Mastodons Look to Close Gap in Summit League Standings

PREGAME NOTES VS. ORAL ROBERTS

Fort Wayne, IN - The IPFW Mastodons open the second half of league play as it hosts the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles in a battle of the top two teams in the Summit League standings. IPFW is 13-5 and 7-2 in league play, while ORU is 13-7, and a perfect 9-0 in conference games.

Opponent: Oral Roberts Golden Eagles (13-7, 9-0 Summit League)
When: Saturday, January 29, 1:00 PM EST
Where: Fort Wayne, Indiana; Gates Sports Center (2,500)
All-Time Series: Oral Roberts leads 5-3
Radio: ESPN Radio 1380-Fort Wayne - Internet simulcast on GoMastodons.com - Mike Maahs (play-by-play)
Stats: Sidearm Live Stats
Video: IPFW Live Video Feed (subscription required)

PLAYER OF THE WEEK VERSION 2.0
IPFW sophomore Kayla Drake was named the Summit League Player of the Week on January 25, after recording 16 steals and 38 points in games against South Dakota State and North Dakota State, helping the Mastodons to its first wins in Fargo and Brookings since joining the Summit League. She is the second player this season to have earned a Player of the Week honor, the first time since IPFW joined the league in 2007-08 that the 'Dons have had two players earn the honor in a single season.

FIRST WINS
A week ago, the Mastodons had still never previously defeated South Dakota State or North Dakota State in Summit League play, and within a three-day span, both of those streaks came to an end, the first with a 70-67 overtime win over South Dakota State, and the latter with a 68-55 win at North Dakota State.

STOP, THIEF!
IPFW sophomore Kayla Drake became the first player in program history to have a points-steals double-double, as she broke the school single-game record, previously held by Lindy Jones, the younger sister of current IPFW assistant coach Kip Jones. The 10 steals are tied for the most in NCAA Division I this season, and is tied for the fourth highest single-game total in a Summit League game in the history of the league.

WE'RE GOING STREAKING
Since the team's December 29 loss at Oral Roberts, the Mastodons have rattled off six consecutive wins, the longest single-season streak in the program's NCAA Division I history. The 2005-06 squad, under the direction of interim coach Chris Paul won its last three games of the season, before winning the opening pair of games in the 2006-07 season to win five in a row, now the second longest win streak in the school's Division I era. Four previous times since 2001-02 an IPFW team has won four games in a row. The streak is the overall longest since the 2000-01 team won seven in a row from December 2 until a January 6 loss to Bellarmine. The longest win streak in program history is 14, when the 1995-96 squad opened the season with 14 consecutive wins.

FAST START
IPFW's 13-5 start to the 2010-11 season marks the seventh time in program history that a team has started a season with that record or better through the first 17 games of the season. The 1995-96 team holds the high-water mark through 18 games, opening the year 16-2 before earning an at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament. The 1982-83 team opened the year 15-3, whie 1993-94, 1991-92, 1990-91, and 1989-90 teams all started 14-4.

SERIES AGAINST ORAL ROBERTS
Oral Roberts holds a 5-3 lead in the all-time series between the two teams, who have only met while members of the Summit League. The Golden Eagles won the first four meetings, including in the first round of the 2009 Summit League Tournament, before IPFW turned the tables, winning three in a row, including both meetings a season ago. Earlier this season in Tulsa, the Golden Eagles prevailed by a 91-78 score, IPFW's last loss, as the 'Dons have went on a six-game win streak since the loss.

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN EAGLES
Oral Roberts has swept through the first half of the Summit League season with a 9-0 record, including topping IPFW 91-78 in Tulsa. Overall ORU has won its last eight games, with the last loss coming at Oklahoma State on December 22.

The last game for ORU came on January 22 with a 92-55 victory over Centenary at the Mabee Center. Kevi Luper and Jaci Bigham scored 24 and 22 points, each, as Jordan Pyle added 14 while pulling down a dozen rebounds. Amber Carver had eight points and eight rebounds, as ORU out-rebounded the Ladies 45-to-36 in the game.

Bigham and Georgia Jones each dished out a game-high six assists, while Carver had four blocked shots, and Luper a half-dozen steals.

For the year the team is led by Luper, the defending Summit League Player of the Year, who is averaging 23.4 points per game, while leading the country with 77 steals, an average of nearly four per game. Pyle and Bigham average 14.9 and 13.9 points per game each, while Jones is just off of the double-figure pace at 8.1 points per game.

Pyle's 9.1 rebounds per game is best on the team, as the Golden Eagles out-rebound its opponents by an average of 1.0 per game. Bigham has dished out 112 assists, nearly double of the second highest total on the team, 68 by Georgia Jones.

