Billikens Conclude Season
March 11, 2008
THAT'S A WRAP: The Saint Louis Billikens concluded the 2007-08 season with a 71-58 loss to Saint Joseph's in the first round of the Atlantic 10 Championship March 7 in Philadelphia. The Bills posted a 10-20 overall record, and their 5-9 A-10 regular-season slate was a game better than the 4-10 mark they registered a year ago. RECAPPING THE SAINT JOSEPH'S GAME: The Billikens narrowed an 11-point deficit to four midway through the second half but could draw no closer. Katie Paganelli scored 13 points, while Maggie Hennegan tallied 10 points and a team-high six rebounds. Theresa Lisch added eight points, five rebounds and a team-high five assists. RECORDS FOR CHARITY: For a second consecutive season, the Billikens set school records for free throws made and free-throw percentage. Saint Louis made 509 free throws and shot 75.9 percent (509-of-671) from the stripe this season, topping the previous standards of 497 and 74.7 percent. DUO IMPACTS BILLS' SEASON LISTS: On the SLU season charts, Theresa Lisch and Amanda Kemezys cracked the top 10 in three categories apiece. Lisch landed in second place all-time with 112 free throws made and an 88.2-percent mark (112-of-127) from the free-throw line, and her 16.8 ppg is 10th best in program history. Kemezys shot 81.7 percent from the foul line, good for sixth in SLU annals, and also made the top 10 with 32 blocks (tied for seventh) and 228 rebounds (tied for eighth). CLIMBING THE CAREER CHARTS: On the SLU career lists, Katie Paganelli moved into eighth place with 87 3-point field goals, Theresa Lisch moved into ninth place with 237 free throws made, Hayley Leake finished in ninth place with 208 assists and Amanda Kemezys vaulted into ninth place with 48 blocks.
THE BEST IN CLASS: Theresa Lisch sank 112 free throws this season, the most ever by a Billiken sophomore. Lisch drained 39 3-pointers, good for third on the sophomore list, while Katie Paganelli netted 37 treys to rank fifth on the sophomore chart. Amanda Kemezys had 32 blocks, tying her for second all-time among SLU sophomores, and 228 rebounds, good for a third-place tie. The 94 assists registered by Hayley Leake place her fourth on the season list for seniors. ALMOST THREE DOZEN: Theresa Lisch scored 35 points at Florida on Dec. 22, tying the school record established by Kate Hart (Jan. 5, 1980) and first tied by Kelly George (Nov. 28, 1998). Lisch's scoring performance is also the best in the A-10 this season. WINDEX WOMEN: Rebounding was a Saint Louis strength in 2007-08 as the Bills finished the campaign fourth in the A-10 in rebounding margin for all games (+3.6). On the offensive boards, Saint Louis finished fifth in all games (13.83 orpg) and fourth in conference games (13.93 orpg). The Billikens tallied at least 15 offensive rebounds 14 times this season. SLU recorded a combined +105 edge against its last 20 opponents, out-rebounding eight of those teams by a double-digit total. FREE-THROW LINE A FAMILIAR, AND FRIENDLY, PLACE: The Billikens averaged 17 made free throws and 22.4 free-throw attempts per game this season, both tops in the A-10. Saint Louis led the league and was ranked 22nd nationally in free-throw percentage, connecting at a 75.9-percent clip. The Bills shot at least 70 percent from the stripe in 23 of 30 games and shot 80 percent or better 14 times, including nine of their last 13 games. SLU was even better from the line in A-10 contests, leading the league with 77.9 percent. ON THE OFFENSIVE: Saint Louis finished fifth in the league in scoring for all games (65.6 ppg) and tied for fifth in A-10 contests (63.2). DEFENDING THE ARC: In A-10 games only, the Bills led the league in 3-point field-goal percentage defense, holding opponents to 26 percent. SLU was third in that category for all games as 31.1 percent of the opposition's treys found the mark. LISCH THE LEADER: After missing the first eight games of the season due