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 // glvc slate begins]
GLVC teams conclude action in November and
begin league play into December with five games set for Thursday evening. Drury hosts Missouri-St. Louis, Southern Indiana welcomes Lewis, Maryville will visit William Jewell, Quincy travels to Rockhurst, and Indianapolis will play at UW-Parkside. Saturday will follow with a complete slate of seven contests where all tipoff at 1 p.m. local time, including Illinois Springfield, Missouri S&T, Truman State and Bellarmine that will be idle Thursday. Monday and Tuesday saw non-conference play continue, as Indianapolis visited Cedarville Monday for a 77-55 loss, while McKendree fell 77-68 at Lindenwood and Missouri S&T dropped an 84-51 decision at D-I Indiana State on Tuesday.
[2 // only one remains]
After the first week of action, nine teams had begun the 2017-18 slate undefeated, and by the second week of the season there were just three unbeaten teams left. Now, after the third week and entering league action, Southern Indiana remains
the only unbeaten team in the loop. In addition to the Screaming Eagles’ accomplishment of six consecutive wins, all have been secured against regional opponents. Four of their six wins have been at home in Evansville, coming against Northwood, Saginaw Valley, Ohio Dominican and Wayne State. The other two wins came in a neutral-site venue against Grand Valley State and Northern Michigan in the Thanksgiving Classic hosted by Bellarmine.
[3 // two teams repped in national poll]
For another week, Drury remains the only team ranked in the
Top 25, but Southern Indiana is inching ever closer to that group. The Panthers moved up from No. 11 to No. 9 after getting back on track with two wins last week, while the Screaming Eagles continued its undefeated streak to earn 43 points and sit just one spot away from the 25th-ranked team.
[4 // weekly honoree nearing record]
With her eighth
GLVC Player of the Week award Monday, Jessica Kelliher has earned the most weekly accolades since former Lewis teammate Mariyah Brawner-Henley earned nine from 2013-16 and crept closer to becoming the most-honored league player in history as it relates to weekly awards. Former Southern Indiana standout LeAnn Freeland currently holds the record with 14, which she accumulated from 1993-1997. As a junior, Kelliher is more than on pace to surpass that mark with consistent improvement since she first put on a Flyers’ uniform. Two weekly accolades were awarded to her as a freshman in 2015-16, she earned four as a sophomore last season and already collected two in just three weeks this season.
[5 // a little o’ this, a little o’ that]
Illinois Springfield (4-1) continues to lead NCAA Division II teams with its 8.4 blocks per game, having grabbed 42 total (fifth in NCAA) in five games this season. The Prairie Stars also lead D-II with a single-game high team rebound total of 70 from Nov. 13 against MacMurray. Quincy happens to be a close second with the 68 it grabbed against Trevecca Nazarene on Nov. 11. UW-Parkside has attempted the most three-pointers this season (261) and is fifth nationally with its 73 made. Maryville has taken good care of the ball in comparison to all other teams in D-II, as its 38 turnovers are the lowest total of teams that have played two or more games so far. The Saints 9.5 giveaways per game are the second-best mark in D-II. Additionally, Indianapolis has extended its national-best streak of 321 consecutive games with at least one 3-pointer. The Greyhounds began the streak over a decade ago on Jan. 13, 2007. Individually, Bellarmine’s Raven Merriweather scored 17 points in a 77-63 loss to Grand Valley State No. 26, which allowed her to join 27 others in the Knights’
1,000-point club. Southern Indiana’s Randa Harshbarger has found her way to the top spot in two NCAA statistical categories, including her game-high 11 steals on Nov. 12 versus Saginaw Valley State, which has helped her remain in a tie with an NCAA-best 25 steals. Lewis’ Jessica Kelliher also holds two of the best national stats, including field goals made (63-of-98) and points per game (26.8).