BILLIKEN BASKETBALL

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1 Saint Louis Women s Basketball Table of Contents / Billiken Media Relations 1 Media Information / Media Outlets Preview Outlook Roster... 6 Coaches and Staff 7 Head Coach Jill Pizzotti Assistant Coaches Support Staff Billikens 13 Greta Bujaker Jana Haywood Kirsti Holloway Star Jackson LaKia Jones Harmonie King Angie Lewis Melissa Oliver Christan Shelton Stephanie Solomon Amie Van Deurzen Shanda Greer Laniya Stevens Department of Athletics Phone Directory Review Year in Review Final Results/Statistics Conference USA stats Conference USA review Boxscores NCAA Booster Guidelines Opponents Conference USA Opponents Non-Conference Opponents Fifth Annual Coca-Cola Billiken Classic All-Time Series Records Game-by-Game Versus Opponents Billikens On The Air Billiken Records and History 69 Career Records Single-Season Records Single-Game and Miscellaneous Records Class Records Year-by-Year Statistical Leaders The 1,000-Point Club Year-by-Year Team Stats All-Time Letterwinners Where Are They Now? / The Pizzotti Coaching Tree Hall of Fame / Individual Honors Coaching Records/Year-by-Year Results The Saint Louis University Experience 85 What s a Billiken? Saint Louis University City of St. Louis University Administration Athletic Administration Academic Services / Strength and Conditioning Community Service Life on Campus Bauman-Eberhardt Center About Conference USA / C-USA Composite Schedule Jill Pizzotti Basketball Camps SAINT LOUIS QUICK FACTS Location... St. Louis, Missouri Founded Enrollment... 11,145 President... Rev. Lawrence Biondi, SJ Faculty Athletics Representative... Dr. Michael Ross Director of Athletics... Doug Woolard Senior Women s Administrator... Lori Flanagan Nickname... Billikens Colors... Blue and White NCAA Affiliation... Division I Conference... Conference USA Home Court... Bauman-Eberhardt Center (2,200) TEAM INFORMATION Head Coach... Jill Pizzotti Alma Mater... Southeast Missouri State, 89 Record at SLU (Years) (6) Career Record (Years)... Same Assistant Coach... Bobbi Morse Alma Mater... Eastern Michigan, 85 Assistant Coach... Michelle Nason Alma Mater... Bradley, 96 Assistant Coach... Ty Evans Alma Mater... Wisconsin-Whitewater, 96 Senior Manager... Samantha Williams Managers... Sean Cohen, Shane Rodriguez Overall Record C-USA Record/Finish /t-9th Starters Ret/Lost... 4/1 Letterwinners Ret/Lost... 11/3 BILLIKEN MEDIA RELATIONS Women s Basketball Contact... Chuck Yahng SID Office Phone... (314) Yahng s Home Phone... (314) Yahng s ... yahngc@slu.edu Sports Information Director... Doug McIlhagga Assistant Sports Information Director... Diana Koval Media Specialist... Betsy Primo Student Assistants... Alison Augustine Jordan Brown, Julie Felton, Christy Sharamitaro SID Fax... (314) SID Mailing Address North Grand, Room 38 St. Louis, MO Web Page... Credits Written and designed by Chuck Yahng, assistant SID. Contributors include Doug McIlhagga, Diana Koval, Betsy Primo and Nick Weber. Cover design by Carrie Fritsche. Player photos by Dave Preston and Dan Donovan. Printing by Stolze Printing Co. Cover photo by Dan Donovan. This guide can be purchased through Billiken Media Relations for $ BILLIKEN BASKETBALL 1

2 Media Information Credentials Requests for press, radio, television and photographer credentials should be sent to Billiken Media Relations, 221 N. Grand, Room 38, St. Louis, Mo Credential requests also can be phoned in to Chuck Yahng at (314) Requested credentials will be available at the door of the Bauman-Eberhardt Center. Press Services A complete play-by-play account of the game, halftime statistics and final statistics will be provided. Phone lines and fax service are available before, during and following each event by request. Interview Policy To arrange a player or coach interview, please call the Billiken Media Relations office at (314) Player interviews will be arranged according to the schedule of each individual player. Interviews usually are conducted before or after scheduled practices. Post-Game Interviews Approximately 10 minutes after each home game, Saint Louis studentathletes will be available for questions. Billiken head coach Jill Pizzotti will be available for questions following her radio show. Parking No free parking is available. However, parking is available to the media on the Saint Louis University campus. Media representatives can park in the Laclede Parking Garage at Laclede Avenue and Spring Street or Laclede and Grand Boulevard. C-USA Faxback Directory Conference USA and all its member institutions will offer media information via and fax through Pivotal Communications. The fax on demand system is intended for media use only. You may access the Fax-On-Demand directory from