A-10 Women's Basketball Notebook - 1/7

This is the Atlantic 10 Conference's Women's Basketball Notebook for the week ending January 6, 2008.

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A-10 PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Kate Mills - Massachusetts
Senior, Forward
Elkton, Md. / Ursuline Academy

Mills averaged 20.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.5 blocks and shot a blistering 69.2% from the floor in two contests for the Minutewomen ... added 2.0 steals and 2.0 assists per game ... shot 9-for-11 (.818) from the field in a 68-58 win over Longwood on Jan. 3 to tie her own mark of best shooting percentage in the A-10 this season ... finished with 20 points, eight rebounds and three steals ... had 21 points, seven rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals in a 59-56 loss at Providence on Dec. 31, her 100th career game ... third Player of the Week honor.

A-10 ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

Ta'Shia Phillips - Xavier
Freshman, Forward/Center
Indianapolis, Ind. / Brebeuf Jesuit HS

Phillips averaged 12.7 points per game and 9.3 rebounds per game in a 2-1 week for the Musketeers ... notched her eighth double-double of the season with a 16-point, 14-rebound effort in Xavier's 51-46 win at Kentucky on Jan. 1 ... was 8-of-10 from the free throw line and connected on a couple of late free throws to ice the game ... tallied double-digit rebounds for the 11th time this season on Jan. 4 versus Kansas and scored 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting in Xavier's 65-55 win over No. 7 Georgia on Jan. 6 ... seventh Rookie of the Week honor.

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NEWS FROM AROUND THE ATLANTIC 10

WEEKLY HONOR ROLL

• Charlotte senior forward Danielle Burgin averaged a double-double of 12. 5 points and 12 rebounds in a 2-0 week for the 49ers. Freshman teammate Shannon McCallum added 13.5 points and 3.5 assists per game
• Senior guard Sarah-Jo Lawrence of George Washington averaged 14.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists in two wins for GW, including a win at #18 Auburn
• Xavier sophomore forward Amber Harris averaged 12 points and 8.6 rebounds in a 2-1 week for the Musketeers. She scored 19 points in a win over #7 Georgia (1/6)
• UMass freshman forward Teya Wright averaged 8.5 points and 10.5 rebounds on the week ... St. Bonaventure sophomore forward Dana Mitchell averaged 22 points and six rebounds after a 34-point effort at Cornell
• Dayton senior forward Nikki Oakland tallied 17 points and 11 rebounds for her sixth double-double of the season
• Saint Louis sophomore guard Theresa Lisch tallied 27 points in SLU's only game of the week
• Duquesne senior center Jade Singleton scored 20 points and added seven rebounds in Duquesne's lone game of the week
• Richmond freshman guard Brittani Shells averaged 14.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in two games on the week
• Saint Joseph's freshman center Sarah Acker averaged 12 points and 6.5 rebounds in a 1-1 week for SJU
• Temple junior forward Shanea Cotton averaged 6.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game in two contests
• Rhode Island freshman guard Megan Shoniker scored a game-high 18 points and added five rebounds in URI's lone game of the week.

GW IN THE RANKS

The Colonials returned to the Associated Press Top 25 rankings on Dec. 24 and moved to 17th this week (1/7) after a win over then-#18 Auburn on Jan. 3. The Colonials were ranked in the AP top 25 for 21 straight weeks dating back to week three of 2006-07 before dropping out on Dec. 4. The ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Top 25 poll listed the Colonials at No. 19 on Dec. 31. In the preseason, the Colonials were ranked No. 10 in Slam Magazine, No. 11 in the Sporting News, No. 13 in Lindy's and No. 24 in Athlon Sports.

