The following "Starting Five" points offer a quick look inside GLVC women's basketball action this week:
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[1 // last week’s review, this week’s preview]
There were 12 teams in action a week ago with Drury, Southern Indiana, Truman, Maryville, McKendree, Missouri-St. Louis, William Jewell, Illinois Springfield, and Indianapolis all earning wins. UIndy’s 103-74 result over Oakland City was one for the records book, as the Greyhounds scored the most points in program history in a single quarter (36) and also tallied the most points in a game under head coach Kristin Wodrich since she took the helm in 2016-17, while their bench scored 42 of those points. For Maryville, the 97-84 win against Christian Brothers on Saturday were the most points scored since notching 113 against Oakland City Dec. 1, 2013, as Abby Monis tallied a double-double with career highs of 19 points and 11 rebounds.
As for this week, it's a light one for GLVC women's basketball with many schools in the midst of finals and two weeks ahead of the holiday break, as only eight teams are in action. Rockhurst and William Jewell began the slate on Monday against visiting non-conference foes Central Missouri and Avila, respectively with a 59-58 win for the Cardinals and an 84-67 loss for the Hawks. No other contests are on the docket until Saturday when five teams take to the court with three more playing Sunday. All five contests on Saturday will be played on the road, including Indianapolis' and Lewis' respective trips to Midwest Region opponents Purdue Northwest and Michigan Tech. Jewell will also be in action at future league member Lincoln the same day, while Bellarmine travels to Kentucky State and Rockhurst to Rogers State. On Sunday, Drury will travel all the way to Florida to face Nova Southeastern, while Maryville will have a test at Division I foe Illinois State, and McKendree visits Northwest Missouri State.
[2 // three represented in wbca national poll]
Drury made moves again in the most recent
Women’s Basketball Coaches Poll, cracking the top 5 with a jump from sixth to fourth. The Panthers are still unbeaten at 9-0 after winning their lone contest last week, 92-63, at Arkansas Fort Smith. Despite being idle last week, Lewis (6-1) also moved up in the rankings from No. 22 to No. 20, while Truman State (9-1) continues to receive votes outside the poll while they ride a three-game winning streak.
[3 // player of the week]
Drury earned its second
weekly award in a row, following a 92-63 win at Arkansas Fort Smith, as Hailey Diestelkamp picked up her second career honor after a 30-point performance and a near-double-double with her nine rebounds. She shot .670 (14-of-21) from the field and added four assists and three steals to stuff the stat sheet in 31 minutes. This was the second time in 2018-19 that the junior scored 30+ points for her eighth overall and fourth consecutive game in double figures.
[4 // ncaa stat leaders]
In the most recent statistical report published by the NCAA through games of Dec. 10, several GLVC teams and individuals rank among the nation's top 10 in select categories. Drury leads the way with nine top-10 stats, including six that rank the highest in Division II. Those six are as follows: won-loss percentage (100.0, 9-0), turnovers forced (31.67), turnover margin (14.22), steals (160), steals per game (17.8), and assists per game (22.4). The Panthers’ mark for total assists ranks second with 202, as does their 30.0 scoring margin. Their 88.0 scoring offense is fourth-best. Rockhurst is the only other league team to rank in the top 10 in more than one category, including its 10th-best mark for three-point field goals per game (9.4) and a 41.0 (66-of-161) three-point field goal percentage that ranks ninth. Missouri S&T’s 32 defensive rebounds per game is seventh in the nation, Indianapolis comes in at No. 8 with a 48.2 (214-of-444) field-goal percentage, Truman State ranks ninth with 166 free throws made, and Bellarmine’s 12.9 steals per game is 10th. Drury’s Daejah Bernard, Lauren Holms and Hailey Diestelkamp rank among the 10 best, which include Bernard’s 36 steals (third) and Holmes’ 32 (fifth), Bernard’s 4.00 steals per game (fifth), and Diestelkamps’ 76 field goals made (eighth). The other GLVC player in the top 10 is Quincy’s Michaela Gronewold, who holds the best three-point field-goal percentage at 60.6 (20-of-33).
[5 // glvc 40th anniversary feature on nku wbb]
In Week 16 of the GLVC's 40th anniversary campaign, the first women's basketball team was featured this week. The 1999-2000 Northern Kentucky University women’s basketball team finished the season 32-2 with a NCAA Championship, including a near-perfect record of 19-1 in GLVC action. This squad not only secured the school’s first-ever NCAA Championship, but it was also the first women’s national title in league history as well. The victory made NKU the only school in the state of Kentucky to win a national championship in a women’s sport. To read more on this impressive team and the standout players from nearly two decades ago, find the feature
here.