Complete Game Notes

GAME QUICK FACTS
California (Pa.) (25-3, W1) vs. Millersville (23-5, E2)
Friday, March 6, 2009 — 5:30 p.m.
Hollinger Field House, West Chester, Pa.

COVERAGE
Audio: MSBN
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ABOUT THE GAME
•    The Marauders opened the PSAC Tournament with a convincing 75-64 victory over Kutztown on Tuesday night.
•    Millersville has won its last seven games and 12-of-13 since January 21. The Vulcans have also won seven in a row and are an impressive 19-1 since Jan. 4.
•    California (Pa.) has been a postseason nemesis for the Marauders. Cal handed MU losses in both the PSAC Semifinals and NCAA Division II East Regional last season. MU is 1-7 against the Vulcans in postseason play since 2001-02.
•    The Vulcans have not only spoiled Millersville's postseason parties lately, but they have been a thorn in the side of the Marauders in recent history. Cal is a commanding 14-3 against MU since 2000-01.
•    Millersville and California (Pa.) have met six times in the PSAC Tournament. The Vulcans are 5-1 in the previous PSAC Tournament match-ups. Millersville's win came in the 2005 PSAC Championship game (76-71). California (Pa.) is 4-0 all-time against the Marauders in PSAC Semifinal games.
•    Millersville is making its 17th trip to the PSAC Semifinals since 1981-82. MU has advanced to the semifinal round in each of the last eight seasons. 2001 was the last time the Black and Gold did not make it out of the quarterfinal round.
•    The Marauders can claim a spot in their seventh PSAC Championship game in program history, should they emerge victorious on Friday night. Millersville is a three-time PSAC Tournament champion (1984, 1987, 2005).
•    Students from PSAC member institutions with a valid ID will be admitted free of charge to the games on Friday. General Admission tickets are $14, but include both semifinal contests.

ABOUT THE OPPONENT
•    California (Pa.) has been absolutely dominant this season. The Vulcans have the PSAC's highest scoring offense (79.2 ppg) and are allowing just 55.7 points per game, third best in the conference.
•    Cal is outscoring its opponents by more than 23 points per game, a league-best. Cal defeated Millersville 76-60 back on Jan. 4 at Pucillo Gymnasium.
•    Junior guard Brooque Williams leads the PSAC in scoring at 22.5 points per game. Williams scored a season-high 33 points against Slippery Rock on Feb. 4 and led the Vulcans with 27 in their last meeting with Millersville (Jan. 4). She also ranks second in the league in rebounding, pulling down over 10 per game.
•    2008 PSAC West Freshman of the Year Kayla Smith is once again a dangerous threat in her sophomore season. Smith ranks seventh in the conference in scoring (16.6 ppg) and has been the Vulcans leading scorer in four games this season.
•    Guard Lindsay Johnson completes the trio of Vulcans averaging over 10 points per game. Johnson currently has the highest scoring game of any Cal player this season. The senior dropped 40 points on Cheyney in a 100-58 victory back on Jan. 10.
•    Together, the “Big Three” combine to score nearly 52 points per game (66-percent of the team's points).
•    The Vulcans' offense against the Marauders' defense looks to be the key factor on Friday night. Cal is second in the PSAC in field goal percentage, connecting on 46-percent of its attempts. Millersville, meanwhile, is forcing teams to shoot just under 35-percent, a PSAC-best.
•    California (Pa.) is the best rebounding team in the conference. The Vulcans out-rebound their opponents by more than 12 per game. The squad grabs just over 43 boards per game, while allowing under 31 per game. Both rebounding stats rank first in the PSAC.
•    Cal also leads the PSAC in assists (18.7 per game) and steals (15.2 per game).
•    The Vulcans are 1-1 on neutral courts this season. Cal played two games in the Bahamas on Dec. 18 and 19, picking up a 59-57 victory against Mars Hill and dropped a 63-61 decision to Fayetteville State.

