Complete Game Notes

GAME QUICK FACTS
Millersville (18-5, 7-3 PSAC East) at Cheyney (11-9, 6-4 PSAC East)
Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2009 - 6 p.m.
Cope Hall, Cheyney, Pa.

Bloomsburg (9-14, 1-9 PSAC East) at Millersville
Saturday, Feb. 21, 2009 - 1 p.m.
Pucillo Gymnasium, Millersville, Pa.

COVERAGE
Audio: MSBN
Live Stats (Bloomsburg game ONLY): Click Here


ABOUT THE GAMES
•    The Marauders took sole possession of second place in the PSAC East following a two-win week. Millersville routed Shippensburg by 25, 69-44, on Wednesday, before downing Kutztown 73-69 on Saturday.
•    Millersville currently owns a 35 game winning streak against Cheyney dating back to 1990-91, which was head coach Mary Fleig's first season. Fleig is 35-1 versus Cheyney in her career at Millersville, with the only loss a 59-55 decision in that 1990-91 season.
•    Millersville has not dropped a game against Bloomsburg since 2006 and is 15-2 against the Huskies dating back to 2001-02.
•    As part of American Heart Month and Go Red Month at Millersville, the athletics department is hosting Go Red for Women Day on Saturday, Feb. 21 to raise awareness of cardiovascular disease and generate funds for the American Heart Association. The event will take place as the women's and men's basketball teams take on Bloomsburg at Pucillo Gymnasium. All fans in attendance are encouraged to wear red.

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS
•    Cheyney has lost two of its last three games, after starting conference play 6-3. The Wolves are coming off of an upset loss at Mansfield on Saturday.
•    It has been an odd season for the Wolves, as they rank in the bottom half of the PSAC in all major offensive categories. Despite that, Cheyney is 6-4 in conference play and currently sitting in a PSAC playoff spot.
•    The Wolves suffered a 73-61 defeat in their only other meeting with the Marauders this season. Cheyney led by nine at halftime and built a game-high 13 point lead when the two teams got together on Jan. 28.
•    Cheyney has already matched its win total from a season ago, with 11. Last season the Wolves finished with an 11-16 overall record.
•    Lutfiyya Muhammad leads Cheyney in scoring at 15.0 points per game. The junior also leads the team in assists (3.9 per game) and steals (3.5 per game).
•    Muhammad's classmate, Angel Stephens, is also a key scoring presence for the Wolves. Stephens, a forward, is second on the team in scoring at 14 points per game and leads the team in rebounding, pulling down 9.7 per game.
•    Stephanie Orji completes the trio of threats for Cheyney. Orji puts up 9.1 points per game and averages just over seven rebounds per contest.
•    Bloomsburg got its first conference win on Saturday, upsetting PSAC East leader West Chester 63-61. The Huskies had lost 11 in a row prior to their biggest win of the season.
•    Seven of BU's nine PSAC East losses have come by less than 10 points, including back-to-back overtime losses by one point each on Jan. 14 and 17. The only teams to beat the Huskies by more than 10 in conference play were Millersville (74-56) and East Stroudsburg (70-58).
•    Much like Cheyney, Bloomsburg's statistics have been quite deceiving in 2008-09. The Huskies have the seventh best defense in the PSAC and are outscoring their opponents by 2.3 points per game for the season, despite a 9-14 overall record and a 1-9 mark in PSAC East play.
•    Senior center Colleen Kegerreis continues to lead the Huskies in scoring (16.0 points per game) and rebounding (9.2 per game).
•    Kegerreis, a 2007-08 All-PSAC East first team selection, was held to just six points on 1-of-5 shooting in the Marauders 74-56 win at BU on Jan. 24.
•    Freshman sensation Kelsey Gallagher is the real deal. Gallagher is Bloomsburg's second leading scorer at 15.7 points per game and dropped 21 on Millersville when the teams last met. The rookie guard has also handed out a team-high 83 assists this season.
•    Senior guard Kelly Joyce is an all-around presence for the Huskies. Joyce averages 8.7 points per game, but is also second on the team in blocks (17) and steals (24), and third on the team in assists (62).

