WBB Preview: Blue Devils return to Johnson Fieldhouse to face Blugolds

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THIS WEEK'S GAMES:  UW-Stout (5-7, 1-2 WIAC) enter Saturday's game with UW-Eau Claire (2-10, 0-3 WIAC) coming off two wins at the Colorado College New Year's Ball at Colorado College in Colorado Springs, Colo., Dec. 31-Jan. 1. The Blue Devils defeated host Colorado College and St. Joseph College of Brooklyn, NY.  Eau Claire is looking to get back on track after dropping a pair of games at the Land of Magic Classic in Daytona Beach, Fla., Dec. 28 and Dec. 30. The Blue Devil men were at the same event, following the first Blugold game. Eau Claire lost to Delaware Valley and Connecticut College. The game is scheduled for 3 p.m. and is the first game of a doubleheader with the men's programs.

CAREER STATS: Be sure to scroll to the bottom of this page to check out the UW-Stout career highs for points, rebounds and assists of each Blue Devil player.

THIS WEEK BY THE NUMBERS
23	Number of players on Stout's roster that have seen action this season.
9	Number of games Stout has forced more than 20 turnovers
2-7-3-11	Number of seniors - juniors - sophomores - freshmen on Stout roster
437 - 27	Number of wins for coach Mark Thomas in numbers of seasons he has been head coach at UW-Stout.

STOUT THIS SEASON:  The Blue Devils have put together back-to-back wins for the first time this season, defeating Colorado College and St. Joseph at the Colorado College New Years' Ball in Colorado Springs.  Stout has no players averaging in double digits, but has a four players averaging between nine and 10 points. Sami Schoeder leads Stout with 9.8 points per game. Kyleigh Hebert is averaging 9.7 points, Shelby Sterba 9.5 points and Brea Boomer 9.6 points. In dividual games, seven different Blue Devils have led Stout in scoring, Schoeder in four games. Sterba has been the team's leading rebounder with 6.6 boards per contest, followed by Boomer iwth 5.9. The Blue Devils' fifth starter, Katelynne Folkers is averaging 5.9 points and 4.9 rebounds and leads the team in steals with 2.9 per contest. The Blue Devils are being outscored, 68.2-65.8. Stout has a roster of 23 players, 11 newcomers, 12 returners.  | 2013-14 Statistics

STOUT LAST TIME OUT: Different names emerged as the Blue Devils' leading scorers in the last two games. Haley Froehlich nearly doubled her career-best when she tallied 23 points, with 13 of those points coming in a four-and-a-half minute stretch in the second half as the Blue Devils defeated Colorado College, 80-60, New Year's Eve. Freshman Becca Smith started 2014 out on a positive note, scoring a career-best 10 points in a 60-57 win over St. Joseph College. Smith scored seven of her points in just over a minute's time. Shelby Sterba had 10 rebounds as Stout dominated the boards, 54-36.. |  Colorado College story and Box Score | St. Joseph Story and Box Score

STOUT LAST SEASON:  The Blue Devils finished the 2012-13 season with a 10-15 overall record, 4-12 in the WIAC, an eighth place finish. Eleven different players posted starts at one point throughout the season as injury swept through the team. Stout does return three of their four leading scorers from last year in Brea Boomer, Sami Schoeder and Katelynne Folkers. Boomer started 21 games, Schoeder 15 and Folkers 24. Stout was the fourth-ranked team in the conference in scoring (64.0), but was lost in points allowed (68.8) and eighth in scoring margin (minus-4.8). Stout led the league in steals (11.36), was fourth in blocked shots (2.84), first in offensive rebounds (15.28), fifth in defensive rebounds (25.16) and third in 3-point shots made (4.80).