To acquire the phone number, please contact the Billiken Media Relations Office or Conference USA (312) When prompted, enter the request number of the document desired. Item... Document Weekly Release Statistics/Results Roster Latest Boxscore TELEVISION KTVI (FOX), Ch Berthold St. Louis, MO (314) Phone (314) Fax KMOV (CBS), Ch. 4 One Memorial Drive St. Louis, MO (314) Phone (314) Fax KSDK (NBC), Ch Market Street St. Louis, MO (314) Phone (314) Fax KPLR (WB), Ch Lindell St. Louis, MO (314) Phone (314) Fax RADIO KMOX (CBS) 1120-AM One Memorial Drive St. Louis, MO (314) Phone (314) Fax KTRS 550-AM 77 Westport Plaza, 218 St. Louis, MO (314) Phone (314) Fax KFNS 590-AM 8045 Big Bend St. Louis, MO (314) Phone (314) Fax MEDIA OUTLETS Metro Networks 8251 Maryland Ave. St. Louis, MO (314) Phone (314) Fax NEWSPAPERS University News 20 North Grand Blvd. St. Louis, MO (314) Phone (314) Fax St. Louis Post-Dispatch 900 North Tucker St. Louis, MO (314) Phone (314) Fax Belleville News-Democrat 120 South Illinois Belleville, IL (314) Phone (618) Fax Alton Telegraph 111 East Broadway Alton, IL (800) Phone (618) Fax WIRE SERVICES Associated Press 900 N. Tucker St. Louis, MO (314) Phone (314) Fax BILLIKEN BASKETBALL

3 Season Preview The Billikens - Front row: Star Jackson, Greta Bujaker, Melissa Oliver, Harmonie King. Middle row: assistant coach Bobbi Morse, senior manager Samantha Williams, head coach Jill Pizzotti, assistant coach Ty Evans, assistant coach Michelle Nason. Back row: manager Sean Cohen, LaKia Jones, Jana Haywood, Amie Van Deurzen, Stephanie Solomon, Shanda Greer, Angie Lewis, Kirsti Holloway, Christan Shelton, Laniya Stevens, manager Shane Rodriguez BILLIKEN BASKETBALL 3

4 Saint Louis Season Outlook Senior day on the last home game of the season should be short. In fact, it will be cancelled altogether. Why? For the first time in coach Jill Pizzotti s tenure, the Billikens do not have a senior on the roster. But Billiken fans need not worry. The Bills are headlined by a deep and talented eight-player junior class, five of whom have started at some point in their careers. In fact, the seven returning juniors already have combined for 129 starts during their first two seasons. Youthful experience will be the catch phrase around the Billiken women s basketball team. Saint Louis graduated three players from last season but returns 11 players who accounted for 79 percent of the team s points and 62 percent of the rebounding from last season. Our kids are poised to have their best year ever in the history of our program, Pizzotti said. I truly believe that. I m not concerned at all that we don t have any seniors because all the players have had plenty of game action. All the juniors have earned a wealth of playing time. Five of them have been starters at some point in their careers already, so it s not as if we are just throwing them into the fire. BACKCOURT Without a doubt, the strength and depth of the team lies in the guards. With so many guards, no matter who starts, the squad has a deep guard rotation. Pizzotti will be able to make substitutions with fresh bodies and not suffer a drop off. We ve got the best corps of guards we ve ever had, Pizzotti said. They have size, athleticism and ability. Leading the way is standout junior Christan Shelton. She was a third-team All-Conference USA selection and a tremendous all-around threat for Saint Louis. She led the Billikens in scoring at 13.4 ppg, was second in rebounding at 4.9 rpg and third in assists with 41. Chris has a big challenge this season, Pizzotti said. She has to understand the responsibility that comes with being the player that the team needs to score to be successful. The best example was in the tournament game against Memphis. She recognized that all of our guards were hurt and that the scoring was all on her. We told her You have to have the game Christan Shelton was a third-team All- Conference USA selection last year. of your life and that s the way she approached the game. She needs to approach every game in that manner. Star Jackson was thrown into the crucible of the starting point guard role last season and responded better than even the most optimistic Billiken fan could have hoped. After playing just 75 minutes as a freshman, Jackson played a team-high 988 minutes and handed out 103 assists last year. She averaged 8.7 ppg and was second on the team with 23 three-pointers. Jackson also tied for the team lead with 38 steals. She was thrown into a situation where she had to play almost 40 minutes at the most important position on the floor, Pizzotti said. The biggest challenge was the mental pressure of having to play almost every minute of every game. She did a tremendous job handling the team. Pizzotti has a pleasant dilemma