THE LAST TIME OUT
•    Senior Gladine St. Julien scored six points down the stretch, including the go-ahead bucket with 38 seconds remaining, as the Millersville women's basketball team knocked off Kutztown 73-69 at Pucillo Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon.
•    The two teams traded the lead seven times in the first 10 minutes, but the Marauders (18-5, 7-3 PSAC East) used a 14-2 run over the next five minutes to build a 28-14 lead. Jenna Philo knocked down a pair of treys and Aiesha Bellamy added four points in the Millersville spurt.
•    Another Philo 3-pointer put the Marauders up 34-21 with 2:34 to go in the first half, but Kutztown closed the half on a 7-0 run. The Golden Bears rode leading scorers Melissa McQuade and Rachel Wisemiller in cutting the MU lead to six, 34-28, at the half.
•    Philo's fifth 3-pointer of the game gave the Marauders a nine-point lead early in the second half, but Kutztown once again answered. Trailing 41-32, the visitors got a 3-point play from Katie Dovey and two quick jumpers, followed by back-to-back 3-pointers from Dovey and Wisemiller to take their first lead of the second half. Junior Ashley Moyer immediately answered KU's 10-2 run with a 3-pointer of her own to put the homestanding Marauders back in front.
•    Chauntelle Schroeder's layup with 58 seconds to go gave Kutztown a 69-68 lead, but St. Julien answered at the other end to put MU up 70-69. The Golden Bears went to McQuade with the game on the line, but Dominique Stroman came up with the play of the afternoon, stripping a driving McQuade in the lane. Stroman would be fouled and knock down both free throws. Needing three to tie, McQuade's attempt came up way short and Bellamy put the game away with a free throw.
•    St. Julien eclipsed her previous season-high of 21 points, leading the Marauders with 22. The senior from Leesport, Pa. also pulled down seven boards. Philo finished 5-8 from three-point land and matched her season-high point total with 15. Moyer knocked down four 3-pointers and finished with 14 points, as Millersville shot 60-percent (9-of-15) from deep. Jenna Craig led the team in rebounds with eight.
•    With the win, the Marauders moved into second place in the PSAC East. The Black and Gold also avenged an earlier 60-56 loss to Kutztown.

THE 700 CLUB
•    Millersville's women's basketball program began in 1918 and since then, it has compiled 701 wins. Win number 700 came in a 69-44 defeat of Shippensburg on February 11, 2009. Under head coach Mary Fleig, the Marauders have compiled almost half of those victories with 339.
•    Mary Fleig coached her 700th career NCAA basketball game on Wednesday, February 4, at East Stroudsburg. The Marauders picked up a 51-47 overtime win in the milestone game for the veteran coach. Fleig is in her 26th season on the sidelines. In 19 seasons at Millersville, Fleig has recorded 341 victories. Her career coaching record is an impressive 463-240 and ranks her among the top 10 winningest coaches in NCAA Division II history.

STARTING STRONG
•    Millersville's 11-2 non-conference record marked its best start to a season since 2000-01, when the Marauders started 13-2. The 2000-01 squad finished with a 21-6 record, but fell in the PSAC Quarterfinals to West Chester.

CHARITY TROUBLES
•    Millersville is looking to change its fortunes at the charity stripe this season. The Marauders rank last in the PSAC in free throw percentage at .607 (320-for-527). In 2007-08, Millersville finished seventh in the conference, shooting close to 70-percent.

WORKING OVERTIME
•    Millersville went to overtime in back-to-back games versus East Stroudsburg on Feb. 4, and West Chester on Feb. 7. It marked the first time the Marauders have played in consecutive overtime games since taking Cheyney and Kutztown to the extra session during the 1989-90 season.
•    The Marauders made a bit of school history when their game with West Chester went to overtime on February 7. Millersville had never gone to overtime twice in one season with one opponent. The Marauders and Golden Rams went to overtime in the PSAC East opener back on Jan. 14. West Chester emerged victorious in both overtime contests in 2009.

HIT THE BOARDS
•    Forward Jenna Craig has been a rebounding force for the Maruaders this season. The Lewisburg, Pa. native has collected 10+ rebounds in five of her last eight games. Craig grabbed a career-high 16 boards in the Marauders double overtime loss to West Chester on Feb. 7. The junior is averaging 9.9 rebounds per game this season and has 12 double-figure rebound games.

RETURN TO SENDER
•    The Marauders blocked a season-high eight shots against Cheyney on Jan. 28. The last time Millersville blocked eight shots or more was Feb. 22, 2006, when the Black and Gold swatted 10 Kutztown attempts away.
•    Senior Gladine St. Julien recorded five blocks against Mansfield on Jan. 31. St. Julien became the second MU player to record five blocks in a game this season. Gretchen Fricko ('96) holds the record for blocks in a game with 10 (12/7/95 vs. SUNY-Stony Brook).

HOW LOW CAN THEY GO?
•    Millersville allowed just 26 points in its win over Mansfield on Jan. 31, marking the fewest points the school has given up in a game since 1979-80. That season, Lynda Humphreville's squad held Lebanon Valley to just 17 points in a 75-17 win.
•    The fewest points allowed in the Mary Fleig era, prior to Jan. 31, was 28 against Cheyney back in 1992-93 (94-28).
 
