Women's Basketball Opens Season Hosting Chevrolet Classic
11/16/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 16, 2001
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This Week's Action
Michigan State Hosts Spartan Chevrolet ClassicWhen Friday-Saturday, November 16-17, 2001 November 16 Game 1 Liberty vs. UCLA, 6 p.m. Game 2 Buffalo vs. Michigan State, 8 p.m. November 17 Game 3 Buffalo vs. Liberty / UCLA, 6 p.m. Game 4 Michigan State vs. Liberty / UCLA, 8 p.m. Site East Lansing, Mich. (Breslin Center/14,659) Television None Radio The Fan 730 AM Coaches MSU: Joanne P. McCallie (Northwestern 1987) Overall: 177-91 (10th year), MSU: 10-18 (2nd year) Buffalo: Cheryl Dozier Overall: 52-32 (4th year), UB: 52-32 (4th year) Liberty: Carey Green Overall: 41-20 (3rd year), LU: 41-20 (3rd year) UCLA: Kathy Oliver Overall: 121-108 (9th year), UCLA: 121-108 (9th year)
Tip-Off -- Michigan State opens its 30th year of varsity competition hosting the 2001 Spartan Chevrolet Classic this Friday and Saturday (Nov. 16-17) at the Breslin Center. The Chevrolet Classic features Buffalo, Liberty, UCLA and Michigan State. On Friday, the first match-up will feature Liberty vs. UCLA at 6 p.m., followed by Buffalo and Michigan State at 8 p.m. On Saturday (Nov. 17), Buffalo will play at 6 p.m., while the Spartans will play at 8 p.m.
Scouting Michigan State -- MSU returns six letterwinners from a team that posted a 10-18 overall mark in 2000-01. The Spartans also welcome five newcomers to the team.
Top returnees for the Spartans include: sophomore forward Julie Pagel, junior guard Vnemina Reese, sophomore guard Candice Jackson and senior forward Abby Salscheider. Pagel is MSU's leading-returning scorer (11.2 ppg) and rebounder (7.8 rpg) from the 2000-01 season. Reese averaged 10.3 points and 3.7 assists last year, while Salscheider averaged 5.1 points and 3.1 assists. Jackson missed the final 15 games after suffering a torn ACL against Ohio State Jan. 4.
MSU Head Coach Joanne P. McCallie -- Joanne P. McCallie is in her second season at the helm of the MSU basketball program. McCallie was named to the position on March 27, 2000 becoming just the fourth coach in MSU women's basketball history. She is in her 10th year overall as a head coach, compiling a 177-91 (.660) overall mark. Prior to her arrival at MSU, McCallie spent eight years as the head coach at Maine, guiding the Black Bears to a 167-73 mark including six straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
The Last Time Out -- MSU used a 15-2 run to open the game and defeated RTU Klondaika 88-51 on Sunday afternoon at the Breslin Center. Four players scored in double figures in the win, led by sophomore forward Julie Pagel with 19 points and nine rebounds. Junior guard Vnemina Reese added 16 points and 10 assists, while senior forward Abby Salscheider and freshman center Kelli Roehrig each pumed in 12 points.
Spartan Chevrolet Classic Field
Buffalo Bulls
Mid-American Conference member Buffalo, under the direction of former MSU assistant coach Cheryl Dozier, posted a 19-9 overall mark in 2000-01. This is the first-ever meeting between the schools.
The Bulls are led by sophomore forward Jessica Kochendorfer (Allen, Mich./Quincy HS) and sophomore guard Virginia Jennings (Nashville, Mich./Hastings HS). Kochendorfer averaged 7.4 points and 5.3 rebounds last year, while Jennings averaged 4.8 points and 2.6 rebounds.
Liberty Lady Flames
Liberty finished the 2000-01 campaign with a 18-12 overall mark. The Lady Flames advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three years, falling to Georgia 77-48 in the first round. Liberty has a pair of Grand Rapids natives on its roster in 6-8 freshman forward/center Katie Feenstra and 6-7 junior center Maribeth Feenstra. This is the first-ever meeting between the schools.
