St. Ambrose Women's Basketball

The St. Ambrose women’s basketball team was recently honored for its work in the classroom as the Queen Bees were named to the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) 2008-09 Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll. The Queen Bees were 15^th among NAIA institutions with a cumulative 3.386 grade point average. St. Ambrose was the lone Midwest Collegiate Conference school to make the list.

“This is great news and I am very proud that our girls accomplished this top-20 academic ranking,” said SAU head coach Nathan Altenhofen. “It was a major goal for this team last season and to be the only team recognized from the MCC is a very nice honor. Their success continues to show how these young ladies are going to continue to do great things in life as they are truly a motivated and talented group.”

The award is given to NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NAIA and Junior Colleges that carry the highest grade point averages for the entire season.

“It is always an honor for the WBCA to recognize these teams for putting together outstanding cumulative grade point averages,” said WBCA CEO Beth Bass. “We want to congratulate each and every one of these teams for their efforts in the classroom and want them to know that we celebrate their hard work. My thanks go out to these teams for setting a benchmark of success academically among their peers in the sport.”

This marks the first time the SAU women’s basketball team has received the award since 1999.

During the 2008-09 academic year, the Queen Bees compiled a team GPA of 3.405, marking the highest team GPA since the ’98-’99 season. Twelve of the fifteen players finished the year with a 3.25 or higher GPA.

"This is a great accomplishment for the young women on this team. They continue to truly commit themselves to success in the classroom, on the court, and in the community,” St. Ambrose head coach Nathan Altenhofen said.

St. Ambrose head women’s basketball coach Nathan Altenhofen announced today Annie Smith will transfer from Southwest Minnesota State University to St. Ambrose and will play basketball for the Queen Bees. Smith, a former Davenport Assumption standout, will be eligible to play immediately in 2009-10 and has three seasons of eligibility remaining.

Smith, a 6-2 forward, earned first team all-conference, all-metro and all-state honors after averaging 12.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 2.8 blocks as a senior at Assumption High School playing for head coach Todd Borrison. She averaged 11.7 points, 6.7 boards, 2.1 assists and 2.1 blocks while making 43 three-pointers to earn first team all-conference, first team all-district and second team all-metro honors as a junior. Smith holds single-season and career blocked shot records at Assumption.

“I am very excited to have Annie join our women’s basketball program,” said Altenhofen. “She has such great potential as a basketball player, and most importantly she is a terrific young lady. Her skills really fit our system and style of play. Coach Borrison did a tremendous job with her in high school and her past success should make for a very smooth transition into our women’s basketball program here at St. Ambrose.”

As a freshman at Southwest Minnesota State in 2008-09, Smith averaged 3.2 points and 2.3 rebounds while appearing in 21 games. She knocked down 11-of-30 attempts from beyond the arc.

Sophomore Ali Dolphin capped a fantastic season by being named to the 2009 NAIA Division II Women's Basketball All-America second team today. She is the 14th different Queen Bee to be recognized as a women's basketball All-American since 1984.

Earlier this month, Dolphin, a 5-9 forward from Marshalltown, Iowa, was named the Midwest Collegiate Conference Player of the Year after averaging 17.8 points, 9.9 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 3.5 steals and 1.3 blocks while starting all 31 games for the Queen Bees.

She finished in the top-20 nationally in steals (8th), offensive rebounds (10th), assists (10th), assist-to-turnover ratio (14th), scoring (18th) and rebounding (19th).

With two years remaining in her collegiate career, Dolphin is already 24th on SAU’s all-time scoring list with 1,100 career points.

