WMU News

Bronco women foul out with loss at Eastern Michigan

Feb. 25, 2000

YPSILANTI, Mich. -- WMU's women's basketball team, champions of the MAC West Division, concluded the 1999-2000 regular season with a disappointing 93-65 loss at Eastern Michigan on Friday night (Feb. 25). Six Broncos fouled out of the contest, and WMU concluded the game with only four players on the court.

Western Michigan ends the regular season with an overall record of 17-10 and a 14-2 mark in the Mid-American Conference. WMU enters the MAC Tournament as the No. 2 seed, behind Kent, which finished 15-1 in the conference. Eastern Michigan finished 14-13 overall and 8-8 MAC.

In Friday's loss, the Broncos hit on only 17 of 70 (.243) attempts from the field, including 5 of 20 from three-point range, and were called for a total of 33 fouls. The 28-point loss was one of only three this season in which the Broncos lost by 20 points or more. Both previous blowout losses came at the hands of nationally ranked opponents.

The loss ended a nine-game Bronco winning streak in MAC contests, the longest conference win streak ever for WMU women's basketball.

Senior Shelsea Erving and sophomore guard Brooke Gallert led WMU with 14 points each. Guards Dionne Lassila, with 13 points, and Brianne Gallert, 10, were the only other Broncos in double figures. Brianne also had a team-high six assists. Rookie Kristin Koetsier had a team-best 14 rebounds.

Koetsier was held to just nine points for the evening, but that was enough to earn her the new Bronco rookie scoring record with 522 points for the season. The previous rookie record was set by Kina Brown, the Broncos' all-time leading scorer, with 518 points in her first season. Koetsier is only the fourth Bronco to score more than 500 points in any season. Erving holds the team record with 553.

WMU clinched the division championship and a first-round tournament bye Feb. 14, with an 85-69 victory at Miami. The Broncos thus skip the first round of the Mid-American Conference tournament and will not host a tournament game. They advance automatically to the MAC quarterfinals, which will be played in Cleveland, March 2. The semi-finals and championship game will also be played in Cleveland.

The Broncos have six days to rest and prepare for their MAC quarterfinal opponent. The quarterfinal contest will be available in Southwest Michigan on radio station WQXC 100.7 FM.

Media contact: Geoff Brown; 616 387-4138; geoffrey.brown@wmich.edu


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