UCLA Bruins
UCLA posted a 6-23 overall mark in 2000-01. The Bruins return 12 letterwinners, including the Pac-10's leading scorer senior guard Michelle Greco who averaged 19.9 points per game. UCLA won the only meeting in the series, a 82-57 victory on Dec. 29, 1992.
Chevy Classic History - The 2001-02 season marks the 14th year of the MSU Chevrolet Classic. The Chevrolet Classic started in 1986 and has been played each year except for 1998.
MSU has advanced to the title game in 12 of the 13 classics. The Spartans have won the tournament seven times.
Spartan Notebook
Season Openers - MSU begins its 30th season of competition in 2001-02. The Spartans have compiled an all-time mark of 17-12 (.586) in season openers.
MSU opened the 2000-01 season with a 76-50 win over Arkansas State in the first round of the Spartan Chevrolet Classic.
The Lone Senior - Senior forward Abby Salscheider is the Spartans' lone senior in 2001-02. With a young squad, the Bluffton, Ind., native will be expected to take on an even larger role this season. As a junior, Salscheider averaged 5.1 points and 3.1 rebounds. She scored in double digits four times, including 12 points against Central Michigan and Penn State.
The Back Court - Junior Vnemina Reese and sophomore Candice Jackson give the Spartans a solid 1-2 punch at the guard positions. Reese, who is a two-year starter at point guard, averaged 10.3 points, 3.7 assists and 3.7 rebounds in 28 games last year. Jackson, who missed the final 15 games after suffering a torn ACL on Jan. 4, gives the Spartans an outside shooting touch.
Newcomers Kristin Haynie and Cortne Ellis will give the Spartans an extra punch. Ellis, a 5-foot-9 guard from Oak Park High School, was a member of the Detroit News and Detroit Free Press Dream Teams after averaging 26.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 3.0 steals as a senior. Five-foot-6 Haynie was the Michigan Gatorade Player of the Year and runner-up for Miss Michigan Basketball after averaging 21.3 points, 7.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 6.1 steals as a senior at Mason High School.
The Front Court - The Spartans return forwards Julie Pagel, Maria Recker and Abby Salscheider and center Jennifer Callier. Pagel is MSU's leading returning scorer (11.2 ppg) and rebounder (7.8 rpg). Salscheider averaged 5.1 points and 3.1 rebounds in 2000-01, while Recker averaged 4.0 points and 1.2 rebounds. Meanwhile, Callier appeared in 27 games and was second on the squad in field goal percentage (.495, 49-99). In addition, Callier averaged 4.2 points and 3.7 rebounds.
MSU welcomes forward Syreeta Bromfield, forward Joy Johnson and center Kelli Roehrig to the squad. Six-foot Bromfield is a transfer from Tallahassee Junior College, where she closed her career at TCC's all-time leading scorer (1,055 points) and rebounder (529 boards). 6-1 Johnson was an AAU All-American and Street and Smith All-American. Johnson was the team MVP and a second-team all-state honoree as a senior at Dunbar High School. Roehrig is the tallest member of the team at 6-4 and was a USA Today honorable mention selection as a senior.
Young Squad Too - MSU will carry a young roster this season. The Spartan team will feature one senior, four juniors, three sophomores and four freshmen. In all, seven of the 12 players will be in their first season at MSU.
The Return of Jackson - Sophomore guard Candice Jackson returns to the Spartan line-up after missing the final 15 games with a knee injury. Jackson, who tore her ACL against Ohio State Jan. 4, was averaging 7.5 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists in the first 13 games. The Lansing, Mich., native scored a career-best 26 points including six three pointers in a 101-52 win over Chicago State.
Pagel's Numbers - Julie Pagel turned in an impressive rookie campaign. The 5-foot-11 forward averaged a team-best 11.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.9 steals. She started 25 of 28 games and averaged 29.9 minutes per game. Pagel was named to the All-Big Ten honorable mention team by the media and was selected as MSU's MVP.