to injury, Theresa Lisch enjoyed a successful return to the lineup. In 22 games, Lisch averaged a team-best 17.2 ppg, shot a team-high 88.2 percent from the free-throw line and averaged 5.0 rpg and 3.4 apg. Lisch did not qualify for the Atlantic 10 statistical rankings for all games because she did not play in 75 percent of SLU's contests as required by the conference. However, that did not prevent her from earning a spot on the All-Conference third team. Lisch also garnered an A-10 co-Player of the Week honor (Dec. 24) and was voted to the CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District 7 second team. BILLIKENS IN A-10 TOP 10: For all games, Amanda Kemezys was ranked among the top 10 in the Atlantic 10 Conference in five categories. Kemezys finished sixth in free-throw percentage (81.7 percent), seventh in total rebounding (7.6 rpg), seventh in offensive rebounding (2.60 orpg), 10th in field-goal percentage (48.2 percent) and tied for 10th in blocks (1.07 bpg). Hayley Leake was 10th in assist-to-turnover ratio for all games at 1.29:1. In conference games only, Theresa Lisch was fifth in scoring (16.5 ppg), seventh in free-throw percentage (83.8 percent) and tied for 10th in 3-point field goals (1.64 pg). Kemezys was sixth in total rebounding (7.5 rpg) and eighth in free-throw percentage (83.3 percent). Heather King was third in offensive rebounding (3.21 orpg), Maggie Hennegan was fourth in free-throw percentage (86.7 percent) and Leake was sixth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.68:1). HEAD COACH Shimmy Gray-Miller: Third-year head coach Shimmy Gray-Miller has the Billiken program headed in the right direction. Inheriting a team that won only four games during the 2004-05 campaign, her first SLU squad went 7-20. However, Gray-Miller led the 2006-07 Bills to a 13-17 record that included the program's first conference tournament victory since 2002, a 69-61 win over Richmond. Gray-Miller, a 1994 University of Michigan graduate, is the sixth head coach in Saint Louis women's basketball history and carries a 30-57 career record. HOPE IS A DANGEROUS THING: Freshman forward Hope Elam (Champaign, Ill./Central) hit her only field-goal attempt for two points against Saint Joseph's. JACK ON TRACK: Senior guard Jackie Gilbert (Jonesboro, Ark./Jonesboro) scored seven points on 3-of-5 shooting and added three assists, a rebound and a steal against Saint Joseph's. WAIT `TIL WE GET OUR HAYNES ON YOU: Junior forward Jameela Haynes (Miami, Fla./Pace) did not play against Saint Joseph's. HENNEGAN, BEGIN AGAIN: Sophomore forward/guard Maggie Hennegan (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Ursula) scored 10 points on 5-of-9 shooting, collected a team-high six rebounds and added two steals against Saint Joseph's. AK-55 HITS THE TARGET: Sophomore center Amanda Kemezys (Fairview Heights, Ill./Belleville East) registered eight points, two steals and a rebound against Saint Joseph's. THE KING AND I: Senior forward Heather King (Palos Hills, Ill./Amos Alonzo Stagg) posted four points, four rebounds and a steal against Saint Joseph's. SPOTS FOR KLOTZ: Sophomore forward Amy Klotz (St. Louis, Mo./Notre Dame) did not play against Saint Joseph's. LEAKE IS UNIQUE: Senior guard Hayley Leake (Silex, Mo./Silex) scored one point and had one assist against Saint Joseph's. SWISH FOR LISCH: Sophomore guard Theresa Lisch (Belleville, Ill./Althoff) chipped in eight points, five rebounds, a team-high five assists and two steals against Saint Joseph's. PAGS TO RICHES: Sophomore guard Katie Paganelli (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame) scored a team-high 13 points and added four rebounds, an assist and a steal against Saint Joseph's. NOT OUT OF THE WOODS YET: Freshman forward Lauren Woods (Belleville, Ill./Belleville East) recorded five points, two rebounds and two assists against Saint Joseph's. |
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