with the return of Harmonie King. The junior was slotted to take the starting point guard position last season, but hurt her knee and missed the first 15 games of the season. When King did return, she handed out 30 assists and added almost six ppg in limited action. King is back to full-strength, and the Billikens have two players capable of starting at point guard. She may earn the starting off guard position. King brings outside scoring and is an outstanding free throw shooter. We ll have a heck of a battle at the point with Star and Harmonie, and that bodes well for the team, Pizzotti said. Harmonie has point guard skills and is also capable of scoring and that is valuable tool for a point to have. Melissa Oliver was second on the team in scoring at 10.6 and finished second in assists, but went down with an ACL injury in the 16th game of the year. Oliver is an athletic guard who brings many skills to the squad and is a disrupter on the defensive end. Last season, she was second on the team in assists with 59, third in rebounding at 4.8 and was third in steals with 28. We missed the intensity that Melissa always brought to the court as well as her defensive ability, Pizzotti said. She was a starter, and we did struggle when she went down. Junior Greta Bujaker provides another piece of flexibility to the guard corps. She can defend and is also a threepoint threat. Bujaker hit 35 percent of her shots from beyond the arc last season and had a positive assist-to-turnover ratio. We can count on Greta giving us everything she has, Pizzotti said. She took up the challenge of guarding the opponent s best perimeter player and can hit the open three. The Billikens always have success with players from Indiana, and sophomore Kirsti Holloway is the latest in that line. Despite a knee injury that hobbled her, Holloway was outstanding as a freshman. She hit two free throws to seal the Dayton win and hit a long trey to help upset Drake. Holloway ranked fifth among C-USA freshmen in scoring at 5.0 ppg and led the team in three-point field goal percentage at 36.2 percent. She is the team s best pure passer and enjoys taking the shots in pressure situations. The last month of the season, Kirsti was playing with a torn meniscus in her knee, but she toughed it out, Pizzotti praised. She just has a great understanding of the game. She is a special player and is even more determined to build on last year and have a great sophomore season. Jana Haywood was the third member of the Billiken backcourt who suffered an ACL injury last season. She was the team s leading scorer during the European exhibition trip and was poised BILLIKEN BASKETBALL

5 Saint Louis Season Outlook Junior point guard Star Jackson handed out 103 assists last year. for a tremendous season. Haywood has an excellent blend of size and speed and will be a difficult defensive matchup for many opponents. That was such an unfortunate injury for Jana last year, Pizzotti said. She was ready to have a huge year and then gets hurt. This year, she ll show everyone that she is an outstanding player. The two newcomers to the team join the backcourt. Local product Laniya Stevens. The 5-9 Vashon grad averaged 21.6 ppg and 11.4 rpg as a senior and was an All-Metro selection. She helped lead the Wolverines to the quarterfinals of the Missouri 4A state tournament. Laniya has a world of potential. Pizzotti said. She is our prototypical guard. She jumps well, can take it to the hole and has a nice overall feel for the game. FRONTCOURT The Billikens only lost three players from last season, but they were all fouryear standout post players. Filling the void left by the graduation of April McKinney, Bridget Beckmann and Katie Battern must be addressed. It will be our biggest question mark, Pizzotti stated. We lost three senior post players but the things we ll miss about them don t appear on stat sheets, like hustle and leadership. We have the best potential scoring in the post we ve had in years, Pizzotti said. With LaKia Jones, Angie Lewis and Stephanie Solomon, we have the talent to have strong scorers in the post. Junior LaKia Jones scratched the surface of her potential last season. She has the athletic ability to dominate and started the last nine games of the season. Jones shot 52 percent from the field over those last nine games and averaged almost five rebounds. LaKia came on strong late in the season, Pizzotti said. She learned how to utilize her talents. Her biggest challenge is to consistently nail the midrange jump shot. If she can do that, she is going to be difficult to guard because she can already put the ball on the floor and get by anybody. Angie Lewis showed flashes of her ability as a freshman and has the opportunity to jump into a starting role in