Pyle, Carver, and Dominique Allen each have double-figure blocks with 14, 12, and 11, respectively, as Bigham has added 55 steals, second on the squad.

BOMBS AWAY
When IPFW faced off against Oral Roberts, few predicted the explosion from long range that would ensue. The Mastodons attempted 44 shots from long range, a mark that tops the previous Summit League single-game total, set by Troy in the 1995-96 season and by Oral Roberts last year. The team's 17 makes puts the Mastodons into a tie for third all-time, behind only a pair of 18-make games by the Golden Eagles a season ago. IPFW junior Anne Boese was one of the primary catalysts for the offensive explosion, making 7-of-17 shots from long range. The seven makes puts her in a tie for fifth on the Summit League single-game totals in league games, while the 17 attempts are tied for the second most in league history, and tied for the highest total in a conference game. As per the IPFW record book, the 44 attempts are tied for the third highest total, and the 17 makes are the second most. Boese's seven makes ranks in a tie for fourth, while the 17 attempts ties the school record.

ALMOST A NATIONAL LEADER
With the release of the newest national leaders on Monday, January 23, IPFW senior Jordan Zuppe finds herself tied for third in the country in free throw percentage. She has made 46 of her 50 attempts for a percentage of .920, behind Emily London of Samford (51-53/96.2 percent), Lauren Prochaska of Bowling Green (118-125/94.4 percent), and tied with Jenna Plumley of Lamar, with an identical 46-of-50 from the stripe. If Zuppe continues on her current pace, she will also break the school's single-season record of .908 (69-of-76) set by Teena Merrell in the 1986-87 season.

CATCH A BREAK
It is never a good sign to see your opponent shoot better at the free throw line than your own team; however, that saying doesn't usually happen when your team is ranked 22nd in the country in free throw percentage. Except for the 2010-11 Mastodon team, who is making .754 percent of its free throws, on pace for the fourth best single-season percentage in school history. Opponents of IPFW though, have made 225-of-298 free throws, for a percentage of .755. Of the top-20 all-time best free throw percentage games against IPFW, four have come in the 2010-11 season (.933 (14-of-15) vs. South Dakota State on January 22; .917 (11-of-12) vs. North Dakota State on January 24; .905 (19-of-21) vs. Centenary on December 31; and .895 (17-of-19) vs. Oral Roberts on December 29).

FINDING HER TARGET
Two days after her 7-for-17 eruption against Oral Roberts, Anne Boese took just long range shots against Centenary, however, by making six of those, she etched her name in the school's record book for the second highest percentage in program history. Like Zuppe, Boese is also ranked nationally, sitting fourth in three-point field goals made per game, averaging 3.3 per contest, and is 24th in three-point percentage, knocking down .407 percent of her shots from long range.

IPFW vs. THE SUMMIT LEAGUE
In Summit League regular season action, IPFW is five games above .500 at 34-29 all-time in league play, and the 'Dons are 33-38 under the direction of head coach Chris Paul against teams currently in the Summit League.

LAST TIME OUT
The IPFW Mastodons snapped an eight-game losing streak to the North Dakota State Bison, picking up the program's first ever sweep of North Dakota State and South Dakota State, after the team's 68-55 victory on Monday evening.

The win improves IPFW to 13-5 on the season, and 7-2 in the Summit League halfway through the league schedule. The Mastodons have also won six consecutive games, the program's longest win streak as a NCAA Division I member.

Stephanie Rosado scored a game-high 24 points on 12-of-18 shooting from the field, while Chelsey Jackson scored a dozen off of the bench while adding a team-high three assists, and Kayla Drake, after her 27-point, 10-steal effort against South Dakota State on Saturday, scored 11 points and picked up a half dozen steals in the win.

Sydney Weinert missed a double-double by a single point, scoring nine points and pulling down 13 rebounds, as Drake and Jordan Zuppe each dished out two assists in the win, as the Mastodons had a 9-to-7 assist-to-turnover ratio.

ROAD WARRIORS
Starting on Sunday, December 19, and ending on Friday, December 31, IPFW took part on a four-game road swing that sent the Mastodons to the east coast and into the deep south. The Mastodons traveled to Hampton, Virginia to take on the Hampton Lady Pirates, a trip that is 727 miles long, before heading west for 140 miles to face off against the Longwood Lancers in Farmville, Virginia, before making the 650-mile trek back to Fort Wayne. Eight days later the 'Dons faced off against Summit League foe Oral Roberts, a trip that is 775 miles from Fort Wayne to Tulsa, Oklahoma, before traveling to Shreveport, Louisiana (350 miles from Tulsa) for the second game of a weekend Summit League series against Centenary. The return trip of 920 miles sets the entire four-game stretch at just over 3,500 total miles.