UW-EAU CLAIRE: The Blugolds (2-10, 0-3 WIAC) dropped two games at the Land of Magic Classic in Daytona Beach, Fla., the same event the UW-Stout men participated in. Eau Claire lost 72-52- to Delaware College, Dec. 28, then dropped a 64-59 decision to Connecticut College, Dec. 30. Eau Claire's lone wins this season have both been home games, a 74-69 win over St. Scholastics, Nov. 21 and a 72-53 win over UM-Morris, Dec. 9. Sophomore Teenie Lichtfuss is averaging 14.4 points per contest and a team-best 4.1 assists. Courtney Lewis is averaging 12.9 points and leads the team in rebounds wth 6.3. The Blugolds have been tinkering with their starting lineup throughout the season. Ten different players have gotten starts this year, with Lichtfuss and Lewis starting all 12 games. The Blugolds have been outscored 68.8-60.5. | 2013-14 Statstics

LAST TIME THEY MET: The teams each won on their own court last season, with Stout winning the January contest, 69-55, by holding the Blugolds to 30 percent shooting from the floor. Eau Claire's Teenie Lichtfuss led all scorers with 22 points and had 10 rebounds. Sami Schoeder scored 19 for Stout. The Blue Devils held the lead for only one brief point as Eau Claire won, 81-70, at Zorn Arena in February. Eau Claire's Cary Roedl led all scorers with 18 points. Stout's Brea Boomer scored 16 points, hitting 10 free throws.  | Game One | Game Two

OVER THE YEARS: Over the last five seasons, UW-Eau Claire has held an upper-hand in the contests, with the Blugolds winning seven of the last 10 games. With the win last year, the Blue Devils broke a four-game skid to Eau Claire.

TRADITION: In 10 of the last 14 seasons, Stout has been either the first or second leading scoring team in the WIAC. In the final team standings, Stout has finished no lower in the conference than fourth in 11 of the last 15 years

JOHNSON FIELDHOUSE: The "cozy confines of Johnson Fieldhouse" has proven to be quite an advantage for the Blue Devils. Since the 2000-01 season, Stout has posted a 123-34 (.784) record at home. In conference games at Johnson Fieldhouse since 2000-01, Stout has a 76-26 (.747) record. Throw in the conference tournament games, and Stout has an 90-26 (.779) overall record against WIAC opponents at home.

TEAM CAPTAINS:  Senior Sami Schoeder, junior Brea Boomer and sophomore Kyleigh Hebert are team captains for the 2013-14 season.

THE COACHES: UW-Stout: Mark Thomas (437-267) is in his 27th year as the coach of the Blue Devils. Thomas has led his teams to 10 national playoff berths, nine times in the NCAA. A six-time WIAC coach of the year, the Blue Devils have won five conference titles and four conference tournament championships. His teams have twice been to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament. Thomas is the first WIAC coach to have reached 400 career wins. Thomas also has the most wins of any Stout basketball coach, either men's or women's. Dwain Mintz coached the men's basketball program for 27 years and compiled a 385-280 record.  UW-Eau Claire: Tonja Englund (249-127) is in her 14th season with the Blugolds. During her tenure, the Blugolds have won four WIAC titles

THE ROAD TO 400 WINS: Mark Thomas' first collegiate win came the second game of his first season when his Blue Devils, which had won only two games over the previous two years, defeated Mt. Senario, 73-44, in November, 1987. The wins came more often after that. Thomas got his 50th win, Feb. 28, 1991, 71-60, over Cardinal Stritch. The 100th win came Jan. 10, 1994, an 80-59 win over UM-Morris. No. 200 came at UW-River Falls, a 78-74 victory on Jan. 5, 2000. Thomas' 300th win came in overtime, a 76-68 decision over UW-Stevens Point, Jan. 29, 2005. Thomas' 400th win came at UW-Stevens Point, a 90-76 decision, Feb. 3, 2010.

CONFERENCES: UW-Stout and UW-Eau Claire are members of the nine-team Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) along with UW-Eau Claire, UW-La Crosse, UW-Oshkosh, UW-Platteville, UW-River Falls, UW-Stevens Point, UW-Superior, and UW-Whitewater.

UP NEXT:  Stout will take to the road for the next three games, traveling to UW-Stevens Point, Wednesday, Jan. 8, then will play a 7 p.m. game at UW-Platteville, Saturday, Jan. 11. Stout will be at UW-La Crosse, Wednesday, Jan. 15 before coming home to host UW-Oshkosh, Saturday, Jan. 18.

