NCAA Division III Women�s Basketball Tournament First Round Preview �

Lake Forest College (19-6) at #7 UW-Stevens Point (24-3)
Berg Gymnasium (2,400) � Stevens Point, Wisconsin
Wednesday, February 27, 2002 � 7:00 PM

Game Outlook:

Berg Gymnasium will host its first NCAA Tournament game as UW-Stevens Point will be make their third appearance in the when they host Lake Forest College. The Pointers received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament after falling to UW-Oshkosh in the semifinal game of the WIAC tournament. Lake Forest advanced by upsetting Carroll College in the Midwest Conference tournament championship game.

Broadcast:

     The Pointers� game can be heard live on WWSP (89.9 FM) with Jeff Olson handling the call. The game can also be heard on the Internet at http://www.uwsp.edu/stuorg/wwsp/. S-TV student television (Stevens Point cable channel 10) will also be broadcasting the game live.

The Coaches:

 UW-Stevens Point head coach Shirley Egner has a 194-128 career record in her 13th season with the Pointers.

     Lake Forest head coach Jackie Slaats is in her 16th season leading the Foresters. She has a career record of 276-95. Slaats was named MWC Coach of the Year earlier this week.

NCAA Tournament Information:

     The winner of Wednesday�s UW-Stevens Point/Lake Forest first round game will travel to St. Louis, Missouri to meet Washington University on Saturday, March 2. Washington (25-0) is the four-time defending national champion and currently ranked first in the nation. The team that emerges from the second round will participate in a four-team sectional the following weekend with the sectional champion advancing to the Final Four. The Final Four takes place on March 15-16 in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Series History:

The Pointers and the Foresters have never played each other in their school histories.

Pointers Update:

     UW-Stevens Point missed a chance to advance to the WIAC Tournament championship game when they lost to UW-Oshkosh last week 76-65. The Pointers held a 32-28 second half lead, but a 17-4 run by the Titans midway through the second half gave them a 60-43 lead. The Pointers battled back to cut the lead to 61-55, but Oshkosh free throws down the stretch sealed the game. Andrea Kraemer scored 15 points to lead the team, while Kari Groshek scored 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Cassandra Heuer and Amie Schultz scored 11 and 10 points respectively. The loss snapped an eight-game winning streak by the Pointers. Groshek continues to lead the team in scoring with 15.1 points per game, while Kraemer chips in 10 points a game.

Foresters Update:

Lake Forest College defeated top-seeded Carroll College in Waukesha on Saturday to claim the Midwest Conference�s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Foresters didn�t take the lead until there was 12 minutes to play, and then made 16 of 17 free throws down the stretch for a 72-57 victory. Katie McCants led the Foresters with 14 points and 15 rebounds. Kandyce Green scored 13 points. For the season, Green and McCants lead the team in scoring at 11.4 and 11.2 points per game. Shannon Clerkin leads the Foresters on the boards with 6.4 rebounds per game. The Foresters placed second in the Midwest Conference during the regular season with a 12-4 conference record. Lake Forest has won six of their last seven games.

Common Threads:

UW-Stevens Point and Lake Forest College have four common opponents this season. The Pointers won two of three games from UW-Oshkosh, while the Foresters lost to the Titans 71-68 in Oshkosh. Lake Forest lost to Carroll College during the regular season before defeating them in the MWC tournament, while the Pointers topped Carroll 59-51 early in the season. Lake Forest split with Ripon College winning in triple overtime 88-76 before losing on the road. The Pointers defeated Ripon 71-42. The Pointers opened the season by beating Lawrence 84-42, while the Foresters split with the Vikings, losing in the regular season, but winning in the MWC tournament semifinals.

Game Notes:

     The Pointers are making their third NCAA Tournament appearance and have a 5-1 all-time record, including the championship of the 1987 NCAA Tournament. The Pointers last appearance was in 1991 when they lost to UW-Oshkosh in the first round. Lake Forest College is making their third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, and their fourth overall. The Foresters have yet to win an NCAA Tournament game�UWSP senior Kari Groshek received two awards this week. She was named to the Verizon First Team Academic All-District team, and was named one of ten finalists for the Josten�s Award, given to the outstanding Division III basketball player�The Pointers are 2-0 all-time in NCAA Tournament home games. They defeated St. Norbert College and Alma College during the 1987 tournament in two games played in Quandt Fieldhouse.