SBU BEARCATS (6-15, 4-10 MIAA) at
#10 EMPORIA STATE LADY HORNETS (20-2, 13-2 MIAA)

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2010 • 5:30 PM
EMPORIA, KS • WHITE AUDITORIUM
LIVE STATS: www.emporia.edu/athletics/livestats/basketball/xlive.htm
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SBU NOTES | ESU NOTES
   
EMPORIA, Kan. – The SBU Bearcats take their longest winning streak in two seasons on the road, to start the toughest stretch on the MIAA calendar. The 'Cats, winners of three straight, travel to Emporia to take on the tenth-ranked Lady Hornets of Emporia State. After dropping four straight games by an average margin of just four points, SBU has bounced back, winning their last three, including a game against third-place Pittsburg State, by more than 13 points on average.

Senior Rachel Graves had one of the best shooting nights of her career against Pitt State last week, where she put up 24 points and went 7-for-10 and 6-for-7 from three. Graves is scoring 12.9 points per game, 11th-most in the MIAA. Graves is also among the leaders in a few other key categories, including three-pointers made, (4th, averaging 2.7 treys a game), three-point percentage, (4th, at 38.9%) and minutes played per game (5th, with 31.8).

Point guard Ashleigh Gallio is one of the MIAA's top passers, averaging 3.8 assists a game, ranking her fourth among the league leaders. Courtney Heady has been a strong contributor over the last week, against Pitt State and Truman. Heady scored 20 and 18, with 11 three-pointers between the two games. Her 20 points against Pittsburg and 6 rebounds against Truman were both new career highs.

THE COACHES AND THE ALL-TIME SERIES 
SBU head coach J.C. Carter is in his second season on the bench for the Bearcats, where he has earned a career mark of 14-35. Last season, Carter led the 'Cats to an upset of nationally-ranked Emporia State on their own floor, and earned a berth into the MIAA Tournament.  

Brandon Schneider is in his twelfth season as head coach of the Lady Hornets, where he is the program's all-time leader in wins and winning percentage with a school record of 296-69 (.811). During his tenure, Emporia State has captured six MIAA regular season titles and four MIAA Tournament championships. Emporia has made four trips to the NCAA Elite Eight, with two appearances in the Final Four. The Hornets lead the all-time series with SBU, 27-11, including the last three matchups, one of which came at last season's MIAA Tournament.

SCOUTING THE LADY HORNETS     
Emporia is the highest scoring team in the conference, and has the second-best defense in the league. Senior Cassondra Boston is the MIAA's leading scorer, averaging 18.7 points a game. Alli Volkens is another big offensive threat in the post, scoring 10.3 a game. Volkens, (7.3 rpg), Negesti Taylor (6.5 rpg), and Brittany Miller (5.8 rpg) are all among the conference leaders in rebounds.

NEXT UP FOR THE SBU BEARCATS 
The Bearcats don't any breaks this weekend, as they hit the road again to take on the Washburn Lady Blues. Washburn is second in the MIAA, just a game behind Emporia. The Blues have won five straight heading into a mid-week matchup with Central Missouri. Washburn has the highest ranked defense in the league, allowing only 54.3 points per game. Their main offensive threat is senior forward Dayna Rodriguez, who is averaging 14.7 points a game, tied for seventh in the MIAA. Hope Gregory is another key component to the Lady Blues success, collecting 9.2 points and 7.1 rebounds each night.