TO OPEN THE SEASON...

4 GAMES IN 8 DAYS!

(WHO DID THE SCHEDULING?)

Yes, the #2 ranked Stormy Petrels played 4 games in 8 days to open the season.

Here are the details: 

• The Petrels averaged 91 points per game and won by an average of 26.
• The 5 senior starters averaged only 25 minutes per game... but each player averaged 5 rebounds per game, 3 assists, 13 points, and under 3 turnovers per game (which is great considering our pace and it's early in the year).
• Our bench has outscored every opponent's bench.
• For the 4 games, we shot 47% from the floor.
• Averaged over 20 assists per game 
• Forced an average 26 turnovers per game.
• Averaged 10 more rebounds per game then the opponents. (Remember our starting lineup is all but huge... 5'10", 5'8", 5'7, 5'7", 5"6")

83   OU

65   FERRUM

Four players score in double figures, led by Katie Kulavic with 19. Biz Richmann 16 pts., Anna Findley 15 pts. & 8 rebs., and Tina Grace 14 pts. Hannah Brooks chipped in 8 pts., 7 rebs., 6 assists. All dressed players saw action and the team shot 48% from the field.

91   OU

67   PIEDMONT

Every player scored, including new addition Amaris Wilson who has just joined the team (more later). We always count on Brooks to anchor our defense but this season we are looking for her to be more involved in the offense and she has responded by knocking down 10 points. Grace and Richmann each had 13 pts., and 6th man Jamie Osmanson had 10 pts. in 17 minutes. Soph. Ari Brown pulled down a career high 9 rebounds.

87   OU

60   GRINNELL

The Wheaton Invitational Tip-Off Tournament, Wheaton, Il.

Ari Brown continued her excellent play coming off the bench and scored a career high 14 pts., plus pulling down 8 rebs. in only 14 minutes of playing time. Our only true freshman, Rena Crossland, also had a career high 10 points. Soph. post Regi Howell is becoming a real presence in the post. Regi blocked 3 shots, altered 3 others, and had 7 rebs.

99   OU

68   WHEATON

Championship Game, Wheaton Tip-Off Tournament

The Stormy Petrels came out flying and played one of the finest halves of basketball I've seen at OU. By the half, OU held a 61-32 lead with 10 players scoring. Tournament MVP Kulavic had 16 by the half followed by All Tournament select Richmann with 14 and Findley with 11. The Petrels were able to maintain a tempo which suited their style of play, scoring on numerous primary and secondary break situations. When playing in the half court, unselfish play was the rule rather then the exception, as demonstrated by our 14 assists. Again we finished with 4 players scoring double digits. Soph. Kelly Reeves played a very strong 17 minutes, hitting two 3's early, as did Chelsea MacDonald who had 9 pts. The team shot 56% from the field and 48% from behind the 3 point line.

NOW, CAN WE KEEP IT UP?

Our next three games will tell us a lot about where we are.

We have 6 days before our next game at hometown rival Emory on December 2 at 6pm. They're undefeated and playing well and you know they would like nothing more than to stop our run. Remember, they had us down by 20 in the first half last season before we wore them down and won by 12.

AND THEN... 

DEPAUW COMES TO TOWN DECEMBER 5 for the first conference showdown. DePauw is ranked #3 or #5 in both national polls, and as you remember, they clipped our wings 3 times last season. Come support, need I say more!?!

Sunday, Dec. 7 at 2pm, we take on the much-improved Centre Tigers who have the best freshmen class in the conference. So far they're undefeated and have been putting the hurt on whoever they play.

NEW PLAYER

AMARIS WILSON: Amaris returns to the team after taking a year off. Amaris is a 5'9" power forward who has great ups and she'll really help us inside. She's a junior and will be around next season as well. 