The Touring Crew - Juniors Jennifer Callier and Maria Recker were both members of the 2001 Big Ten Foreign Tour squad during the summer. The duo traveled to Switzerland and France during their 10-day visit. Callier averaged 6.8 points and 6.0 rebounds in five games, while Recker averaged 7.0 points and 1.8 rebounds.
Home State Pride - Four members of the 2001-02 Spartan squad hail from the State of Michigan. Cortne Ellis (Oak Park), Kristin Haynie (Mason), Candice Jackson (Lansing) and Julie Pagel (Utica) are all from the Great Lakes State.
Getting Defensive - One of the keys to this season will be MSU's defense. The Spartans led the Big Ten and ranked 25th in the nation in scoring defense, allowing 60.2 points per game. In the team's 28 games, MSU held opponents to 60 points or less on 15 occasions. In the final six games, the Spartan defense held opponents to just 54.0 points.
In addition, MSU's defense led the Big Ten in field goal percentage defense (.387) and rebound defense (32.6) last year.
New Faces - Five new faces dot the 2001-02 MSU Women's Basketball Roster. Newcomers Syreeta Bromfield (F, 6-0), Cortne Ellis (G/F, 5-9), Kristin Haynie (G, 5-6), Joy Johnson (F, 6-1) and Kelli Roehrig (C, 6-4) join the Spartans this fall. Bromfield is a junior college transfer from Tallahassee Community College, where she helped lead the team to a third-place finish at the 2001 National Junior College National Basketball Championships. Ellis was a Nike and adidas All-American, who averaged 23 points and 4.5 rebounds as a senior at Oak Park (Mich.) High School. Haynie was an all-conference, all-district, all-region and all-state selection at Mason (Mich.) High School, while Johnson (Dayton, Ohio/Dunbar HS) was ranked 65th by All-Star Girls Report. Roehrig (Papillion, Neb./Papillion-Lavista HS) led her high school team in scoring and rebounding as both a junior and a senior.
Approaching Milestones -
* Head Coach Joanne P. McCallie needs three more victories to reach the 180-career win plateau.
* Abby Salscheider needs 50 more points to reach 400 for her career. She enters this season with 350 career points in 87 games.
* Maria Recker needs seven more three-point field goals to moved into sixth place on MSU's all-time three-point chart. Recker enters the season with 36 career threes, good for ninth all-time at MSU.
* Vnemina Reese needs 14 more points to reach 500 for her career.
* Julie Pagel needs 187 more points to reach 500 for her career.
Look, I'm On Television - The Spartans will make seven appearances on television in 2001-02. MSU entertains Georgia as part of the Big Ten-SEC Challenge on Jan. 5. The game will be shown on CBS television as part of a women's basketball tripleheader. The early game features Penn State at Vanderbilt at noon, followed by MSU-Georgia at 2 p.m. and UConn at Tennessee at 4 p.m.
In addition, MSU will appear on Fox Sports Chicago twice - vs. Northwestern (Jan. 27) and at Indiana (Feb. 3) - and on AT&T Cable four times - Indiana (Dec. 30), Penn State (Jan. 20), Purdue (Feb. 1) and Iowa (Feb. 20).
All of MSU's games will be broadcast live on the radio (The Fan 730 AM) and over the internet at www.msuspartans.com.
The Schedule - The Spartans face a challenging schedule in 2001-02. Eleven teams that the Spartans will face in 2001-02 made a post-season appearance in either the NCAA or WNIT. NCAA Tournament teams include Georgia, Penn State, Wisconsin, Liberty, Iowa, Michigan and Final Four participant Purdue. The WNIT post-season tournament participants include Florida International, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio State.
In the Big Ten cluster schedule, the Spartans will face Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Penn State and Wisconsin twice and Michigan, Northwestern, Ohio State and Purdue once.