RANKED WINS

Temple, Xavier, George Washington and Saint Joseph's have combined to beat six ranked opponents so far this season. Most recently, Xavier upset #7 Georgia on Jan. 6, 65-55, for its second win over a ranked opponent this season. Xavier moved to 7-17 all-time versus ranked teams. Georgia was the highest ranked team XU had ever beaten at home and the highest ranked team XU had beaten since an upset win in the 2001 NCAA Mideast Regional Semifinal over No. 3 Tennessee. GW topped its second ranked foe defeating #18 Auburn, 68-66, in Alabama on Jan. 3. George Washington also upset #10 Texas A&M, 66-65, in overtime in DC. With the win at home, GW improved to 15-25 all-time against ranked opponents at home, 15-12 under McKeown and 12-6 since 1997. Saint Joseph's also upset then-#15 Auburn, 71-69, in the championship game of the Hawk Classic (12/29). The Hawks have won four of their last eight games versus ranked opponents with its most recent win over Auburn. They are 31-104 all-time versus ranked foes. Temple topped then-#22/20 Purdue 61-47 on Nov. 24 in St. Thomas. Temple is now 10-80 versus ranked teams and the Purdue win was the last over a ranked opponent for TU since Jan. 19, 2006 , when they topped then #9 Rutgers, 48-47. Finally, Xavier defeated #24 NC State in Raleigh, 51-49, on Dec. 4.

A-10 HIGHLIGHTS

• Four A-10 teams have defeated six ranked opponents- Temple, Xavier, George Washington and Saint Joseph's, including two top ten teams (Georgia, Texas A&M)
• After opening the season at 0-2, Dayton is second nationally with the longest win streak in the nation with 14 straight victories. Only Arkansas (15) has more consecutive wins. The streak is the longest in school history
• St. Bonaventure is off to the Bonnies' best start since 1979-80 with a 12-3 mark through 15 games. It marks the most non-conference win in school history. The Bonnies won six road games straight and eight overall. SBU's eight away wins are the most in the nation
• GW knocked off its second ranked team of the season with a 68-66 win at #18 Auburn on Jan. 3. The Colonials also defeated then-#10 Texas A&M, 66-65, in overtime on Dec. 21
• Temple has played six Top 25 teams, five of which are ranked in the Top 10
• Xavier freshman Ta'Shia Phillips has earned six of the first eight Rookie of the Week honors. She entered the week ranked second in the nation in rebounds with 12.3 boards per game and recorded her second 20-rebound performance on Dec. 9

LEAGUE STREAKS

Dayton has won 15-straight contests since opening 0-2 which ranks second in the nation and sets a school record ... Saint Louis sophomore guard Theresa Lisch has made 16 consecutive free throws ... The Flyers have hit at least one three point shot in 203 consecutive games dating back to 2001, which leads the A-10 ... George Washington is riding a seven-game win streak ... UD has won seven straight home games ... Temple won its record-tying 15th-straight Big Five victory with a win over Villanova (12/21).

COED STREAKS

Dayton also has the longest combined men's and women's basketball streak in the country. With 14 straight women's wins and 11 straight men's wins, Dayton's 25 straight basketball wins is five better than Kansas.

LEAGUE STREAKS ENDED

St. Bonaventure saw a six-game road winning streak snapped at Syracuse (12/31). The Bonnies have a nation-leading eight road wins overall ... Xavier snapped a 10-game losing streak versus ranked opponents with a win over #24 NC State (12/4) ... GW's streak of 21-straight weeks in the AP Top 25 came to an end on Dec. 4 when the Colonials were receiving votes in the latest poll ... Xavier snapped a 13-game home winning streak at Cintas Center dating back to last season with a home loss to Liberty (11/25) ... St. Bona's five-game winning streak came to an end after a loss at Bowling Green on Nov. 24. The 5-0 start equaled the program's best start in `05-06 ... George Washington's 15-game home winning streak, which ranked eighth in the nation, was snapped in a loss to #6/7 Rutgers on Nov. 18 ... UMass broke a streak of 12 years without a win over instate rival Boston College after a 69-66 victory over the Eagles on Nov. 14.

HOME IS WHERE THE WINS ARE

Dayton (6-0), Massachusetts (6-0) and St. Bonaventure (3-0) are a combined 15-0 at their respective home arenas. Dayton's six wins have come in the midst of a nation-leading 14-game winning steak. The Minutewomen's 6-0 home start is the team's best since the 1995-96 season. St. Bonaventure has three home wins, but has won seven away games which is currently tops in the nation. GW has won five straight home games since snapping a 15-game home winning streak in a loss to #6 Rutgers (11/18) while Temple is 5-1 at home and is averaging a win margin of 25 points in its five victories.

