Michigan Tech and Northwood Women’s Basketball Teams Tabbed by Media to Win 2000-10 GLIAC Divisional Titles, Coaches Name Tech’s Wysocky GLIAC Preseason Player of The Year

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BAY CITY, Mich. --

The head women's basketball coaches of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) chose Michigan Technological University senior forward Katie Wyscoky (Whitefish Bay, Wis.) as the league's preseason "Player of the Year."

Selected members of the media and the GLIAC's Sports Information Directors were asked to choose the Conference's Basketball Preseason Polls. The 30-member group tabbed Michigan Technological University and Northwood University to win the league's North and South Division titles, respectively.

Player of the Year
Katie Wysocky MTU Sr. F

North Division
Name School Yr. Pos.
Jasmine Padin GVSU So. G
Emma Veach GVSU So. G
Emily Joseph LSSU Jr. G
Sarah Stream MTU Sr. G
Katie Wysocky MTU Sr. F

South Division
Name School Yr. Pos.
Laura Bardall UF So. G
Audra Mihalic UF Sr. G
Brooke Knight HC Sr. G
Janay Miller HC Sr. G
Jodi Ostergren NU Sr. F

Michigan Tech, which returns all five starters and all but one player from an NCAA Elite Eight team a year ago, enters the season as the nation’s top-ranked team. The Huskies were GLIAC North Division Champions and Midwest Region Champions in 2008-09. The Tech lineup features two 1,000-point scorers (Katie Wysocky and Sarah Stream) and two more (Danae Danen and Katie Zimmerman) are well within range of eclipsing the milestone. All five starters earned some sort of All-GLIAC honors a year ago.

Northwood women’s basketball team returns 10 of its top 12 players from last year’s 21-8 team that set a school record for wins in a season and reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time.  The Timberwolves will be led by a pair of seniors – Jodi Ostergren and Karlie LeRoy.  Ostergren is the second-leading scorer in the GLIAC returning this season and has earned All-GLIAC honors in each of the last two seasons.  LeRoy became the second Northwood player to be named to the All-GLIAC Defensive following the 2008-09 season. 

Joining Wysocky on the preseason All-GLIAC North Division Team are: sophomore guard Jasmine Padin and sophomore guard Emma Veach of Grand Valley State University; junior guard Emily Joseph of Lake Superior State University; and senior guard Sarah Stream of Michigan Tech.

The 2009-10 preseason All-GLIAC South Division Team includes: sophomore guard Laura Bardall and senior guard Audra Mihalic of the University of Findlay; senior guard Brooke Knight and senior guard Janay Miller of Hillsdale College; and senior forward Jodi Ostergren of Northwood.

Senior Katie Wysocky (Whitefish Bay, Wis.) is the GLIAC’s Preseason Player of the Year. The 6-0 forward led the team in both scoring (15.0 points per game) and rebounding (10.5 per game) last year, and is in range to become the school’s all-time leader in both categories by year’s end. The former GLIAC Freshman of the Year (2006-07) was an All-American last year and has garnered All-GLIAC honors each of her three seasons in Husky uniform. Wysocky’s career totals are 1,334 points, 847 rebounds and a 53.3 field goal percentage.

Grand Valley State sophomore guard Jasmine Padin (Wyoming, Mich./Wyoming Park) returns to run the Laker offense after scoring 12.6 points per game in 2008-09, placing her third on the team. Padin broke the single-season school record for three-pointers made (73) and attempted (208) and dished out 124 assists, which was the sixth-best figure in the GLIAC. Her 73 three-pointers were the second most in the league while her 2.0 steals per game were the fifth-best total. Padin finished 12th in the conference in scoring and made at least one three-pointer in 25 games.

Sophomore guard Emma Veach (Grand Haven, Mich.) is the Lakers’ leading returning scorer, as she tallied 13.5 points per game last season, while adding 5.4 rebounds per contest. Named as the GLIAC Freshman of the Year after the season, Veach ranked 11th in the league in scoring, 15th in assists, 16th in rebounding, and owned a 1.51 assist-to-turnover ratio. She totaled double-figures in points in 23 games, while shooting .463 from the field and .769 at the free throw line.

Junior guard Emily Joseph (Sterling Heights, Mich./Henry Ford II) is Lake Superior State’s top-returning scorer after averaging 9.9 points per game last season. She was ranked fourth in the GLIAC in average assists per game (4.5), 10th in assist/turnover ration (1.2) and 15th in free-throw percentage (.793). In 2008-09, she totaled eight or more assists in six games, collecting a career-high nine assists against St. Joseph’s and Grand Valley State. Joseph turned in 16 double-figure scoring performances, including a career-high 25 against Northwood.

Michigan Tech senior Sarah Stream (Ishpeming, Mich./Westwood) is a sixth-year senior in the Michigan Tech program. The point guard finished second in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio a year ago at 2.94-to-1. The 5-7 native of Ishpeming, Mich., averaged 10.2 points per game last year and had five 20-point games. She has scored 1,109 points in 92 career games and is a three-time All-GLIAC selection.

Sophomore Laura Bardall (Sugarcreek, Ohio/Garaway), a 5’11 guard, was a second team All-GLIAC selection last year for the Oilers. During her freshman season, Bardall averaged 14.4 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.3 steals per contest. Her 390 points were the most points scored ever by a freshman at Findlay and she really turned it on at the end of the season, averaging 21.3 points per game in her final six games.

Senior guard Audra Mihalic (Lorain, Ohio/Amherst Steele) was a first team All-GLIAC selection last year for the Oilers. During her junior campaign, Mihalic averaged 15.9 points, 5.0 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 1.8 steals per contest. She scored over 30 points three times on the year and dished out a school record 134 assists.

Senior guard Brooke Knight (St. John’s, Mich.) is entering her third year as the Chargers’ starting point guard. She set Hillsdale’s single-season assists record with 196 in 2008-09, helping Hillsdale to its second straight GLIAC South Division championship. Knight was picked First-Team All-GLIAC South Division and First-Team All-Defensive Team after last season, and made the GLIAC All-Tournament Team. Knight also ranked among the conference and NCAA Division II leaders in assist-to-turnover ratio in 2008-09.

Senior guard Janay Miller (Westphilia, Mich./Pewamo-Westphilia), Hillsdale’s second-leading scorer in 2008-09, Miller returns for her third season as a starting two-guard for the Chargers. She was named to the GLIAC All-Tournament Team in 2009 and scored 16 points in the Chargers’ tournament championship win over Michigan Tech. Miller is one of the team’s best athletes and most reliable perimeter shooters.

Senior forward Jodi Ostergren (Midland, Mich./Dow) is the second-leading returning scorer in the GLIAC heading into the 2009-10 season after averaging 15.4 points per game as a junior.  Ostergren holds Northwood school records for free throws made in a season (133) and in a career (323).  She became the 11th member of the 1,000 point club at the end of the 2008-09 season, entering her senior season with 1,001 points. A two-time All-GLIAC honoree and a two-time Academic All-GLIAC team member, this is the second straight season Ostergren has been named to the Preseason All-GLIAC team.  She is on pace to finish her career ranked in the top-three on the Northwood career scoring list.

The 2010 GLIAC Women’s Basketball Championship quarterfinals will be held on Tuesday, Mar. 2 on campus sites with the semifinals and final being held on Friday, Mar. 5 and Saturday, Mar. 6 at the site of the highest remaining seed.