'Pack the Gym' night right on time

Tony Ammann
Sports Editor

The Lady Cougar basketball team can play five-on-five with arguably any team it faces, but it will have the chance to play six-on-five Thursday.

The additional sixth player could be represented by a rowdy home crowd. The fourth and final "Pack the Gym" night of the season will be Thursday when SIUE faces Northern Kentucky University at the Vadalabene Center.

SIUE (12-6) could benefit from a noisy crowd when the Norse step onto the floor. NKU will come into the game not as the regular season champions of the Great Lakes Valley Conference, but the game is still very important to the Lady Cougars.

SIUE head coach Wendy Hedberg thinks a win over the No. 1 team in the conference would almost secure the Lady Cougars a spot in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II Tournament, which begins March 9.

"I think that would be enough to get us in," Hedberg said. "There's a lot riding on it from that standpoint."

NKU (17-1) has won 14 consecutive games and is 22-2 overall. The Norse lead the GLVC in field-goal percentage at 49.1 percent, three-point field goal percentage at 45.6 percent and steals averaging 10.96 per game. The Norse have three players in the top 10 in the conference in each of those categories.

Forward Michelle Cottrell ranks sixth in the GLVC in scoring with 17.6 points per game and leads the conference in rebounding averaging 9.4 boards per game. Cottrell notched a double-double against the Lady Cougars Jan. 29 with 16 points and 15 rebounds in a 59-56 win in Highland Heights, Ky.

Hedberg said she thinks Cottrell is one of many threats the Norse throw at their baffled opponents.

"She is their main inside threat," Hedberg said. "Most of her scoring is done around the basket."

Hedberg compares Cottrell to two-time SIUE All-American Kim Lowe. Lowe is the Lady Cougars' fifth-leading scorer in school history as well as the school's all-time leading rebounder with 917.

"Kim was a little smaller but very active around the basket," Hedberg said. "When she got the ball, she was able to do something with it and make a quick move on somebody."

Cottrell's nine double-doubles tie her with Yasmina Radmanovich of the University of Wisconsin-Parkside for most in the conference. She also ranks second in the conference in field goal percentage, knocking down 57 percent of her shots.

The Norse lead the GLVC in scoring margin, defeating opponents by an average of 19.5 points per game. SIUE out-rebounded and outshot the Norse despite losing by just three points in their earlier meeting.

Hedberg thinks members of the Norse probably realize that they could have been beaten by the Lady Cougars in that game.

"I'm sure they'd like to come in here and beat us by 20 (points) like they do to everyone else," Hedberg said.

Another force for the Norse is guard Heather Livingstone, who leads the GLVC in three-point field goal percentage at 55.8 percent. Livingstone ranks sixth in the conference in steals per game with 1.79.

Livingstone and teammate Michele Tuchfarber rank 19th and 18th in the conference in scoring with 12.5 and 12.7 points per game, respectively. The two guards combined for 19 points against SIUE earlier this year.

The Lady Cougars could play the role of spoiler Saturday when the University of Indianapolis pays SIUE a visit.

The Lady Greyhounds (8-10) are almost in a must-win situation, needing a win at the University of Southern Indiana Thursday to stay alive for a spot in the conference tournament.

Hedberg hopes the Lady Greyhounds come into the Vadalabene Center Saturday fresh off a loss to Southern Indiana.

"If they lose Thursday, they may come in with their heads down a little bit," Hedberg said. "If they win Thursday, they'll come in here doing everything they can to get a win. Then again, at this point I'd like for us to be playing our best ball."

The GLVC quarterfinals begin March 1 in Evansville, Ind. Seeds and matchups will be announced when the regular season ends Saturday, with times of games to be announced as well.

Indianapolis will go into the Southern Indiana game tied with Indiana University-Purdue University at Fort Wayne and Kentucky Wesleyan College for seventh in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.

The Lady Greyhounds rank second-last in the conference in defensive rebounding, averaging just 22.5 boards per game. Only Lewis University is worse on the defensive glass with an average of 21.3 boards per contest.

SIUE defeated the Lady Greyhounds 70-54 Jan. 27 on the road. Clark led the team with 20 points as Indianapolis shot just 35 percent from the field.

After 24 games, Clark leads the Lady Cougars in scoring with 21.5 points per game, steals per game with three and assists per game with 4.9.

Crystal Gladson is the team's leading rebounder, averaging 6.7 boards per game.

Both Thursday's and Saturday's games begin at 5:30 p.m. in the Vadalabene Center and will be followed by the men's games at 7:30 p.m.