UW-Stout 2013-14 Season Highs (Updated Jan. 2, 2014)

Points: 23, Hayley Froehlich vs. Colorado College, Dec. 31, 2013
3-Pointers Made: 5, Hayley Froehlich vs. Colorado College, Dec. 31, 2013
Rebounds: 10, Shelby Sterba vs. St. Joseph's, Jan. 1, 2014; Shelby Sterba vs. Dakota State, Nov. 29, 2013
Assists: 7, Kyleigh Hebert vs. Colorado College, Dec. 31, 2013
Steals: 6, Katelynne Folkers vs Colorado College, Dec. 31, 2013; Katelynne Folkers vs. Marian University, Nov. 19, 2013

UW-Stout Collegiate Career Highs (Updated Dec. 22, 2013)

Autumn Paulson - #1
Points: x
Rebounds: x
Assists: x

Becca Smith - #2
Points: 10 vs. St. Joseph's, Jan. 1, 2014
Rebounds: 2 vs. St. Joseph's, Jan. 1, 2014
Assists: 2 vs. Colorado College, Dec. 31, 2013

Kyleigh Hebert - #4
Points: 18 vs. St. Cloud State, Nov. 23, 2013
Rebounds: 6 (6x) vs. St. Joseph's, Jan. 1, 2014; vs. St. Scholastica, Dec. 1, 2013; vs. St. Cloud State, Nov. 23, 2013; vs. UW-Oshkosh, Feb. 16, 2013; vs. Eau Claire, Jan. 3, 2013; vs. UW-La Crosse, Jan. 16, 2013
Assists: 7 vs. Colorado College, Dec. 31, 2013

Caitlin Coombs - #5
Points: 5 vs. Concordia University Texas, Dec. 29, 2012
Rebounds: 6 vs. Dubuque, Nov. 27, 2011
Assists: 1 (4x)

Rachel Hanley - #10
Points: 12 vs. Martin Luther, Nov. 25, 2012
Rebounds: 4 vs. UW-Whitewater, Dec. 3, 2011
Assists: 5 (2x) vs. Marian University, Dec. 15, 2012; vs. Whitewater, Jan. 19, 2013

Tara Matter - #11
Points: 10 vs. Marian, Nov. 19, 2013
Rebounds: 7 vs. Northwestern, Nov. 16, 2013
Assists: 1 (3x) vs. Dakota State, Nov. 29, 2013; vs. Winona State, Nov. 21, 2013; vs. North Central, Nov. 15, 2013

Haley Froehlich - #13
Points: 23 vs. Colorado College, Dec. 31, 2013
Rebounds: 7 vs. UW-La Crosse, Jan. 18, 2012
Assists: 3 (2x) vs. UW-River Falls, Jan. 23, 2013; vs. UW-Platteville, Feb. 2, 2013

McKayla Brunner - #14
Points: x
Rebounds: 1 vs. North Central, Nov. 15, 2013
Assists: 1 vs. North Central, Nov. 14, 2013

Brea Boomer - #15
Points: 22 (2x) vs. East Texas Baptist University, Dec. 20, 2012; vs. UW-Stevens Point, Jan. 9, 2013
Rebounds: 13 vs. UW-Platteville, Feb. 4, 2012
Assists: 3 (2x) vs. St. Scholastica, Dec. 1, 2013; vs. UW-Platteville, Dec. 8, 2012

Sara Bedford - #20
Points: 10 vs. North Central, Nov. 15, 2013
Rebounds: 3 vs. Northwestern, Nov. 16, 2013
Assists: 1 (5x) vs. UW-Superior, Dec. 4, 2013; vs. St. Scholastica, Dec. 1, 2013; vs. Dakota State, Nov. 29, 2013; vs. St. Cloud State, Nov. 23, 2013;  vs. North Central, Nov. 15, 2013

