Johns Hopkins To Cap Three-Game Homestand With Messiah

Hopkins Enters Contest At 1-1

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Junior Katie Biggart made her return to the hardwood, playing in her first game in more than a year.

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Nov. 24, 2008

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BALTIMORE, MD - The Johns Hopkins women's basketball team hosts Messiah as the last leg of its three game stretch at home. Hopkins (1-1) takes on Messiah (3-0) for the fourth time in program history. The Falcons own a 3-0 series lead and enter the contest undefeated in the 2008-09 season.

Messiah was the national runner-up in 2008 and is ranked No. 14 in the D3Hoops.com preseason poll. The Falcons defeated York, 82-76 in their season opener. Messiah captured its own Messiah/Wingate Hotel Invitational title with wins over Eastern, 66-35, and Ursinus, 61-34.

Four Falcons are averaging double-digit points after three contests. Seniors Ashley Brooks (17.3 ppg), Katie Kalb (16.0 ppg), Silalei Shani (11.3 ppg) and sophomore Angie Rapchinski (10.0 ppg) lead the team in scoring.

The Opening

Johns Hopkins hosted its traditional Mike Durgala Memorial Tournament and recorded its 19th consecutive season-opening victory. The Blue Jays also advanced to the championship for the 16th straight time in tournament history. Hopkins downed Sewanee, 58-52, in the first round before dropping a tough 70-61 decision in the Mike Durgala Memorial Tournament championship to York. Freshman Lyndsay Burton (Long Valley, NJ/West Morris) posted a career-high 19 points against Sewanee, while senior Kristin Phillips (Wilmington, DE/Tower Hill) had 13 points. Junior Katie Biggart (Darien, CT/Darien) went 2-for-3 from 3-point range against York. Phillips led all Blue Jays against the Spartans with 20 points and nine boards.

Senior forward Kristin Phillips (Wilmington, DE/Tower Hill) and sophomore Lyndsay Burton (Long Valley, NJ/West Morris) each earned all-tournament accolades for their contributions to the Blue Jay offense.

Firsts

Junior Katie Biggart (Darien, CT/Darien) made her return to the hardwood, playing in her first game in more than a year. Returning from a knee injury suffered prior to the start of the 2007-08 season, Biggart registered more than 20 minutes in each of her first two contests in 2008.

Freshman Chantel Mattiola (Trappe, PA/Perkiomen Valley) scored the first points of her career with a 3-pointer in Hopkins' 58-52 win over Sewanee.

Rookie Gena Upshaw (Greensboro, NC/Forsyth County Day) grabbed two rebounds to record the first statistics of her career against Sewanee.

Power Week

Hopkins is set to face three of the top teams in the country in what could prove to be the toughest week of the 2008-09 schedule. The Blue Jays will battle Messiah, rated No. 14 in the D3Hoops.com Preseason Poll on Tuesday before heading to St. Louis for the McWilliams Tournament on Friday. Hopkins will play Carthage (received 54 votes in the D3Hoops.com Poll) on Saturday. The Blue Jays could match up against Washington University or Whittier on Sunday. Washington is ranked No. 6 in the D3Hoops.com Preseason Poll.

Hopkins last met WashU in 2003 in the same tournament. The Blue Jays emerged with a victory of the Bears who were ranked No. 1 at the time, marking the only upset of a top-ranked opponent in Johns Hopkins history by a sport other than men's lacrosse (as of 2003). The Blue Jays were ranked No. 25 at that point in the season and clinched head coach Nancy Funk's 299th victory at Johns Hopkins.

Countdown

The Blue Jays have earned 388 victories during Nancy Funk's tenure. Funk is closing in on win No. 400 at Johns Hopkins and has 514 career wins.