RELEASED:  Thursday, November 1, 2007

UW-Eau Claire Tabbed For First In Women’s Basketball Race

Madison, Wis.--University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire is the preseason favorite of the league’s sports information directors to win the 2008 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) women’s basketball crown.

The Blugolds received five first-place votes in the conference poll and have won eight league titles with the most recent during the 2002-03 season.  The 2006-07 club went unbeaten in Zorn Arena and extended the program’s home winning streak to 17 contests.   Returning are five starters that accounted for 1,169 of 1,725 points scored, 648 of 992 rebounds and 3,827 of 5,625 minutes played.  UW-Eau Claire has logged a 188-42 record against league opponents in the last 10 years.

UW-Whitewater claimed two first-place votes in the WIAC predictions and is slotted to finish second.  The Warhawks won the conference championship in 1986 and return all five starters from last year’s squad that posted the most overall wins (19) since the 1994-95 campaign (20) and highest WIAC victory total (12) since 1998-99 (12).   UW-Whitewater also earned the highest WIAC tournament seed (No. 2) in program history a year ago.  Returning are 1,726 of 1,767 points scored, 936 of 983 rebounds and 311 of 331 assists. 

UW-Stevens Point and UW-Stout each captured one first-place vote in the league poll with the Pointers being pegged for third place and the Blue Devils slotted to finish fourth in the WIAC ledger.

The Pointers claimed back-to-back WIAC championships in 2004 and 2005 and won the NCAA Division III title in 2002.  UW-Stevens Point returns 87.8 percent of its scoring from last year’s squad that ranked ninth in NCAA Division III three-point field goal percentage at 36.6 percent and 10th in field goal percentage at 45.3 percent.   Last season’s victory total snapped a streak of six straight 20-win seasons for the program.

UW-Stout, the three-time defending regular-season and conference tournament champion, has six returners that played in all 29 games a year ago.  The Blue Devils begin this season playing three NCAA Division II institutions in their first five games (Mankato, St. Cloud State, Bemidji State).   Head coach Mark Thomas is the longest tenured coach in league history, beginning his 21st season with a conference-best 355 victories.  Gone from last year’s team is two-time WIAC player of the year Kelsey Duoss.

UW-La Crosse boasted a 10-3 record at home a year ago and plays five of its final eight games at Mitchell Hall this season.  The Eagles have started 3-0 in WIAC contests for two straight years.  Junior Mackenzie Hunter is the first individual in school history to earn all-conference honors in consecutive seasons since Jessica Edwards (1996 and 1997).

UW-River Falls plays four of its first five games on the road, including three straight to start the season.  The Falcons lost their top seven scorers from last year’s club that became just the second No. 5 seed to beat a No. 4 seed in the WIAC tournament with their win at UW-Stevens Point.  Head coach Cindy Hovet is three wins shy of 100 in her career and become just the second coach in school history to reach the milestone.

UW-Oshkosh enters the 2007-08 season attempting to snap a school-record eight-game losing streak and has won 27 of their last 33 season openers.  The Titans return just 523 of their 1,354 points scored, 227 of their 755 rebounds collected and 1,656 of their 4,800 minutes played a year ago.  UW-Oshkosh has finished third-place or higher in the WIAC standings 17 times in the last 18 years and has recorded a minimum of 19 victories in 13 of the last 14 seasons.

UW-Platteville will not have a senior and will have just three juniors on this year’s roster.  The Pioneers return six players who have scored at least 15 points in a game with juniors Lisa Wubben and Lisa Grantman and sophomore Brianna Klaas each scoring at least 23 once.

UW-Superior’s eight wins last season were the most since the 2003-04 squad had 10 victories.   The Yellowjackets lost four games a year ago by nine points or less.   UW-Superior opens the 2007-08 campaign with eight of their first 10 games away from home, including six straight to being the year.

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2007-08 Preseason Picks (Voted on by WIAC Sports Information Directors)                       
                                                2006-07 Record
1. UW-Eau Claire (5)            19-9, 11-5
2. UW-Whitewater (2)         19-7, 12-4
3. UW-Stevens Point (1)     18-7, 10-6
4. UW-Stout (1)                    23-6, 13-3
5. UW-La Crosse                  13-13, 7-9
6. UW-River Falls                 16-11, 9-7
7. UW-Oshkosh                   8-16, 4-12
8. UW-Platteville                  11-16, 4-12
9. UW-Superior                    8-17, 2-14

(  )--First-Place Votes

Team Vitals

UW-Eau Claire
Head Coach: Tonja Englund; 8th season; 143-54 overall
Letterwinners Returning/Lost:  11/4
Starters Returning/Lost:  5/0
Returning All-WIAC: Heidi Arciszewski, Jr., G (2005-Honorable, 2007-First); Michelle Burns, Sr., F (2005-Honorable, 2007-First & All-Def.)

UW-La Crosse
Head Coach: Lois Heeren; 15th season (9th at UW-La Crosse); 138-220 overall / 86-118 at UWL
Letterwinners Returning/Lost:  9/8
Starters Returning/Lost:  2/3
Returning All-WIAC: Mackenzie Hunter, Jr., F (2006-First, 2007-Honorable)

UW-Oshkosh
Head Coach: Terri Schumacher; 3rd season; 27-24 overall
Letterwinners Returning/Lost:  4/9
Starters Returning/Lost:  2/3
Returning All-WIAC: Whitney Tyriver, Sr., G (2007-First)

UW-Platteville
Head Coach: Tina Kuhle; 10th season (4th at UW-Platteville); 118-103 overall / 34-44 at UWP
Letterwinners Returning/Lost:  9/5
Starters Returning/Lost:  3/2
Returning All-WIAC: None

UW-River Falls
Head Coach:  Cindy Hovet; 8th season; 97-84 overall
Letterwinners Returning/Lost:  5/10
Starters Returning/Lost:  1/4
Returning All-WIAC: None

UW-Stevens Point
Head Coach:  Shirley Egner; 19th season; 308-159 overall
Letterwinners Returning/Lost:  13/2
Starters Returning/Lost:  4/1
Returning All-WIAC: Laura Neuenfeldt, Sr., G (2007-First); Chelsea Kranz, Sr., F (2007-Honorable)

UW-Stout
Head Coach:  Mark Thomas; 21st season; 355-180 overall
Letterwinners Returning/Lost:  14/6
Starters Returning/Lost:  3/2
Returning All-WIAC: None

UW-Superior
Head Coach:  Donald Mulhern; 11th season (2nd at UW-Superior); 136-122 overall / 8-17 at UWS
Letterwinners Returning/Lost:  4/5
Starters Returning/Lost:  3/2
Returning All-WIAC: None

UW-Whitewater
Head Coach: Keri Carollo; 6th season; 65-64 overall
Letterwinners Returning/Lost:  15/4
Starters Returning/Lost:  5/0
Returning All-WIAC: Lindsey Buechner, Sr., C (2007-First); Trisha Thill, Sr., G (2007-Honorable & All-Def.)

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