THE LAST TIME OUT
•    Up by two with 6:18 to play, the Marauders outscored Kutztown 18-9 over the remainder of the game en route to a 75-64 PSAC Quarterfinal victory at Pucillo Gymnasium on Tuesday night.
•    The Marauders (23-5) and Golden Bears (20-8) engaged themselves in an offensive battle from the start. A bucket by Aiesha Bellamy followed up by an Ashley Moyer 3-pointer gave the home team a 5-0 lead, but Kutztown responded with a 7-2 run to tie the game just under four minutes in.
•    Gladine St. Julien led the Marauders with 16 points in the first half, but the Black and Gold could never get more than a few possessions away from the pesky Golden Bears. Leading scorer Rachel Wisemiller had 12 points and Melissa McQuade added 10, keeping Kutztown within three, 39-36, as the teams headed for the break. Millersville's 39 points in the first half was its most since scoring 39 against Cheyney back on Feb. 18.
•    Behind four straight points from St. Julien to start the second half, the Marauders jumped out to a seven point lead at the 3:06 mark. Kutztown, making its first PSAC Tournament appearance since 2006, stormed back to take a 44-43 lead on a jumper from Hannah Mertz and 3-pointers from Meredith Starr and Wisemiller. Millersville, however, got a put-back from Emily Balogh on its next possession and never relinquished the lead.
•    A Mertz foul shot pulled Kutztown to within two, 57-55, with 6:18 to play, but from there Millersville was finally able to find some separation. Balogh, St. Julien, Bellamy, and Jenna Craig all helped in putting the Marauders ahead by eight with 4:27 to play. Kutztown could get no closer than five points the rest of the way.
•    St. Julien finished with 26 points, three off of her career-high, as Millersville advanced to the PSAC Semifinals for the eighth consecutive season. She was 10-of-10 at the charity stripe on the evening, as MU shot 78-percent (26-of-33) from the line. The Marauders came into Tuesday night shooting just over 62-percent from the free throw line on the year.
•    Balogh provided a huge lift off the bench, scoring 14 points and grabbing seven boards. The junior from Emmitsburg, Md. scored 12 of her 14 points in the second half. Bellamy enjoyed her best game as a Marauder, picking up her first career double-double with 12 points and 11 boards.
•    McQuade played all 40 minutes and led the Golden Bears with 25 points and 11 rebounds. Wisemiller finished with 15 and Starr chipped in with 11 points and three assists. Kutztown fell to the Marauders for the 17th time in 18 games, dating back to 2000-01.

'G' CHASING 1,000
•    After scoring 26 points in the PSAC Quarterfinal game with Kutztown, senior forward Gladine St. Julien now has 990 career points. St. Julien sits just 10 points shy of becoming Millersville's 18th 1,000 point scorer.

MOVING UP THE LIST
•    Gladine St. Julien sits 18th amongst Millersville's all-time scoring leaders. The Leesport, Pa. native needs just 20 points to move into 17th on that list.
•    St. Julien's 418 points this season place her 12th on the Marauders single-season scoring leaders list. She needs just 28 points to leap into third place on that list. Millersville's Director of Athletics, Peg Kauffman ('87), is second on that list with 477 points and current women's basketball assistant coach Darlene Newman ('83) is third with 445 points.

THE 700 CLUB
•    Millersville's women's basketball program began in 1918 and since then, it has compiled 706 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 346.
•    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 346 victories. Her career coaching record is an impressive 468-240 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 are tied for last in the PSAC in free throw percentage at .632. In 2007-08, Millersville finished seventh in the conference, shooting close to 70-percent. Surprisingly, MU has made the third most free throws in the league (417) and attempted a league-high 660. On Tuesday night against Kutztown, the Marauders shot 78.8-percent from the line (26-of-33).

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 Marauders this season. The Lewistown, Pa. native grabbed a career-high 16 boards in the Marauders double overtime loss to West Chester on Feb. 7. Craig is averaging 9.6 rebounds per game this season and has 14 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, MU was 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 top of the division in 2008. 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 MU 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 260-78 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. MU finished 11-2 at home in 2008-09.
   
WHO NEEDS SPRING BREAK?
•    Extending the season into March is becoming commonplace at Millersville. This season, the Marauders earned their 13th straight trip to the PSAC Tournament. MU has appeared in the PSAC Tournament 16 times in Mary Fleig's 19 year tenure.
•    Despite falling in the 2008 PSAC Semifinals to California (Pa.), the Marauders entered the NCAA Division II Tournament as the No. 7 seed in the East Region. 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 competed 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 15-of-28 games this season. The Marauders held PSAC East foes under 50 points on six separate occasions in 2008-09. In 2007-08 they accomplished the feat five times in conference games.

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.