GAME QUICK FACTS
Millersville (15-4, 4-2 PSAC East) at East Stroudsburg (9-10, 2-4 PSAC East)
Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2009 - 6 p.m.
Koehler Fieldhouse, East Stroudsburg, Pa.

West Chester (13-6, 5-1 PSAC East) at Millersville
Saturday, Feb. 7, 2009 - 1 p.m.
Pucillo Gymnasium, Millersville, Pa.

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

ABOUT THE GAMES
•    Millersville goes for five wins in a row when it travels to East Stroudsburg on Wednesday. The team will then return home Saturday, and look to avenge a PSAC East-opening loss, against West Chester
•    The Marauders are an impressive 7-1 at Pucillo Gymnasium this season, but just 5-3 on the road.
•    Millersville is 37-20 versus East Stroudsburg, dating back to the 1922-23 season. The Black and Gold took all three meetings with the Warriors last season, including a 66-51 win in the PSAC Quarterfinals.
•    The Marauders are 39-27 against West Chester, with the first match-up between the PSAC East rivals coming in 1969-70. Last season MU swept both games with the Golden Rams en route to a perfect 12-0 mark in the PSAC East.
•    Saturday Millersville University Athletics presents the Eighth Annual Take a Kid to Carnival Day. Kids ages 11 and under get in free with the purchase of an adult ticket. Join NCAA mascot J.J. Jumper in all the fun and excitement. There will also be free games, prizes, popcorn and face painting with Millersville athletes. Don't miss out on Carnival Day Feb. 7 against West Chester University.

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS
•    East Stroudsburg has had a rough time as of late. The Warriors have lost five of their last seven games and needed a last-second basket to beat Mansfield last Wednesday.
•    While the Warriors rank in the top half of the PSAC in free throw shooting percentage and field goal percentage, they still struggle to score the ball. ESU is averaging just 62.8 points per game, which is the third lowest average in the conference.
•    East Stroudsburg is getting outrebounded by just over four boards per game. The Warriors collect 33.5 rebounds per game, while their opponents are pulling down an average of 37.6 per game.
•    Jackie Yandrisevits ranks third in the PSAC in scoring at 20.1 points per game and accounts for nearly one-third of East Stroudsburg's points. The senior foward is also eighth in the conference in rebounds at 8.6 per game.
•    Senior Keri Cahill has dished out a team-high 84 assists. Cahill's 4.4 assists per game average is fourth best in the league.
•    The Warriors are a veteran led sqaud, regularly starting three juniors and two seniors. ESU does, however, come with a mix of freshmen and sophomores off the bench.
•    West Chester ranks in the top half of the PSAC in many statistical categories. The Golden Rams are outscoring their opponents by over 10 points a game for the season.
•    WCU, selected to finish third in the PSAC pre-season coaches poll, has exceeded those expectations so far with a 5-1 start in conference play. The Golden Rams sit atop of the East Division with Kutztown.
•    West Chester ended Millersville's 14-game PSAC East winning streak on Jan. 14, with a 64-54 win in overtime. The win was also WCU's first in its last five tries against the Marauders.
•    Senior Dana Weems continues to lead the Golden Rams in scoring at 12.9 points per game. Janelle Garber (12.3 ppg) and Megan Stewart (10.4 ppg) round out the trio of players averaging double-figures in the points column.
•    Stewart has been an all-around presence for West Chester. Besides her 10.4 points per game, Stewart ranks seventh in the PSAC in free throw percentage (.809), eighth in assists per game (3.7), and ninth in steals per game (2.3).
•    West Chester is looking to make its third straight trip to the PSAC Tournament and its 13th appearance in the last 14 years.

THE LAST TIME OUT
•    The Marauders allowed their fewest points in a game since the 1979-80 campaign in blasting Mansfield 58-26 at Pucillo Gymnasium.
•    Millersville (15-4, 4-2 PSAC East) ran off to a 13-0 lead behind six points from senior guard Jenna Philo and Mansfield's offensive struggles were just beginning. The Mountaineers (4-15, 0-6 PSAC East) missed their first 14 shots and did not convert a field goal until the halfway point of the first half.
•    Six of the nine players that saw action in the first half, scored. Philo and junior guard Ashley Moyer led the way with eight points apiece. Mansfield shot just 15.4 percent (4-of-26) from the floor in the opening half and did not score its 10th point of the game until the 18:07 mark.
•    Aiesha Bellamy scored seven points and Gladine St. Julien chipped in three, as Millersville opened the second half on a 10-0 run to extend its lead to 37-12 with 17:29 remaining.
•    The fewest points previously allowed by the Marauders under current head coach Mary Fleig was 28, back in 1992-93 against Cheyney (94-28).
•    Millersville ran its lead to as many as 30 points in the second half, holding a commanding 51-21 lead with 9:07 to go.
•    Moyer led the way on Saturday afternoon, finishing with a team and game-high 11 points. Bellamy and Balogh each dropped in nine points, while Philo finished with eight for the Marauders.
•    Jenna Craig, despite only playing 25 minutes, finished with her fourth consecutive 13 rebound game.

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 .618 (268-for-434). In 2007-08, Millersville finished seventh in the conference, shooting close to 70-percent. The team has, however, hit 39 of its last 45 free throw attempts (.867).

THE 700 CLUB
•    Mary Fleig will coach her 700th career NCAA basketball game on Wednesday night at East Stroudsburg. Fleig is in her 26th season on the sidelines. She spent the first seven years at Franklin & Marshall and compiled 122 wins. In 19 seasons at Millersville, Fleig has recorded 338 victories. Her career coaching record is an impressive 460-239 and ranks her among the top 10 winningest coaches in NCAA Division II history.
•    Millersville's women's basketball program began in 1918 and since then, it has compiled 698 wins, leaving it just four victories shy of 700 all-time wins. Under head coach Mary Fleig, the Marauders have compiled almost half of those victories with 338.

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 attemps 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 sqaud 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 accomodate 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 Divsion 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 PreseasonAll-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.
•    St. Julien was honored as the PSAC Eastern Division Athlete of the Week three times last season. 
•    St. Julien poured in a career-high 22 points on December 18, in the first of three losses on the season to California (Pa.).  She matcher her career high on February 23 in a four-point victory over East Stroudsburg.
•    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.
•    Since the 2000-01 season, Millersville holds a .795 winning percentage at Pucillo.

NEW FACES
•    Despite returning three full-time starters from last year's team and two other players who saw significant action, the Marauders welcome eight new faces to this year's squad.
•    Coach Fleig has recruited seven freshman and a tranfer to fill out the 2008 roster that also includes nine returning players.  Chelsea Barsky, a transfer from St. Francis (Pa.), is in her junior season and despite playing mostly at the guard position while at the Division I Institution, the 5-11 transfer will be called upon to do most of her work in the post.
•    The incoming class is well balanced with four guards and five forwards.  With the addition of 2007-08 red-shirt Emily Balogh, the Marauders will have a very deep bench to spell the starters.
   
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 Maraudersfinished 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.
•     California (Pa.) finally put a chink in Millersville's defensive armor, when the Vulcans scored 76 points against the Marauders on Jan. 4. It was the highest point total surrendered by a Millersville team since Feb. 17, 2007, a span of 42
games.
•     After holding Slippery Rock to 48 points and Mercyhurst to just 44 this past weekend, Millersville has now held its opponents to less than 50 points in 9-of-17 games this season.

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.