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
From November 23 until December 9, the IPFW Mastodons had a six-game home stand. The six games is tied for the longest consecutive streak of home games, tied with the end of the 2005-06 season, in which IPFW hosted Texas-Pan American, Wayne State, South Dakota State, North Dakota State, Utah Valley State, and Texas A&M Corpus Christi. During the 2005-06 stretch, IPFW went 5-1 to end the year with a 7-21 record in current head coach Chris Paul's season as interim head coach.

ITS ALL BINARY
For those familiar with computer programing, binary numbers are the language of 1's and 0's that computers speak; however, there was nothing robotic about IPFW senior Jordan Zuppe on Sunday against Hampton. The senior scored a season-high 17 points and pulled down a career-high-tying eight rebounds. What was unique was the series of 1's and 0's that accompany the evening. Zuppe scored her 1,000th point in the game, which was also her 100th in a Mastodon uniform. Add to it that it was the 10th game of the season, in IPFW's 10th season as a Division 1 member, and finally the fact that Zuppe ended the game with 1,010 career points, you have enough to keep a computer talking for months.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE
With her double-double against Western Illinois on January 10, IPFW junior Stephanie Rosado has moved into a tie for sixth place in the school's record books with 11 career double-doubles. Lisa Miller has the school record with 31, with Verea Bibbs in second with 20. Below is a listing of the top-10 double-double leaders in school history.

Rank	Student-Athlete	2B-2B	Seasons
1	Lisa Miller	31	1988-92
2	Verea Bibbs	20	2001-05
t-3	Robin Scott	13	1987-91
t-3	Rhonda Unverferth	13	1982-85
5	Pam Edwards	12	1989-94
t-6	Stephanie Rosado	11	2009-present
t-6	Terri Lydy	11	1985-86
t-8	Sarah Turner	9	1987-89
t-8	Teena Merrell	9	1986-90
10	Trish Fleming	8	1999-01

HEAD COACH CHRIS PAUL
With the team's victory at South Dakota State on January 22, 2011, IPFW head coach Chris Paul improved his record to 65-92, becoming the all-time coaching wins leader in program history. His win total is more than the previous two coaches (Bruce Patterson, 27; and Karl Smesko, 32) combined.

Coach	Record	Pct.
Chris Paul	65-92 (6)	.414
Teri Rosinski	63-46 (4)	.578
Pam Bowden	58-76 (5)	.433
Eileen Kleinfelter	49-34 (3)	.590
Kirk Kavanaugh	43-29 (3)	.597
Karl Smesko	32-22 (2)	.593
Bruce Patterson	27-92 (5)	.227
Peggy Voisin	18-26 (2)	.409
Julie Calahan	14-39 (2)	.264
Mary Schreiber	9-8 (1)	.529
Barb McDonald	9-10 (1)	.474
Kathy Kissinger	7-7 (1)	.500
Denise Knuth	3-20 (1)	.130
TOTALS	396-501	.441

CLIMBING THE CONFERENCE LADDER
Not only is Jordan Zuppe and Anne Boese ranked second and fourth in career three-point field goals at IPFW, but they are also sitting in sixth and 12th on the career three-point basket list for The Summit League.

Rank	Student-Athlete	School	Years	3FGM
1.	Brenna Doty	Buffalo	1994-97	262
2.	Katie Houlehan	UMKC	2001-05	257
3.	Suzie Hammel	Valparaiso	2000-04	236
4.	Anne Hafeli	Oakland	2002-06	235
5.	Jayme Wilson	Oakland	2002-06	232
6.	Jordan Zuppe	IPFW	2007-pres.	226
7.	Chazny Morris	UMKC	2006-10	218
8.	Kristin Rotert	South Dakota State	2007-pres.	217
9.	Kristin Atkinson	Oral Roberts	1998-03	216
10.	Carrie Myers	Valparaiso	2003-07	215
11.	Krista Ragan	Oral Roberts	1997-02	200
12.	Anne Boese	IPFW	2008-pres.	189
13.	Katie Wolfe	Oakland	1999-03	188
14.	Jill Young	South Dakota State	2008-pres.	187

THREE-POINT STREAK
The IPFW Mastodons have made a three-point basket in each of its last 363 games, a stretch that ranks as the seventh longest active streak in NCAA Division I. Canisius' and Iowa State's streaks are at the top of the list by making a three-point basket in 504 and 502 games, respectively. Sam Houston State, Connecticut, Loyola, and Southeast Missouri State all fall in line ahead of IPFW. The previous NCAA record was 408 games, held by Cleveland State, while Tennessee saw its 422 consecutive game streak snapped on January 2 against LSU, going 0-7 from long range.