St. Ambrose NAIA Women's Basketball All-Americans
2009 - Ali Dolphin (2nd team)
2008 - Jenny Clark (2nd team)
2007 - Jennifer Goetz (2nd team)
2006 - Jennifer Goetz (honorable mention)
2005 - Jennifer Goetz (honorable mention)
2004 - Angie Schinstock (2nd team)
2003 - Angie Schinstock (3rd team)
2001 - Jenny DeSmet (3rd team)
2000 - Mary Cofield (2nd team)
1997 - Melissa Wehr (honorable mention)
1996 - Brandy Scheckel (1st team)
1995 - Brandy Scheckel (3rd team)
1994 - Eileen Graham (honorable mention)
1992 - Shelley Johnson (honorable mention)
1990 - Robin Becker (1st team) and Liz Ciprian (honorable mention)
1989 - Robin Becker (2nd team)
1988 - Patty Campbell (2nd team) and Robin Becker (honorable mention)
1987 - Patty Campbell (honorable mention)
1984 - Stephanie Smith (honorable mention)

The complete NAIA Division II All-American team is available on the NAIA website.

Dolphin Named MCC Player of the Year
- Dolphin and Clark Earn First Team All-MCC Honors -

Following in the footsteps of current St. Ambrose assistant coach Jennifer Goetz (2006-07) and teammate Jenny Clark (2007-08), SAU sophomore Ali Dolphin was named the 2008-09 Midwest Collegiate Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Year today. This marks the third straight year a Queen Bee has claimed the yearly honor.

Dolphin, from Marshalltown, Iowa (Marshalltown High School), had a fantastic all-around season for the Queen Bees, averaging 17.8 points, 9.9 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 3.5 steals and 1.3 blocks while starting all 31 games.

The 5-9 forward led the MCC in scoring, assists, steals and assist-to-turnover ratio and helped SAU to a 20-11 record. She was second in the conference in offensive rebounds (4.4/game) and minutes (33.8/game) and third in rebounding and blocked shots. Dolphin finished in the top-20 nationally in steals (7th), offensive rebounds (9th), assists (10th), assist-to-turnover ratio (16th), scoring (17th) and rebounding (18th).

Her 2008-09 numbers go on and on. She had 15 double-doubles and a handful of near triple-doubles. She scored in double figures in 27 games and grabbed 10 or more rebounds in 15 games. She led the team, or shared the team lead, in points 20 times, rebounds 25 times, assists 18 times, blocked shots 18 times and steals 14 times.

Now a two-time first team all-conference pick, Dolphin was named the MCC’s Newcomer of the Year as a freshman last year.

With two years remaining in her collegiate career, Dolphin is already 24th on SAU’s all-time scoring list with 1,100 career points.

“Ali had another outstanding season for us,” said SAU head coach Nathan Altenhofen. “As a person and as a player, Ali exemplifies what our program stands for with her tremendous work ethic and unselfishness she brings every time she is on the court. Ali very much deserves this recognition and it is exciting for us to know she is just scratching the surface on what she can still accomplish.”

Dolphin was joined on the all-conference first team by Clark, who has earned all-MCC honors in each of her three seasons with the Queen Bees.

Clark, from Cambridge, Ill. (Cambridge High School), averaged 12.9 points, 3.7 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 2.7 steals while knocking down 102-of-301 shots from beyond the arc this season. She hit at least two 3-pointers in 27 of the 30 games she appeared in this year and finished fourth in the nation in 3-pointers made per game (3.4).

Besides leading the MCC in 3-pointers made, Clark led the conference in minutes (35.1/game) and finished second in the league in steals, third in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.3), fourth in assists, 10th in 3-point percentage and 11th in scoring.

The junior guard holds St. Ambrose school records for 3-pointers made in a game (8, three times), in a season (106 last year) and in a career (249).

Like Dolphin, Clark surpassed the 1,000 career point mark this season and is 18th on SAU’s all-time scoring list with 1,155 points.

Dolphin and Clark helped lead a young Queen Bees team, with only one senior on the roster, to a fourth-place MCC finish and a spot in the conference tournament semifinals.

The St. Ambrose Queen Bees fell short on their bid for the Midwest Collegiate Conference Championship as they dropped the semifinal game against Iowa Wesleyan, 80-70.

