Dec. 16, 2009

Game Notes

The SMU women's basketball team is heading south for the winter, going to Nassau, Bahamas for the Bahamas Sunsplash Shootout. The Mustangs will open the tournament Saturday against Wichita State at 3 p.m. CDT, before taking on Indiana State Sunday at 5:15 CDT.

Against Wichita State

• This is the first meeting between the two schools.

Against Indiana State

• This is the first meeting between the two schools.

The Shockers This Season

• Wichita State is 6-2 this season, averaging 62.6 points per game. • Haleigh Lankster leads the Shockers with 14.1 points per game. • Wichita State has been held to less than 60 points twice, defeating La Salle 56-43 and losing to Northern Colorado 54-65. • The Shockers have scored 70 points just once, in a 70-45 win over Western Illinois.

The Sycamores This Season

• Indiana State is 8-1 this season, averaging 69.7 points per game. • Kelsey Luna leads the Sycamores with 18.4 points per game, shooting 38.9-percent from behind the arc. • Indiana State has scored 70 points or more in five games, but have been held to 65 or less in the last three games, including a 67-60 loss to Butler. • Both the Sycamores and the Mustangs have faced Eastern Illinois this season. SMU won 79-52 at home on Nov. 24, while Indiana State won 65-63 at Eastern Illinois on Dec. 12.

All-Time Against The Valley

• The Mustangs are 1-1 all-time against teams currently in the Missouri Valley Conference. • The most recent matchup against an MVC team was an 80-61 win over Bradley in the 2006 SMU Hoops for the Cure Tournament. • The only other meeting between SMU and an MVC team was a 59-50 loss to Drake in January 1977 during the Mustangs' inaugural season.

Last Time Out - TCU

• The Mustangs trailed the Horned Frogs 31-30 at halftime after Alisha Filmore hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to cut the lead to one, but TCU shot 52.8-percent from the field in the second half to take an 84-66 victory. • The 84 points by TCU is the most the Mustangs have allowed this season, and TCU is the only opponent to score more than 71 points against the Mustangs. • Christine Elliott led SMU with 18 points, going 8-of-9 from the field, and the sophomore grabbed seven rebounds. • Raquel Christian was 3-of-5 from 3-point range, scoring 13 points, and Haley Day added 10 points.

Third Time's the Charm

• This season SMU is looking to make it back to a postseason tournament for the third straight year after trips to the NCAA Tournament and the WNIT the last two years. • It would be the first time to do so since the team made it three years in a row from 1997-2000. • Including conference tournaments, the Mustangs are 33-39 all-time in the postseason, and 28-26 under head coach Rhonda Rompola.

Christine the Machine

• Christine Elliott is averaging 14.9 points per game, ranking fifth in C-USA. • She is the only Mustang to score at least 10 points in all eight contest this season, including a season-high 18 three times, against Loyola Marymount, North Texas and TCU. • The sophomore is shooting 61.7-percent from the field, ranking fifth in C-USA, connecting on 50-of-81 shots. • She is also second on the team and 14th in the league, averaging 6.6 rebounds per game.

Backcourt Pressure

• The Mustangs have 71 steals this season, averaging 8.9 per game. • Guards Brittany Gilliam and Jillian Samuels each rank in the top-10 in the league in steals per game. Gilliam is eighth with 2.1 per contest, while Samuels is ninth, averaging 2.0. • For her career, Gilliam has 204 steals, becoming just the fifth Mustang to record 200 in a career. Missy Parker finished her career in 1993 with 290, and Keren Blair is fourth on the list with 211.

1,000 Point Club

• Offensively Gilliam finished the 2008-09 campaign with a career total of an even 1,000 points. • She became just the 16th player in school history to reach the four-figure total. • With 103 points this season, Gilliam pushed her career total to 1,103. The senior needs 178 points to pass Kim Brungardt for 10th all-time at SMU.

Lend a Helping Hand

• Besides scoring, Brittany Gilliam has also shown a propensity for getting her teammates involved. • With nine assists against TCU, Gilliam passed Tomi Hollis for fifth all-time at SMU with 333 assists. • Gilliam is just the sixth Mustang to reach 300 assists in a career. • The senior needs 36 assists to pass Missy Parker for fourth at SMU. • Gilliam is 14th in the NCAA and leads the league this season, averaging 6.5 assists per game.

High-Powered Offense

• The Mustangs are 40th in the NCAA and lead Conference USA, averaging 74.2 points through eight games this season. In five of their six wins, the Mustangs have scored at least 76 points, including two games with more than 80 points (Hampton and North Texas). • The Mustangs are shooting 44.1-percent from the field, which ranks third in the league and 49th in the NCAA, and are hitting on 36.4-percent of shots from 3-point range, also third in C-USA and 43rd in the NCAA.

Back-to-Back 20-Win Seasons

• The 2008-09 season marked just the second time in SMU's history that it has put together back-to-back 20 win seasons, after the program did it in three straight seasons from 1998-2000. • The Mustangs followed up a 24-win campaign in 2007-08 with a 20-12 mark last year. • The 44 wins combined over the last two seasons is a school record, surpassing the previous best of 42 from 1999-2000.

Three-Point Specialist

• Senior Jillian Samuels has been deadly from long distance during her career in Dallas. Samuels is second on the all-time Mustang three-point career chart and 11th in Conference USA history with 196 made attempts. • On the single-season list, she has placed in the top-10 all three years with totals of 72, 59 and 51. Her 72 converted attempts in 2007-08 is the most in Mustang history. • Samuels has made 13 3-point baskets this season, and needs just 41 to become the all-time leader at SMU. • The senior is ninth in the league this season, averaging 1.6 3-point field goals per game.

What A Day

• Junior Haley Day has scored 10 points in all four of the Mustangs wins in Moody Coliseum, and is averaging 9.5 points per game. • The guard scored a season-high 16 points against North Texas, and grabbed eight rebounds in the win. • Day is third on the team and 16th in C-USA, averaging 6.5 rebounds per game. • She has connected on 12-of-23 3-point attempts, ranking third in the league with a 52.2 shooting percentage from behind the arc.

She's Just a Freshman

• Alisha Filmore has played in all eight games for the Mustangs, averaging 17.0 minutes per contest. • The 5-6 guard is averaging 5.9 points per game, scoring a season-high 11 against Arkansas. • Filmore has 12 assists this season, and is averaging 2.5 rebounds per game. • She is third on the team with 11 steals, and is 11-of-14 from the free-throw line.

Dominant From Downtown

• SMU ranks third in the league and 43rd in the NCAA, making 36.4-percent of 3-point shots, 56-of-154. • Four Mustangs are ranked in the top-20 in the league in 3-point percentage, led by junior Haley Day, who is 12-of-23, ranking third at 52.2-percent. Raquel Christian is fifth, shooting 48.3-percent, hitting 14-of-29 from behind the arc. Brittany Gilliam is 18th, shooting 31.3-percent, and Jillian Samuels is 20th, hitting 29.5-percent. • All four have scored at least 10 3-pointers this season, led by Raquel Christian, who has hit 14 in seven games, ranking fourth in the conference with 2.0 per game. Jillian Samuels ranks ninth, hitting 13 in eight games for a 1.6 per game average. Haley Day is 12th with 1.5 per game, hitting 12 in eight games, and Brittany Gilliam has hit 10 in eight games, ranking 19th with 1.3 per game.