the post this year. She played in all 28 games her inaugural year and displayed explosive quickness. Lewis possesses quick offensive moves in the post and is a good defender. Angie had a tremendous freshman year, Pizzotti said. I love her attitude and her approach to the game. If Angie sets her mind to do something, she ll get it done. She is good on the block and is our best offensive post since Jamie Cavaness. Six-foot-one sophomore Stephanie Solomon brings a physical size and presence to the middle that the Billikens need to succeed in C-USA. One of her best moments was at Memphis when she hauled down four rebounds, including three offensive, in just 10 minutes of action. Every freshman adjusts differently and it took Stephanie a little longer to adapt to the college game, Pizzotti noted. But later in the season, she showed good signs of her ability. She is our biggest and strongest post player and we need her to be successful. Junior Amie Van Deurzen played in the backcourt during her first two years, but she ll be moved into the paint to take advantage of her offensive skills. She has a soft touch from mid-range and can make the trey with regularity. Amie will play in the post for us this season, Pizzotti said. Since we don t have as much depth there, we are looking for her to take advantage of her offensive skills. Junior Shanda Greer arrives via Labette Community College in Kansas. The athletic 6-1 forward was an All- Conference selection and averaged 18 ppg and 10 rpg. SCHEDULE The schedule will be the most challenging the Billikens have ever played. SLU takes on 12 teams that played in postseason tournaments in 2001, including seven NCAA programs. There will be no creampuff opener for the Billikens. Final Four participant Southwest Missouri State welcomes the Bills on Nov. 16. The Billikens host the Sixth Annual Coca-Cola Billiken Classic to open the home portion of the slate, and play in a tournament hosted by Montana. In-state rival Missouri visits on Dec. 7, followed by UMKC and another Big 12 power in the form of Kansas. The Conference USA lineup features new additions East Carolina and TCU, who both visit St. Louis. Memphis tipsoff the C-USA slate on Jan. 6 at Bauman- Eberhardt Center. Other C-USA home games this season feature Southern Miss, Tulane, Charlotte and Houston. We have a great nonconference schedule and it is going to be exciting, Pizzotti said. Hopefully we can have some success against some strong teams, then get ready for C-USA play. Bringing Missouri and Kansas here speaks a lot for our program. Those two games will highlight our nonconference home schedule. But with our schedule, we ll have some opportunities to get some top-quality wins. Melissa Oliver was second on the team in scoring at 10.6 ppg last season BILLIKEN BASKETBALL 5

6 Saint Louis Roster Numerical Roster No. Nam e Pos. Ht. Yr. Hom etown / High S chool 12 Greta Bujaker G 5-7 Jr. Plantation, Fla. / Plantation 14 Christan Shelton G 5-10 Jr. St. Louis, Mo. / Gateway Tech 20 Laniya Stevens G 5-9 Fr. St. Louis, Mo. / Vashon 22 Harmonie King G 5-7 Jr. Mt. Sterling, Ky. / Montgomery County 23 Melissa Oliver G 5-10 Jr. Carol Stream, Ill. / Glenbard North 24 Jana Haywood G 6-0 So. St. Louis, Mo. / Lutheran North 25 Star Jackson G 5-5 Jr. Cibolo, Texas / Samuel Clemens 30 LaKia Jones F 5-11 Jr. Fort Wayne, Ind. / Snider 33 Kirsti Holloway G 6-0 So. New Washington, Ind. / New Washington 34 Amie Van Deurzen C 6-1 Jr. Little Chute, Wis. / St. Xavier 45 Shanda Greer F 6-1 Jr. Clementon, N.J. / Overbrook 50 Angie Lewis F 6-1 So. St. Louis, Mo. / Lafayette 53 Stephanie Solomon C 6-1 So. Detroit, Mich. / Martin Luther King Alphabetical Roster No. Nam e Pos. Ht. Yr. Hom etown / High S chool 12 Greta Bujaker G 5-7 So. Plantation, Fla. / Plantation 45 Shanda Greer F 6-1 Jr. Clementon, N.J. / Overbrook 24 Jana Haywood G 6-0 So. St. Louis, Mo. / Lutheran North 33 Kirsti Holloway G 6-0 Fr. New Washington, Ind. / New Washington 25 Star Jackson G 5-5 So. Cibolo, Texas / Samuel Clemens 30 LaKia Jones F 5-11 So. Fort Wayne, Ind. / Snider 22 Harmonie King G 5-7 So. Mt. Sterling, Ky. / Montgomery County 50 Angie Lewis F 6-1 Fr. St. Louis, Mo. / Lafayette 23 Melissa Oliver F 5-10 So. Carol Stream, Ill. / Glenbard North 14 Christan Shelton G 5-10 So. St. Louis, Mo. / Gateway Tech 53 Stephanie Solomon C 6-1 Fr. Detroit, Mich. / Martin Luther King 20 Laniya Stevens G 5-9 Fr. St. Louis, Mo. / Vashon 34 Amie Van Deurzen C 6-1 So. Little Chute, Wis. / St. Xavier Head Coach: Jill Pizzotti Assistant Coaches: Bobbi Morse, Michelle Nason, Ty Evans PRONUNCIATION 12 Greta BOO-jake-er 14 CHRIS-ten Shelton 20 La-NIGH-uh Stevens 24 JAY-nuh Haywood 30 La-KEY-uh Jones 33 KEAR-stee Holloway 34 Amie Van DUR-zen 45 SHAWN-da Greer BILLIKEN BASKETBALL