LOFTY EXPECTATIONS
•    After posting a 24-6 overall record and a perfect 12-0 mark in the PSAC East a year ago, the Marauders were pegged to finish second in the PSAC East this season in the preseason coaches poll. 
•    Shippensburg, a newcomer to the PSAC Eastern Division, was picked to finish at the of the division in 2008. Shippensburg made the switch to the East after the realignment of the PSAC to accommodate the additions of Gannon and Mercyhurst to the Western Division. Shippensburg qualified for the PSAC playoffs last season as the fourth seed out of the competitive Western Division. All-American and PSAC West Athlete of the Year Lauren Beckley heads a Lady Raider team that has reached the playoffs in 13 of the past 14 seasons.
•    West Chester, who qualified for the PSAC playoffs last season as the second seed, finished the season at 9-3 in the division and is picked to finish one spot behind Millersville in third.  Kutztown, who won just four games in the division last year, is picked fourth, while East Stroudsburg is fifth.
•    Forward Gladine St. Julien, an All-PSAC Eastern Division First Team selection last season, was named to the 2008 Preseason All-PSAC East Team.

POWER FORWARD
•    Forward Gladine St. Julien stepped up in a huge way last season after the loss of Preseason All-PSAC selection Ashley Romanoski due to injury.  St. Julien led the Marauders in scoring average (12.5) and was second on the team in rebounding, averaging 6.7 rebounds per game.
•    The 6-0 forward scored in double figures in 21 of the team's 30 games last season and managed four double-doubles.  St. Julien led the Marauders in scoring 13 times and rebounding 11 times.

NO PLACE LIKE HOME
•    Since Millersville began playing its home games in Pucillo Gymnasium in 1982, the Marauders are an impressive 250-76 at home in 26 seasons.  The team has never won less than seven games at Pucillo in a single season and has never had a losing record.  Millersville has recorded three losses or fewer at home in 18 of 26 seasons at Pucillo, including a stretch of seven straight seasons from 1996 to 2002.
   
WHO NEEDS SPRING BREAK?
•    Extending the season into March is becoming commonplace at Millersville. In 2007-08, the Marauders earned their 12th straight appearance in the PSAC Tournament and seventh consecutive appearance in the conference semifinals.
•    Despite falling in the PSAC Tournament semifinals to California (Pa.), the Marauders entered the NCAA Division II Tournament as the No. 7 seed in the East Region.  Despite leading with under eight minutes to play in the opening-round contest, the Marauders eventually fell for the third time on the season to California (Pa.) to end their season.
•    The Marauders have appeared in the NCAA Tournament five times under the direction of Fleig and have posted a 2-5 record in those appearances.  Millersville defeated Pitt-Johnstown, 75-71 to advance to the regional semifinal in 1999 and the 2002 team knocked off Belmont Abbey, 84-60 to advance for the only two victories.

HAPPY NEW YEAR
•    Millersville has compiled a 109-66 record in the month of January since 1990-91. The Marauders own a winning percentage of .623 in the month. The only month the Marauders have performed better in is November (45-22, .672). MU has only had three losing records in the month of January in the 19 season time span. This January the Marauders finished 7-3.

RECORD BREAKERS
•    In the season-opening 101-30 victory over Columbia Union, the Marauders eclipsed the 100-point mark for the first time since the 1999-2000 season.  In that season the Marauders ironically knocked off the same team (Columbia Union) by a score of 102-52.
•    The 101-point effort was helped in large part to the 60 first-half points scored by the Marauders which broke the school record of 54 set by the 1992-93 team in a lopsided win over Holy Family.
•    The 71-point margin of victory also broke the school record set  by the 1992-93 team that defeated Cheyney by a final score of 94-28. 

DEFENSIVE REIGN
•    Millersville allowed only 42 points against Indiana (Pa.) on Jan. 3, 2009, marking the lowest point total by IUP since 2004.
•     Millersville has now held its opponents to less than 50 points in 13-of-23 games this season. The Marauders held Shippensburg to just 44 points last Wednesday.

TWICE AS NICE
•     Millersville has put an even greater scoring lockdown on two opponents this season, holding each to just 30 points, a feat never before accomplished by a Marauder team under coach Fleig. 
•     The Marauders opened the season in convincing fashion by downing Columbia Union 101-30. On Nov. 19, just four days later, Millersville pulled the feat off once again, this time in a 69-30 victory over Goldey-Beacom. In the win, the Marauders held the Lightning to just two second-half field goals.