12/30: KU 76, Chestnut Hill 65

KU had little trouble taking care of business against Chestnut Hill on Tuesday, improving its overall record to 8-1 as PSAC play looms.

Hollinger Game Score:

1. McQuade 24.4 - Paved the way to victory once again with a 7-of-11 shooting day for 20 points and 9 rebounds. She also chipped in 5 assists and 3 steals.
2. Schroeder 14.9 - Great game for the center, as she knocked down 4 of her 7 shots for 12 points, while snagging 7 boards and stealing 3.
3. Wisemiller 12.8 - Just 5-of-13 from the floor, including 1-of-5 from long range, but ended up with 15 points, 4 boards, 3 blocks, and a pair of steals/assists.
4. Dellegrotti 7.3 - Scored 9, assisted on 5, and stole 3, but had 4 turnovers
5. Melvin 5.5 - 8 points on 8 shots and had 4 dimes
6. LeVan 1.7 - Hit her only shot and had 4 rebounds, but also committed 4 fouls in 6 minutes. Ouch!
7. Starr 1.0 - Only played 17 minutes, missing her only shot and turning it over 3 times. She did, however, help the cause with 4 assists and 2 steals.
8. Mertz 0.9 - 2-for-3 for 4 points in 19 minutes
9. Greaves -0.4 - A bucket, turnover, and foul in 7 minutes
10. Dovey -0.6 - Not her best work, but not an awful day: 2-of-6 for 4 points, 4 boards, 2 fouls, and 3 turnovers

Inactives:
Bonanno - Suspension (until 2009)

Boxscore
YTD Hollinger Game Score

12/20: KU 68, Philly U. 60

The Golden Bears improved to 8-0 with the win over Philadelphia on Saturday.

Hollinger Game Score:

1. Dennis 16.7 - 23 points on 21 shots in 39 minutes. Also had 8 boards, 4 assists, and 3 steals
2. Ben 13.3 - Nailed half of his 14 shots for 20 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists
3. Washington 6.5 - Fouled out, but still put up a full day's work, scoring 6 points, hauling in 10 boards, assisting on 5, and swatting away 4
4. Bower 3.4 - Started and played 16 minutes, contributing 3 points and 4 rebounds, but also had 4 fouls
5. Coombs 2.7 - A better outing for Coombs: 5 points, 4 boards in 13 minutes
6. Woodlin 2.5 - Just 2-of-11 for 8 points, while adding 7 boards and a pair of steals
7. Coffey 2.3 - 2 points and a rebound in 9 minutes
8. Gray -0.4 - Back-to-back rough outings for Gray: 1 points, 4 fouls in 17 minutes
9. White -0.4 - Missed a shot and had a rebound in 7 minutes

Inactives:
Ford-Bey
Vrabel
Wenner

Boxscore
YTD Hollinger Game Score

12/20: KU 64, Philly U. 68

The Golden Bears finally lost on Saturday, but it was more of the same from Melissa McQuade, who knocked down 17 points to go with 7 rebounds and 7 assists.

Hollinger Game Score:

1. McQuade 20.4 - Is there any doubt that McQuade could play all five positions effectively? 7-of-13 for 19 points, 7 assists, 8 rebounds, 2 steals
2. Wisemiller 12.3 - Led the team with 22 points on 15 shots and added 5 boards
3. Schroeder 5.1 - Couldn't seem to get a shot to fall, but still managed a solid 8 point, 10 rebound day
4. Dellegrotti 4.5 - Still not 100%, but chipped in 8 points, 3 assists in 17 minutes off the bench
5. Dovey 3.1 - Got another start at the 4 and answered with 4 points and 8 rebounds, including a team-best 7 on the defensive boards
6. LeVan 0.0 - Nothing doing in 4 minutes of work
7. Mertz -0.5 - Much to my surprise, only saw 4 minutes against a tall Philly U. squad, failing to score, while hauling in a rebound and committing a pair of fouls
8. Melvin -0.7 - Missed her only shot in just four minutes of work
9. Greaves -2.2 - Showed her inexperience today, struggling to 1 rebound, 2 fouls, a turnover, and a missed shot in 6 minutes
10. Starr -3.3 - Not a good day for Starr as she was just 1-of-8 for 3 points and had 4 turnovers to offset her 4 assists

Inactives:
Bonanno - Suspension (until 2009)

Boxscore

YTD Hollinger Game Score

Are you for real?