SAU, who had lost both regular season games against Iowa Wesleyan, never led throughout the 40 minutes of play. They did, however, keep Iowa Wesleyan within striking distance and only trailed by six points going into halftime.

The Queen Bees struggled from the field the first half, shooting only 28.9 percent (11 of 38) from the field. Amy Fulfs, Jenny Clark, and Mary Burmeister each led the team with six first-half points.

Iowa Wesleyan would begin to pull away in the second half, leading by as many as 18. St. Ambrose had one last fight in them however, cutting the lead down to five with just under three minutes remaining. But they would not come closer than that as they dropped their third game to Iowa Wesleyan this season.

The Queen Bees did improve their shooting in the second half as they went on to shoot 45.5 percent (15 of 33). Iowa Wesleyan, however, would shoot 47.8 percent (11 of 23) from the field and a very impressive 60 percent (9 of 15) from beyond the arc.

Dolphin would have a big second half for SAU and finished with a team-leading 25 points and eight rebounds. Fulfs would add 18 points.

St. Ambrose finishes the season with a record of 20-11 overall. They went 11-5 in MCC play and finished in fourth place in the conference. Iowa Wesleyan will face Mount Mercy on Monday for the MCC Championship.

The St. Ambrose Queen Bees women’s basketball team advanced to the semifinal round of the Midwest Collegiate Conference Tournament with an 83-64 win over Waldorf College on Thursday night at Lee Lohman Arena.

Waldorf would hang with SAU for the majority of the first half until the Queen Bees started to pull away in the closing minutes, extending their lead to as many as 16 before taking a 40-27 lead into halftime.

Ali Dolphin led the team with 13 points and seven assists in the first half as St. Ambrose shot an impressive 44.1 percent (15 of 34) from the field.

Waldorf would battle hard in the second half, cutting the lead to as few as five points before the Queen Bees pulled away and cruised to a 19-point victory.

St. Ambrose finished with a 42.9 shooting percentage from the field in the game, and shot even better (43.5 percent) from beyond the arc.

Dolphin finished with a team-leading 24 points and eight assists. Amy Fulfs had 13 points while Jenny Clark and Megan Storjohann each added 12. Mary Burmeister led the team with nine rebounds.

With the win, the Queen Bees advance to the semifinals to take on number one seeded Iowa Wesleyan, who advanced by defeating ninth-seeded William Penn 81-56. The game will be held on Saturday in Mt. Pleasant at 2 p.m. St. Ambrose was swept by Iowa Wesleyan in the regular season.

St. Ambrose will host Waldorf Thursday at 7 p.m. in a quarterfinal game of the Midwest Collegiate Conference Women's Basketball Tournament. Tickets are $6 for adults and $2 for students; no passes will be accepted. The first 150 SAU students, faculty and staff with IDs will receive free admission through the Ambrose Club.

The game will feature a matchup of the fourth and fifth seeds in the MCC Tournament. St. Ambrose (19-10, 11-5 MCC) and Waldorf (14-16, 9-7 MCC) played two tight games during the regular season. The Bees defeated the Warriors 79-71 in Lee Lohman Arena on Jan. 3 and picked up a 64-59 win in Forest City, Iowa, on Jan. 31.

The tournament semifinals are scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 28, and the championship game is slated for Monday, March 2.

The St. Ambrose Queen Bees women’s basketball team won their final regular season game of the 08-09 season on Saturday afternoon, defeating Clarke College on the road, 89-68. It was SAU’s fourth win in a row and their second of the season over Clarke.

St. Ambrose would get off to a slow start as Clarke scored the first six points of the game. The Clarke lead would not last long, however, as the Queen Bees embarked on an amazing 23-2 run, immediately taking control of the game.

The Queen Bees would stretch their lead out to as many as 23 before taking a commanding 44-25 lead into halftime.

SAU would shoot 39.5 percent (15 of 38) from the field and 37.5 percent (6 of 16) from beyond the arc in the first half.

Ali Dolphin led the Queen Bees with 10 points and 10 rebounds in the first 20 minutes of play. Jenny Clark added nine points.

