The following "Starting Five" points offer a quick look inside GLVC women's basketball action this week:
GLVC SPORTS NETWORK (GLVCSN): All GLVC home games are available for free on GLVCSN.com, the GLVCSN iOS and Android mobile apps, and GLVCSN OTT apps on Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, and Android TV.
[1 // nine teams begin 2017-18 undefeated]
Nine GLVC programs
began the season undefeated, including six teams that picked up multiple wins to start. Illinois Springfield got three wins to begin the year, while Bellarmine, No. 7 Drury, Lewis, McKendree, Missouri S&T and Southern Indiana all started 2-0 with Rockhurst winning its opener yesterday. Most of those wins came against Midwest Region opponents in either the GLVC/GLIAC or GLVC/G-MAC Crossover Challenges on various campuses. Bellarmine was one such host, as was USI and Lewis. Missouri S&T also hosted UIS, one in-region foe and one out-of-region opponent, getting a win against both non-league teams. McKendree and Truman State were the other squads to win their opening contest, as the Bearcats defeated visiting Blackburn and the Bulldogs welcomed Missouri Valley for the W.
[2 // looking at week two]
GLVC women's basketball action kicked off
week two on Monday with Rockhurst's season-opening home win, UIS's record-setting victory and a road loss by Truman State. Three more play Tuesday, including Drury's visit to Southwest Baptist for the annual Highway 13 "Catfight." William Jewell will be the lone team in action Wednesday, while Southern Indiana and UW-Parkside hit their home court Thursday. In addition, six of the remaining 20 contests Friday through Sunday will be against in-region opponents. Rockhurst, UIS and William Jewell will each play three games this week, while all other league teams except for Bellarmine and Missouri-St. Louis will play two contests. A number of those can be seen on GLVCSN.
[3 // three games, three wins, three records]
Illinois Springfield has begun the season with a 3-0 start for the first time in its GLVC-Division II era. In their third game of the season, the Prairie Stars picked up a huge win over MacMurray, scoring 117 points. In winning its third game of the season, UIS also broke three school records, crushing the single-game marks in points (117), field goals made (46) and rebounds (70). The Stars also tied the school's single-game record in blocks (12), while all16 players on the roster scored in the win. Additionally, UIS did its damage down low, outscoring the Highlanders 74-2 in the paint, captured a 24-0 advantage on fast-break points and outscored MacMurray by a 32-4 margin off turnovers. UIS also held a 28-10 advantage on second-chance points.
[4 // player of the year gets player of the week]
Reigning GLVC Player of the Year, Jessica Kelliher, who was also the 2015-16 GLVC Freshman of the Year, picked up right where she left off in 2016-17. Along with her postseason award, the then-sophomore also won a season-best four GLVC Player of the Week awards, kicking off her junior campaign as the
first weekly honoree. The forward's accolade was the seventh of her career thanks to averaging 30.0 points, 8.5 rebounds and 5.0 assists in the first two games. In addition to those opening stats, Kelliher tops the Active Career Leaders list for both scoring average (19.3) and field-goal percentage (62.6). Her scoring average is 2.2 points higher than the next player, while her shooting is 2.3% better than the second-place shooter.
[5 // brief preseason review]
GLVC basketball will be played in three five-team divisions this year, and Southern Indiana (East), Maryville (Central) and Drury (West)
were chosen to win those titles. Defending Champion Drury was ranked seventh in the WBCA Coaches poll, while Lewis (picked to finish second in the East) was receiving votes just outside the preseason top-25. The Panthers were also ranked No. 11 in the Women's D-II Bulletin (WDIIB) ahead of the season. Drury's Heather Harman and Lewis' Jessica Kelliher were also named as WDIIB preseason honorable mention All-Americans. The 2018 GLVC Basketball Championship Tournament will be held on March 1-4 at the Vadalabene Center in Edwardsville, Illinois, on the campus of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. This year's format has changed from a 12- to eight-team tournament.