HAPPENINGS

• Sad to report that Taymah Jones will be out for the season again. Taymah suffered a torn ACL in her other knee. She's been an inspiation to us all with her hard work and dedication to the team while rehabbing from her first ACL repair. Taymah's mental tenacity is absolutely astounding and I know she is capable of responding again! Her surgery is scheduled for mid-December.
• Special fan in Chicago: Biz Richmann's Granddad, who has never seen her play until our visit last weekend... and Biz did not disappoint.
• More Special Fans in Chicago: A whole horde of Nancy Kulavic's clan including two brothers, cousins, nieces and nephews all yelling "GO KATIE GO". Katie also did not disappoint. Typically, Katie said "It was embarrassing."
• Usual Special Guests in Chicago: Our many loyal parents who made the trip and also took the team downtown on the train to see beautiful (but COLD) Center City Chicago Friday evening.
• OPENING GAMES: A special thx to our home game operations crew, led by head baseball Coach Dan Giordano. I will have to pay off this Philly boy in soft pretzels and Philly Cheesesteaks.
• HAVE A HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

SCRIMMAGE SEASON ENDS

SCRIMMAGE SEASON ENDS ON AN UPPER

Two weeks ago the Stormy Petrels traveled to Pensacola to scrimmage D-II Univ. of West Florida. We held our own, outscoring UWF during the first 20 minute segment, while UCF outscored us in the second. Our new players, as well as our sophomore crew, gained valuable playing experience as we try to lengthen our bench.

We feel this is of prime importance as we prepare to uphold our lofty season goals. 

 After the scrimmage we all, including all our fans that traveled to Pensacola, gathered at the Grace's home where we were treated to a backyard shrimp boil-BBQ extravaganza, topped off with smoors cooked over an open fire. That Grace Clan and friends really know how to put on a party and I know Grandmom was watching over us.

Our senior crew was not exactly proud of how they played during the scrimmage and they came back to Atlanta and we had  two weeks of hard and productive practices preparing for our scrimmage against D-I Jacksonville State in Alabama.

Again, all our players received ample playing time and our D-III Petrels gave the Gamecocks all they could handle. Led by Kulavic, Findley and Richmond, the Petrels proved they can play at many levels of competition. New addition Kelley Reeves had an excellent scrimmage. 

As we told the players after the scrimmage, this will be the last time they will be considered an underdog as they will definitely have a target on their back every time they walk on the floor.

LET THE SEASON BEGIN AND IT'S BUSY FROM THE GET GO

The much anticipated 2008/09 season officially begins Saturday at 2 pm (not 7 pm as shown on the original schedule) against visiting Ferrum College from the USA South Conference. Ferrum is a pre-season pick to challenge for the top spot in their conference. They play an uptempo style of game so get ready for some end to end action.

The Stormy Petrels are again on the Dorough hardwoods Tuesday at 7 pm against NCAA Tournament foe Piedmont College. Always difficult and well coached, Piedmont is coming off two consecutive NCAA appearances and are poised to make a run for three in a row.

We then hop on a plane for Chicago and play in the prestigious Wheaton College Tipoff tournament Friday and Saturday. Friday we play Grinnell from Iowa and if we win we will probably play host Wheaton Saturday afternoon.

That will be four games in eight days. This will be a good test to see where we stand and how deep we are.

MORE PRE-SEASON ACCOLADES

The ESPN/USA Today/WBCA poll came out and they also gave the Stormy Petrels a #2 ranking matching the D3 Hoops ranking. UW-Whitewater is ranked # 1 in both polls. DePauw is ranked #3 in one and #5 in the other. Trinity also received votes in both polls. 

Senior Katie Kulavic has received pre-season All American recognition by D3 Hoops. She is on the second team as one of the two guards. Katie is 344 points away from becoming the leading scorer in SCAC history. Senior Anna Findley also is poised to surpass the record. 

HAPPENINGS

BASKETBALL MADNESS: Friday evening at 9pm. Both the women and men will present the 2008-09 players, followed by a slam dunk contest for the guys, the 3-point contest for both the men and women, and then two 10-minute scrimmages by both teams. 

Come on out and get a preview of what this season will bring.

RECRUITING: We're on to a special recruiting class and hopefully we will see them all in black and gold come next season... 

SATURDAY'S HALF TIME SHOW: The St Pius X talented 8th Grade team will play a intrasquad mini-game during half time. 

WEBCAST: If you can't make it to the games, you can follow along via our online webcast of all home games and this year selected away games. Also, Live Stats are available this season.