The Queen Bees continued to dominate the game in the second half, increasing their lead to as many as 35 points. Clarke would close the game on a 15-1 run but it wasn’t enough as SAU cruised to a 21-point victory.

St. Ambrose improved their shooting in the second half to 46.2 percent (18 of 39) from the field and 50 percent (6 of 12) from beyond the arc.

Dolphin and Amy Fulfs both finished with 21 points. Dolphin also had 18 rebounds, the most she has had since she finished with 19 back on Nov. 22. Clark would finish with 17 points while Mary Burmeister added 12.

The Queen Bees finish the regular season with a record of 11-5 in the Midwest Collegiate Conference and 19-10 overall. St. Ambrose gets the fourth seed and will host fifth-seeded Waldorf College in the MCC Tournament Quarterfinals next Thursday at 7 p.m. at Lee Lohman Arena. St. Ambrose won both regular season contests against Waldorf.

The St. Ambrose Queen Bees women’s basketball team defeated Ashford University on Wednesday night 58-48 in what was their last home game of the regular season. It was SAU’s second victory over Ashford this season after defeating them in Clinton back on Jan. 21.

The Queen Bees took an early lead and led throughout the first half. They would lead by as many as seven points before taking a 26-20 lead into halftime.

Despite the halftime lead, SAU shot just 28.6 percent (10 of 35) from the field. They did, however, hold Ashford to 26.1 percent (6 of 23) from the field in the first 20 minutes of play.

Ali Dolphin led St. Ambrose with eight points and seven rebounds in the first half. Jenny Clark and Mary Burmeister each added six points.

SAU would immediately begin the second half on an 8-0 run, increasing their lead to 14. They would lead by as many as 16 before Ashford went on a 16-4 run, cutting the lead to just four. But the Queen Bees were able to hang on as they escaped with a 10-point victory.

Dolphin led the Queen Bees with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Burmeister had 12 points while Clark added 10. Dolphin and Amy Fulfs led the team with five assists each.

With the win, St. Ambrose improves to 10-5 in the Midwest Collegiate Conference and 18-10 overall. They remain in fourth place in the MCC and next will travel to Dubuque to face Clarke College in the last game of the regular season. The game will be held on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Jenny Clark would score a career-high 30 points, including 24 from beyond the arc as the St. Ambrose Queen Bees women’s basketball team cruised to a 77-46 victory over William Penn.

Clark, whose previous career-high was 29 set back in March of 2008, marked the third time in the last four games that a Queen Bee hit the 30-point mark. Ali Dolphin had done so by scoring 30 on Jan. 31 against Waldorf and tying her career-high of 31 last Saturday against Viterbo.

The game would see a competitive start as William Penn would hang with St. Ambrose in the first five minutes. But SAU would stretch out their lead by going on a 14-2 run and led by 14 about halfway through the first half. They would stretch out their lead a little more in the final 10 minutes and took a 41-21 lead into halftime.

Clark led the Queen Bees with an impressive 20 points in the first half. Mary Burmeister had eight points. Despite scoring 41 points in the first 20 minutes of play, the Queen Bees shot just 38.2 percent (13 of 34) from the field.

The second half would not see William Penn come within 18 points as SAU would stretch out their lead by going on a 19-2 run, all but putting the game away. The Queen Bees would lead by as many as 42 before taking home a 31-point victory.

The majority of Clark’s 30 points would come from three-point range as she went an impressive 8 of 15 from beyond the arc. The eight three-pointers made would tie a school record set by Casey Breitbach twice in 2007 and Clark herself in 2008.

Amy Fulfs would score 19 points while Dolphin, who is coming off MCC Player of the Week honors after scoring a total of 85 points over the last three games, would finish with just nine points.

With the win, the Queen Bees improve to 9-5 in the MCC and 17-10 overall. Next they will head home to face Ashford University next Wednesday night at 5:30 p.m. in Lee Lohman Arena.