HIGH-RANKING HOSTS

• Then-#14/12 George Washington hosted #6/7 Rutgers (11/18) in a game broadcast on ESPNU which featured the two highest ranked teams, men's or women's, to meet in the 33-year history of the Smith Center. The Colonials lost 67-42 snapping their 15-game home-court winning streak. GW is the last A-10 team to defeat a Top 10 team (non-conference play) with a win over #10 Texas A&M on Dec. 20. GW has had wins over top-ten programs in each of the last two years after defeating #10 Georgia on Dec. 28, 2006.
• Saint Joseph's hosted #5/6 Rutgers on Nov. 28 in Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse. RU was the highest-ranked opponent the Hawks have faced since hosting #5/6 Penn State on January 29, 2004 (L, 80-44). SJU also hosted No. 1 Connecticut at the Palestra on December 21, 2003 (L, 87-34).
• Xavier topped #7 Georgia, 66-55, at home on Jan. 7. XU is now 7-17 all-time versus AP ranked teams. Georgia is the higest ranked team XU has ever beaten at home.

A-10 LEADERS

Xavier freshman forward Ta'Shia Phillips has eight double-doubles to lead the Conference ... junior guard Kristi Little (3.36 spg) of Duquesne is the early defensive leader having snagged a career-high nine steals in the Dukes' season-opener (11/9) ... senior Jerri Taylor of Xavier hit a school-record nine three-point field goals as the league leader ... George Washington senior point guard Kimberly Beck posted a league-best 12 assists on Nov. 24. Beck's 12 assists were the most by an A-10 player since she registered 13 in NCAA play in March of 2006 versus Old Dominion ... Phillips grabbed a school-record 20 rebounds on two different occasions (last 12/9) so far this season. The last time an A-10 player besides Phillips grabbed 20 or more rebounds was on March 17, 2007 when Jessica Adair (GW) had 21 boards in an NCAA Tournament win ... sophomore guard Theresa Lisch tied a school record of 35 points on Dec. 22 which is the most points scored in a game this season ... GW's 98 points over Brown (1/6) were the most scored this season and the most by GW since 2000, and the 76 point margin of victory set a new A-10 record.

30-POINT SCORERS

Xavier sophomore forward Amber Harris recorded the league's first 30-point performance in a win over Penn State (11/15) and was joined by Carlene Hightower of La Salle with 30 points in a loss at Drexel (11/17). Senior forward Nikki Oakland of Dayton topped both performances with a career-high 32 points in a win over Akron (12/2). Sophomore guard Theresa Lisch of Saint Louis scored a league-high 35 points on Dec. 22 tying a Saint Louis scoring record dating back to 1980. Sophomore forward Dana Mitchell scored a career-high 34 points on Jan. 3. It was her league-leading eighth game above 20 points.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Since 2001, the A-10 has had three different schools ranked in the top 15 of the AP's Top 25 polls (George Washington, Temple, Xavier). Overall, seven different A-10 women's programs have graced the AP's top 15 and five have been in the top 10. George Washington peaked at No. 8 in 2007.
• Since 2003, the A-10 has had at least four schools earn postseason bids each year, including five schools for the last two seasons straight. Three A-10 schools earned NCAA bids in 2007 and 2005. George Washington was a No. 5 seed in the 2007 NCAA Championship and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen.
• Since the WNBA began in 1997, 13 A-10 players have been drafted, including five first round picks. The A-10 has had two first round picks in the last two years.
• The A-10 boasts two head coaches who have won gold medals at the Olympic Games in Dawn Staley (Temple) and Suzie McConnell-Serio (Duquesne). McConnell-Serio (`88), who played in the A-10 with Penn State, will be inducted into the women's basketball Hall of Fame in the spring of 2008 and holds the current NCAA record for career assists (1,307).