Maygan Mitchell - #22
Points: 12 vs. Crown College, Nov. 28, 2012
Rebounds: 8 vs. Crown College, Nov. 28, 2012
Assists: 3 vs. River Falls, Dec. 12, 2012

Jessica Kreitz - #24
Points: 6 vs. North Central, Nov. 15, 2013
Rebounds: 7 vs. North Central, Nov. 15, 2013
Assists: 1 (2x) vs. North Central, Nov. 15, 2013; vs. Northwestern, Nov. 16, 2013

Nikki Alexander - #25
Points: 9 vs. Winona State, Nov. 21, 2013
Rebounds: 7 (2x) vs. Winona State, Nov. 21, 2013; vs. North Central, Nov. 15, 2013
Assists: 2 (3x) vs. St. Scholastica, Dec. 1, 2013; vs. St. Cloud State, Nov. 20, 2012; vs. Martin Luther College, Nov. 25, 2012

Jasmyne Hazelton - #30
Points: 2 vs. St. Cloud State, Nov. 23, 2013
Rebounds: 1 (2x) vs. UW-River Falls, Dec. 11, 2013; vs. St. Cloud State, Nov. 23, 2013
Assists: 2 vs.St. Cloud State, Nov. 23, 2013

Sami Schoeder - #32
Points: 31 vs. UW-Platteville, Jan. 8, 2011
Rebounds: 10 vs. Hamline, Nov. 17, 2012
Assists: 4 vs. Hamline, Nov. 17, 2012

Shelby Sterba - #33
Points: 18 vs. St. Scholastica, Dec. 1, 2013
Rebounds: 10 (2x) vs. St. Joseph's, Jan. 1, 2014; vs. Dakota State, Nov. 29, 2013
Assists: 2 (3x) vs. Superior, Dec. 4, 2013; vs. UW-River Falls, Dec. 12, 2012; vs. Marian, Nov. 19, 2013

Katelynne Folkers - #34
Points: 16 vs. Hamline, Nov. 17, 2012
Rebounds: 9 (3x) vs. St. Cloud State, Nov. 20, 2012; vs. Concordia University Texas, Dec. 29, 2012; vs. UW-La Crosse, Feb. 6, 2013
Assists: 5 (4x) vs. St. Cloud State, Nov. 20, 2012; vs. St. Scholastica, Nov. 24, 2012; vs. Eau Claire, Jan. 3, 2013; vs. UW-La Crosse, Feb. 6, 2013

Stephanie Kastens - #35
Points: 6 vs. Whitewater, Jan. 19, 2013
Rebounds: 2 (3x) vs. Crown College, Nov. 28, 2012; vs. Marian, Dec. 15, 2012; vs. Whitewater, Jan. 19, 2013
Assists: 1 (3x) vs. North Central, Nov. 15, 2013; vs. St. Cloud State, Nov. 20, 2012; vs. North Central, Nov. 15, 2013

Jenna Goldsmith - #41
Points: 4 (3x) vs. St. Scholastica, Dec. 1, 2013; vs. Winona State, Nov. 21, 2013; vs. Marian, Nov. 19, 2013
Rebounds: 6 vs. Northwestern, Nov. 16, 2013
Assists: 1 (2x) vs. North Central, Nov. 15, 2013; vs. Northwestern, Nov. 16, 2013

Hannah Schmitt - #42
Points: x
Rebounds: 1 (2x) vs. St. Cloud State, Nov. 23, 2013; vs. Whitewater, Dec. 7, 2013
Assists: 1 vs. Whitewater, Dec. 7, 2013

Katie Nickles - #44
Points: 9 (2x) vs. St. Scholastica, Nov. 24, 2012; vs. UW-La Crosse, Feb. 6, 2013
Rebounds: 9 vs. St. Scholastica, Nov. 24, 2012
Assists: 2 (3x) vs. St. Joseph's, Jan. 1, 2014; vs. East Texas Baptist University, Dec. 30, 2012; vs. UW-La Crosse, Feb. 6, 2013

Hannah Schwahn - #50
Points: x
Rebounds: x
Assists: x

The Last Time... (Updated Jan. 2, 2014)