A lot of people are asking me the same question: Is this women’s basketball team better than the teams from the last few years or is their 7-0 record simply a product of an easy schedule. While I may not have a simple answer to that question, I did some research and learned a few things. Enjoy.

First of all, here is KU’s record through seven games over the last four seasons, including this year:
2008: 7-0
2007: 2-5
2006: 5-2
2005: 4-3In 2008, the Golden Bears are 7-0 and have outscored their opponents (Slippery Rock, Pitt-Johnstown, USiP, Lincoln, Columbia Union (x2), and PSU-Berks) by an average score of 73-47. Over the last three seasons, KU has taken on teams from that group on 18 occasions and is 14-4 in those contests, outscoring them by an average score of 69-55. So, based solely on that, they are clearly better than they have been.

Here is a more detailed breakdown, which will show the team’s success against each of their to-date 2008 opponents over the last four years, including this year’s games:

Slippery Rock:
2008: Won 66-51 (+15)
2007: Won 67-60 (+7)
2006: Lost 51-63 (-12)
2005: Lost 57-58 (-1)
05-07 Average Score: 58-60 (-2)

Pitt-Johnstown:
2008: Won 86-72 (+14)
2007: DNP
2006: Lost 56-65 (-9)
2005: DNP

USiP:
2008: Won 64-52 (+12)
2007: Won 57-50 (+7)
2006: Lost 62-66 (-4)
2005: DNP
05-07 Average Score: 60-58 (+2)

Lincoln (Pa):
2008: Won 75-48 (+27)
2007: Won 79-54 (+25)
2006: Won 62-58 (+4)
2005: Won 79-53 (+26)
05-07 Average Score: 73-55 (+18)

Columbia Union:
2008: Won 72-37 (+27)
2008: Won 76-30 (+27)
2007: Won 87-72 (+15)
2007: Won 52-45 (+7)
2006: Won 78-54 (+24)
2006: Won 69-54 (+15)
2005: Won 78-59 (+19)
2005: Won 80-56 (+24)
05-07 Average Score: 80-57 (+23)

PSU-Berks:
2008: Won 74-38 (+36)
2007: Won 81-54 (+27)
2006: Won 71-34 (+37)
2005: Won 84-40 (+44)
05-07 Average Score: 79-43 (+36)

There you have it. If you’re keeping score at home, you’ll see that of their six opponents this season, they’ve widened the scoring margin compared to the average of the last three seasons against 5 of the 6 teams with the PSU-Berks margin of victory remaining the same.

This data does seem to indicate that the Golden Bears are playing better, but the teams they are playing are not only teams they usually beat, but could also conveniently be having down years. For example, Slippery Rock, who KU was 1-2 against the last three years before beating them this year, is picked to finish last in the PSAC West this season.

In conclusion, I think it is safe to say that the 2008-09 version of the KU women’s basketball is better than teams from the last couple of years. How good? That is hard to say. Once the Golden Bears get a few PSAC games under their belt, we will have a much better idea where they are going this year. Right now, it looks like they could manage a PSAC East record near 9-5, which would mean a return to the postseason.

Regardless of their schedule, they are still a perfect 7-0. You don’t get there by accident.

12/17: KU 95, DoC 56

David Ben was the man of the hour, but Ryan Washington (pictured) was impressive as well, scoring 13 points, while also chipping in 11 boards, 6 assists, and 4 steals.