Sophomore Ali Dolphin, from Marshalltown, Iowa (Marshalltown High School), was named the Midwest Collegiate Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Week on Feb. 10. This is the third time this season Dolphin has won the weekly honor.

The 5-9 forward averaged 27.5 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 2.5 blocks, and 3.5 steals in two games last week. She shot 50 percent (23-46) from the field, and 75 percent from the free throw line (9-12). She also became just the 27th Queen Bee to score 1,000 career points.

Dolphin started the week by finishing with 24 points, 8 assists, 5 rebounds, 5 steals and 1 blocked shot in an 82-75 loss at Iowa Wesleyan on Wednesday. She matched her career high with 31 points and added 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 blocks and 2 steals in a 56-55 win over Viterbo on Saturday.

This season, Dolphin leads the MCC in scoring, assists and steals and is third in the conference in rebounds and blocked shots.

Dolphin was one of four SAU athletes to bring home a weekly award from the MCC. Dustin Renwick (men's track), Stephanie Reagan (women's track) and Mandy Streu (women's field) won the honors for the Bee track and field program.

In the last month, two St. Ambrose University women’s basketball players have reached the 1,000-point mark. And the best news for St. Ambrose fans – neither player is a senior.

Junior Jenny Clark reached the milestone first, dropping in her 1,000th career point in an 82-70 win at Ashford University on January 21. The 5-5 guard from Cambridge, Ill., became just the 26th Queen Bee to reach that plateau.

It didn’t take long for the exclusive club to add its 27th member. Just 17 days later, on February 7, sophomore Ali Dolphin netted her 1,000th career point in a 56-55 win over Viterbo University.

Appropriately, the pair hit the historic mark within weeks of each other. Since becoming teammates last season, the duo have helped lead the Queen Bees to a spot in last year’s NAIA Division II Sweet 16 and to a 16-10 record this year.

Clark is the team’s long-range threat, holding SAU single-game (8 on two occasions), single-season (106 last year) and career (227) records for 3-pointers made. She is averaging 12.4 points, 4.3 assists and 3.8 rebounds this season.

With her 80 triples in 2008-09, Clark leads the Midwest Collegiate Conference and is seventh in the country in 3-pointers made. Fittingly, Clark cracked 1,000 career points on a 3-pointer against Ashford.

Dolphin, a 5-9 forward from Marshalltown, Iowa, has had a remarkable season to this point, leading the MCC in scoring, assists, steals and assist-to-turnover ratio, and ranking third in the conference in rebounding and blocked shots. She ranks in the top-10 nationally in steals (5th), offensive rebounds (8th) and assists (9th), and is in the top-45 in four other categories.

The numbers don’t stop there. Dolphin has registered 13 double-doubles through 26 games this season. She has led the Bees in scoring 16 times, rebounding 21 times, assists 15 times, blocked shots 14 times and steals 12 times.

Her all-around game against Viterbo, in which she scored her 1,000th point, reflects her season. She tied her career high with 31 points and added 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 blocks and 2 steals as SAU won 56-55.

Now with the 1,000-point barrier broken, Clark and Dolphin will work to get the Queen Bees back in the NAIA National Tournament and continue their assaults on the SAU record book for the remainder of this season, next season, and for Dolphin, the 2010-11 campaign.

St. Ambrose sophomore Ali Dolphin scored her 1,000th career point in SAU's 56-55 win over Viterbo Saturday afternoon at Lee Lohman Arena. She is the 27th Queen Bee overall and the second this season to reach the 1,000-point mark. Junior teammate Jenny Clark reached the 1,000-point milestone earlier this season.

The 5-9 forward from Marshalltown, Iowa (Marshalltown High School) matched her career high with 31 points against Viterbo and the Bees needed every single point.

Dolphin reached 1,000 points with a driving layup, giving her 28 points in the game and the Bees a 50-46 lead with just under five minutes to play. She added three more points the rest of the way to finish with 1,003 career points.

After leading most of the way, St. