriors used a strong second half to down Bethel (Minn.) 57-43. Schulz led Wisconsin Lutheran with 14 points, while Rachel Johnson added 12 rebounds.
DILLON'S DRIVE TO 1,000: Shavon Dillon enters the season-opening tournament just 42 points shy of 1,000 for her career. The senior guard averaged 11.9 points per game last season and has totaled 958 career points through her first three seasons with the Warriors.
2011 DUNN’S SPORTING GOODS TIP-OFF TOURNAMENT: Last season’s Dunn’s Sporting Goods Tip-Off Tournament saw Carthage defeat WLC 63-57 in the championship game. The Lady Reds received 13 points from Diana Jacklin in championship win, while WLC's Katelyn Kuehl led all players with 19 points. WLC defeated Bethel (Minn.) and Carthage was victorious over Nebraska Wesleyan in semifinal action.
SCOUTING HAMLINE: Hamline is coming off a 7-18 season, including a 6-12 mark in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The Pipers had just one senior on their roster last year and return last season’s leading scorer, Jordan Sammons (14.3 points per game).
SERIES HISTORY: Friday’s game between the Warriors and Pipers will be the first meeting all-time between the two teams.
HAMLINE HEAD COACH KERRI STOCKWELL: Kerri Stockwell is in her third season as head coach at Hamline. Stockwell has compiled an 18-32 record in two seasons with the Pipers. Prior to being named head coach, Stockwell was an assistant at Concordia-St. Paul for nine seasons in which the Golden Bears posted a 165-56 record.
SCOUTING DEPAUW: Friday's first semifinal game features Wis.-Stout and DePauw. DePauw went 27-2 a season ago, including a perfect 16-0 record in the North Coast Athletic Conference. The Tigers advanced to the NCAA Tournament Second Round before falling to last year’s Dunn’s Sporting Goods Tip-Off Tournament champion Carthage, 53-48. The Tigers return four starters including Ali Ross (10.8 points per game) as they were picked to win the NCAC this season.
SCOUTING WIS.-STOUT: Wis.-Stout went 7-18 last season and returns four starters, including Whitney Rawdon, an Honorable Mention All-WIAC performer a season ago. The Blue Devils were tabbed to finish eighth in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference preseason coaches' poll.
SERIES HISTORY: The Warriors have never faced DePauw, but have met the Blue Devils twice. Wis.-Stout won both of those contests over Wisconsin Lutheran. The Tigers and Blue Devils will be meeting for the second time in their history Friday, with Stout owning a 1-0 record in the series.
DEPAUW HEAD COACH KRIS HUFFMAN: Kris Huffman is in her 20th season as the Tigers' head coach and has compiled a 432-102 record during her tenure. Huffman, the 2007 WDIII News and D3hoops.com National Coach of the Year, led the Tigers to the 2007 National Championship. Under her guidance, the Tigers have won 13 conference championships, while Huffman has been named the conference's coach of the year 10 times.
WIS.-STOUT HEAD COACH MARK THOMAS: Mark Thomas is in his 26th season leading the Blue Devils women’s basketball team. Thomas, a six-time WIAC Coach of the Year, owns a 421-245 record through 25 seasons at Stout. The Blue Devils have advanced to the NCAA Division III Tournament nine times during his tenure.
NEXT WEEK: The Warriors will remain home for just one game next week, hosting non-conference opponent Silver Lake Wednesday. The Warriors and Lakers are set to tip off at 7 p.m.
PROJECTED STARTERS:
WISCONSIN LUTHERAN
#10 Krissy Day, 5-5, Sr., G, West Allis, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran
2011-2012 Stats: 29 games started, 6.2 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 2.2 apg.
#12 Alyssa Allister, 5-3, Sr., G, Lake Mills, Wis./Lakeside Lutheran
2011-2012 Stats: 29 games started, 6.6 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 2.0 apg.
#32 Shavon Dillon, 5-6, Sr., G, Milwaukee, Wis./Hope School
2011-2012 Stats: 29 games played, 11.9 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 2.6 apg.
#43 Melanie Laete, 5-11, Jr., F, Spokane, Wash./Evergreen Lutheran
2011-2012 Stats: 27 games played, 3.6 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 0.5 apg.
#45 Kristen Schulz, 6-3, So., C, Safford, Ariz./Arizona Lutheran
2011-2012 Stats: 28 games started, 6.7 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 2.2 bpg.
HAMLINE
#3 Kara Poirier, 5-6, Sr., G, Eau Claire, Wis./Regis
2011-2012 Stats: 25 games started, 11.4 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 2.4 apg.
#12 Je’Naya Brown, 5-2, Jr., G, Lewisville, Tex./Lewisville
2011-2012 Stats: 25 games started, 9.0 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 2.9 apg.
#13 Jordan Sammons, 5-8, So., G, Burnsville, Minn./Apple Valley
2011-2012 Stats: 25 games started, 14.3 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 1.3 apg.
#23 Steph Pilgrim, 5-8, Sr., G, Maple Grove, Minn./Anoka-Ramsey CC
2011-2012 Stats: 17 games started, 12.0 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 1.0 apg.
#33 Veronika Jakubovie, 6-3, Jr. C, Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove
2011-2012 Stats: 22 games played, 3.4 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 1.4 bpg.
DEPAUW
#22 Ellie Pearson, 5-11, Sr., F, Madison, Wis./West
29 games started, 6.4 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 2.0 apg.
#23 Kate Walker, 5-6, Sr., G, Indianapolis, Ind./Perry Meridian
29 games started, 6.1 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 3.0 apg
#30 Alex Gasaway, 5-10, Jr., F, Crawfordsville, Ind./Crawfordsville
29 games played, 8.5 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 0.7 apg
#32 Ali Ross, 5-7, Jr., G, Lexington, Ky./Lafayette
29 games started, 10.8 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 1.8 apg.
#34 Kathleen Molloy, 5-9, Jr., G, Chicago, Ill./Walter Payton College Prep
29 games started, 5.6 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 1.0 apg
WIS.-STOUT
#11 Whitney Rawdon, 5-11, Sr., F, Eau Claire, Wis./North
2011-2012 Stats: 25 games started, 9.8 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 0.6 apg.
#15 Brea Boomer, 5-8, So., F, Grand Portage, Minn./Cook County
2011-2012 Stats: 25 games played, 5.2 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 0.4 apg.
#23 Kayla Windt, 5-7, Sr., G, Pence, Wis./Hurley
2011-2012 Stats: 25 games started, 4.9 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 1.7 apg.
#32 Sami Schoeder, 5-6, Jr., G, Durand, Wis./Durand
2011-2012 Stats: 13 games started, 9.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 0.7 apg.
#34 Katelynne Folkers, 5-8, So., G, Fall Creek, Wis./Fall Creek
2011-2012 Stats: 25 games played, 5.9 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 0.8 apg.