Hollinger Game Score:

1. Ben 30.2 - All but single-handily won the game with a huge second half. Ended up 14-of-23 for 32 points, 7 assists, 4 steals, 4 rebounds
2. Dennis 23.6 - Another outstanding shooting day, 9-of-14 for 23 points, 8 boards, 4 dimes
3. Woodlin 19.1 - 7-of-11 for 19 points, 4 assists, 4 boards
4. Washington 18.9 - Ben stole the show, but how about this game for Washington: Put up a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds and also chipped in 6 assists and 4 steals.
5. Bower 6.9 - Started again for Coombs and answered with a half dozen points and boards in 21 minutes
6. Coffey 1.7 - Missed his only shot in 7 minutes, but had a rebound, assist, and 2 steals
7. Vrabel -0.4 - Only a foul on the sheet in 3 minutes
8. Wenner -0.7 - 0-for-1 in 4 minutes
9. Ford-Bey -0.7 - See Wenner
10. White -1.0 - 2 points and 3 rebounds in 8 minutes, but had 2 fouls and a turnover
11. Coombs -2.9 - Apparently not back to 100% quite yet, he played just 8 minutes, failing to score, grabbing only 1 board, and committing 2 fouls and a turnover
12. Gray -3.3 - Easily his worst day as a Golden Bear, Gray suffered through a 0-for-5 outing and didn't do much else in 21 minutes of work

Inactives:
N/A

Boxscore
YTD Hollinger Game Score

12/17: KU 76, Columbia Union 30

Rachel Wisemiller had 15 points and 7 assists for the Golden Bears on Wednesday.

Hollinger Game Score:

1. McQuade 18.4 - Hit 6 of her 8 shots for 15 points and notched 5 boards and 5 assists
2. Wisemiller 13.4 - Hit a third of her 9 threes for 15 points and chipped in 7 assists
3. Starr 9.2 - A solid 6 points, 8 assists in 23 minutes, but was 0-for-3 from long range
4. Dellegrotti 8.4 - 4-for-5 in her first game back from injury for 11 points
5. Schroeder 8.2 - Looked impressive in the lane, shooting 4-of-7 for 9 points, but just 2 rebounds in 22 minutes is disappointing. And don't think I didn't see those 2 steals.
6. LeVan 7.7 - 3-of-5 for 7 points, a pair of assists, and a trio of steals
7. Melvin 6.6 - Only 1-for-4 for 3 points in her first action since the opener, but did have 6 assists and 4 steals
8. Dovey 6.0 - Back in the starting lineup after missing a game, shot 3-for-7 for 6 points and hauled in 7 boards
9. Mertz 1.4 - The seven rebounds is what Coach Malouf is going to need from Mertz in regularity, but she will need to improve on just 2 points in 18 minutes
10. Greaves -2.2 - Back-to-back rough outings for Greaves: 1-for-5 for 2 points and 3 turnovers

Inactives:
Bonanno - Suspension (until 2009)

Boxscore
YTD Hollinger Game Score

Looking ahead to 2009-10

Two young ladies have already signed on to play basketball at KU next season.

Jackie Burg
Position: Guard
Hometown: West Chester
High School: Bishop Shanahan

Notes from www.kubears.com: "Burg was a three-time letter winner. In her junior season she was the leading scorer and named to the all-conference and all-area teams."

Other notes: Here are two of her recruiting videos from Youtube. She runs the point in high school, appears to have a ton of speed, and, as you can see, can make some very athletic plays.
Video 1
Video 2

Melanie Mahan
Position: Shooting Guard
Hometown: Mullica Hill, N.J.
High School: Clearview Regional

Notes from www.kubears.com: "Mahan is a three-time varsity letter winner for basketball and was named first team South Jersey. She is also a letter winner in lacrosse for two years and cheerleading for two years."

Other notes: You’ll notice she is from Mullica Hill, NJ, which happens to be the hometown of recent KU standout Mercedes Van Wagner. Van Wagner does not have to worry about her breaking her rebounding record, however, since Mahan is not a center like Van Wagner, but rather a guard. I spoke to Van Wagner about Mahan and she had this to say: “She plays really hard. She likes to drive to the basket and is a really good defender. She has a lot of energy on and off the floor.” I don’t have her exact height, but Van Wagner said she is around 5’9”.