Rank	Team	Streak
1.	Canisius	504
NEXT: vs. Manhattan, vs. Loyola (MD) (1/30) (1/28)
2.	Iowa State	503
NEXT: vs. Missouri (1/29), vs. Oklahoma State (2/2)
3.	Sam Houston State	458
NEXT: at Texas-San Antonio (1/29), vs. McNeese State (2/2) (1/29)
4.	Connecticut	416
NEXT: at Cincinnati (1/29), vs. Duke (1/31)a
5.	Loyola (Ill.)	412
NEXT: at Wright State (1/29), at UIC (2/5)
6.	Southeast Missouri State	392
NEXT: vs. Tennessee Tech (1/29), at SIU Edwardsville (2/1)
7.	IPFW	362
NEXT: at North Dakota State (1/24), vs. Oral Roberts (1/29)

BACK-TO-BACK DOUBLE-DOUBLES
Stephanie Rosado did something that hasn't been done since the 1999-00 season - pick up three straight double-doubles. It was the first time since Trish Fleming had three straight against St. Joseph's, Indianapolis, and Northern Kentucky. The school record for consecutive double-doubles is four, set by Sarah Turner in 1987-88, Tarri Lydy in 1985-86, and Rhonda Unverferth in 1983-84.

COLD WIN
On December 6, the IPFW Mastodons made just 17-of-61 shots from the field, a percentage of .279. What was unique about that game was that the Mastodons prevailed 60-58 over the Kangaroos of UMKC. The .279 shooting percentage is the lowest in school history in a game in which IPFW was victorious. Below are the five lowest shooting percentage wins in school history. Of the top-15 lowest shooting percentage wins, 12 came at either the Memorial Coliseum or the Gates Sports Center.

Pct.	Opponent	Date	Field Goals
.279	UMKC	12/6/2010	17-of-61
.299	vs. Saginaw Valley State	11/19/1999	23-of-77
.300	Western Illinois	1/26/2009	18-of-60
.304	Lewis	12/23/1985	24-of-79
.311	vs. Savannah State	3/5/2005	19-of-61

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
IPFW junior Stephanie Rosado was named the Summit League Player of the Week on November 23 after scoring 22 points and pulling down 12 rebounds against Youngstown State on November 20. It was the second time that Rosado has been named a Summit League Player of the Week (she earned the award February 9 last season), and just the fourth time overall that a Mastodon has been named a Player of the Week, joining Johnna Lewis Carlisle (January 29) and Jordan Zuppe (March 4) who both were named to the award in 2007-08.

PRESEASON EXPECTATIONS
The Mastodons were picked to finish fourth in the Summit League by the league's coaches, media, and sports information directors. The fourth place pick was the highest in any of the four seasons that the 'Dons have been in the league. Also picking up preseason honors were juniors Stephanie Rosado and Anne Boese, Rosado to the Preseason First Team, and Boese to the Second Team.

BLOCK PARTY
On the same day that Stephanie Rosado was named the Summit League Player of the Week, the junior erupted for a near triple-double, including a school-record eight blocked shots, six of those coming in the first half. With Sydney Weinert's 11 blocks added in, it was the first time IPFW has had at least 10 blocked shots in a game since December 2, 2005 against Kalamazoo, when the squad also had 11.

BIG DEBUTS
When Kayla Drake and Amanda Hyde reached double-figure scoring in their IPFW debuts, they join three other IPFW players on the current roster to have scored in double figures in their first game in a Mastodon uniform. Jordan Zuppe scored 18 against Toledo on November 11, 2007, while a year later, Anne Boese scored 17 in the season opener against Illinois. Stephanie Rosado became the third player in as many seasons to accomplish the feat when she scored 15 against Wright State, with the pair joining the list this year.

M-MILESTONES COME IN PAIRS
There are 14 current members of the 1,000-point club (Roman Numeral 'M'), and on three occasions, teammate milestones came in the same season. The first duo to reach 1,000-career points in the same season was Lisa Miller and Robin Scott in 1989-90. It was Miller's sophomore year and Scott's junior season, as the pair currently rank 1st and 6th on the all-time scoring list. Lindy Jones and Jennie Newhard each accomplished the feat in 1994-95, Jones' coming early in her junior season, and Newhard as a senior. The final duo was Johnna Lewis-Carlisle and Ashley Johnson. Lewis-Carlisle was a junior, while Johnson was a senior. It is likely this season that the list will add another grouping to it by way of seniors Jordan Zuppe and Chelsey Jackson. Zuppe reached 1,000 points on December 19 against Hampton, and Jackson needs 30 with 10 games remaining on the regular season schedule.

