Complete PDF Notes
Upcoming in Gray Wolves Basketball: Lourdes takes to the hardwood on Saturday afternoon for the final time before Christmas as the Gray Wolves travel to Spring Arbor for a non-conference tilt.  The Gray Wolves are looking to snap their four-game losing skid.

Head Coach Karen McConnell: In her second season on the Lourdes bench Karen McConnell has an 11-31 (.262) record.  Overall as a women's collegiate head coach, McConnell has a 291-278 (.511) record in her 22nd season.  She is only the second head coach in Lourdes program's history.

Series Notes: Spring Arbor is 2-0 all-time against Lourdes in a series that dates back to Nov. 8, 2011, but the two schools have not met since early in the 2012-2013 season.  The Cougars won the initial meeting at Tam-o-Shanter 75-55 before downing the Gray Wolves 70-56 at Spring Arbor on Nov. 6, 2012.

Wrapping Up Last Week: Sydney Mason's three-pointer with 9.6 seconds remaining gave Cincinnati Christian a 59-58 victory over Lourdes last Tuesday night.  Lauren Tilden scored a team-high 18 points for Lourdes while Jesse Fidler added 15 points.  Jessica Durr tallied 10 points and 15 rebounds for her second double-double of the year.  On Saturday afternoon at Madonna, Lourdes led by nine at halftime, but a 12-0 run early in the second half lifted the Crusaders to a 62-55 victory.  Tilden tallied a game-high 17 points in the loss while Emily Orsini added 13 points.

Scouting Spring Arbor: The Cougars enter the contest looking to snap a two-game losing skid after dropping back-to-back games to Cornerstone and at Albion this past Tuesday and Wednesday.  Kylie Townsley leads Spring Arbor averaging 15.0 points per game while Aimee Konkel is scoring 12.1 points per night.  Konkel ranks 11th in NAIA Division II making 3.1 three-pointers per game while Townsley also ranks seventh nationally with 44 total steals.  As a team, Spring Arbor is shooting 38.8% from the floor and 65.6% from the free throw line.

Fidler Matches Career High: Jesse Fidler matched her season and career high in the scoring column last Wednesday against Cincinnati Christian with her 15-point outburst.  The effort marked her third 15-point scoring night of the season, having also accomplished the feat against Rochester (Mich.) and Kuyper.

Super Woman: Lauren Tilden rarely has left the floor this season.  The senior guard has played all 40 minutes six times this season in addition to playing all 45 minutes in the overtime win at Cincinnati Christian earlier this year.  She has played 39 and 38 minutes in two other contests already this season.  Only twice in 13 games has she failed to play at least 30 minutes.

Durr Doubles Up: Jessica Durr has registered a pair of double-doubles this season after tallying 10 points and 15 boards last Wednesday against Cincinnati Christian.  The 15-rebound effort gave her four straight double figure rebounding games for the Gray Wolves, including a career-high 16-board effort against Aquinas.  Her string ended on Saturday when she only pulled down eight rebounds, but still led Lourdes.

Defending the Arc: Lourdes is holding the opposition to just 27.0% shooting from three-point range this season.  The Gray Wolves rank 28th in all of NAIA Division II in three-point field goal percentage defense.

Free Throw Woes: Lourdes has struggled from the free throw line all season, shooting just 59.8% from the charity stripe through the first 13 games.  Only three times have the Gray Wolves shot better than 67% from the line in a game.  Lauren Tilden is the lone Gray Wolf shooting better than 70% from the line individually, connecting at a 75.6% clip.

Best Start Ever: Despite two losses last week, Lourdes 5-8 mark to start the 2014-2015 season is still the program's best 13-game start in history.  Prior to this season the earliest the Gray Wolves had ever won their fifth game in a year was Jan. 5, 2013, the 17th game of the 2012-2013 season.  Lourdes has already matched the 2011-2012 season's entire victory total and is just one win away from equalling last year's total number of triumphs.

Dialing Long Distance: Lauren Tilden ranks third in all of NAIA Division II averaging 3.62 three-point field goals per game this season.  Her 47 triples per contest are tied for second most among all players, trailing just Amanda Weber's 65 threes from Johnson & Wales.

Changing Up the Lineup: Lourdes had used the same starting lineup in each of its first 12 games this year.  Jessica Durr, Jesse Fidler, Emily Orsini, Molea Thompson, and Lauren Tilden had been the five on the floor for the opening tip in each contest, but Karen McConnell changed things up on Saturday at Madonna, inserting Katie Pearcy into the starting five in place of Thompson.

Captains Named: Lourdes has two captains on the roster this season.  Serving in the leadership role for 2014-2015 are Lauren Tilden and Emily Orsini.  Tilden is a two-time team captain, having also served in that role in 2012-2013, while Orsini is in her first season as a team captain.

This and That: Molea Thompson has handed out 38 assists during her freshman campaign while committing just 35 miscues, giving the rookie a positive assist-to-turnover ratio ... Jesse Fidler has registered a team-leading 21 steals on the season defensively while shooting a team-best 49.0% from the floor ... Lourdes ranks 44th nationally grabbing 14.2 offensive rebounds per game.