MASTODONS ADD ANOTHER
Former Pendleton Heights High School standout Mur Hagerman has enrolled at IPFW and will be eligible to compete in January of 2012.

Hagerman, a 5-10 guard, was on the Wright State roster for the first semester of the 2010-11 season before leaving the Dayton campus for Fort Wayne. She was a McDonald's All-American nomiee, named to the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association All-State Senior First Team in 2009-10, and to the All-State Underclass Girls team after her junior campaign.

She was a four-year member of the Hoosier Heritage All-Conference team, was selected to the Class 4A All-State team, and was one of the top 60 Seniors by Hoosier Basketball Magazine. She was a four-time All-Madison County honoree, and averaged 12.5 points and five rebounds per game during her senior year. As a senior her team finished 20-3 and advanced to the regional championship. A year prior she averaged 13.4 points per game, helping the team to a 23-3 mark and a semi-state appearance.

Hagerman played with current IPFW freshman Erin Murphy in the Hoosiers Reunion All-Star Classic, and played on the south squad in the North-South All-Star Classic. Named the Johnny Wilson Award winner in 2010, signifying the top three-sport athlete in the area, as she was also a stellar cross country and track & field athlete, lettering four years in all three sports.

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION
This summer, current IPFW junior Stephanie Rosado was a member of the Puerto Rico National Team. As a member of the PR squad, she helped lead the team to Gold Medals at the Centrobasket Championships, and the 2010 Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games.

In the Centrobasket Championships, Rosado was the only player on the Puerto Rico squad to score in double figures in every game, averaging 12 points per game, pulling down 5.6 rebounds per game, and hitting 20-of-41 shots from the field, and 14-of-18 free throws, the latter was the seventh best overall in the tournament.

The Gold Medal at the Centrobasket Championships also guarantees Puerto Rico a spot for the 2011 FIBA-Americas Championship for Women (Pre-Olympic) and to the 2011 Pan-American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico.

IPFW SIGNS FOUR
IPFW Head Coach Chris Paul has announced that four current high school seniors, Haley Seibert, Hillary Moore, Libby Ogden, and Rebecca Bruner, have signed National Letters of Intent to play for the Mastodons next season.

Seibert, a 5-5 point guard from Terre Haute South High School, averaged 15.8 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 2.5 steals per game last year, while hitting nearly 60 percent of her field goal attempts. She helped her team finish 14-10 on the season playing in the difficult Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference, and was named All-MIC First Team.

She was named the Terre Haute Tribune Star Player of the Year, and the Wabash Valley Player of the Year. A 2010 Indiana Junior All-Star, Seibert was also named Honorable Mention All-State by the Associated Press and the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association (IBCA), and was selected to the Underclassman All-State Honorable Mention team.

Moore, a 5-10 forward/center from Benton Central High School, averaged 12 points and eight rebounds per game as a junior after putting up 10.1 points and 9.4 rebounds as a sophomore. She was rated the 35th best prospect in Indiana by D1Scout, and was an Indiana Top-100 Workout Nominee.

She was named Third Team All-State by the Hoosier Basketball Magazine, and an IBCA All-State Honorable Mention. She was named to the Journal and Courier All-Area team as a sophomore and junior, and was named to the All-Hoosier Conference Team.

Ogden, a 5-7 point guard from Hamilton Heights High School, was named to the Hoosier Basketball Magazine All-State Second Team in 2009, and to the Third Team in 2008. Daughter of head coach Kurt Ogden, she was also named as a First Team All-Mid-Indiana Conference selection in each of her three seasons on varsity.

She averaged 12.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game as a junior, after putting up 15.3 points as a sophomore, and averaging 3.0 steals per game and has 914 career points. She has been named to the Indianapolis Star All-North Team and to the All-Hamilton County First Team as a freshman, sophomore, and junior.

Bruner, a 6-0 forward from Springfield (Ohio) Northwestern High School, averaged 13.3 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks per game as a junior. She earned Division II First Team All-District honors, and was an All-Clark County First Team selection in 2008-09 and 2009-10.

She was a District 9 All-Star as a sophomore and junior, and named to the All-Central Buckeye Conference First Team as a sophomore and junior in addition to being named to the Springfield News Sun all-Area Honorable Mention squad.

Purdue University Fort Wayne Athletics

Mastodons Look to Close Gap in Summit League Standings

Related News

Next Event

Related Videos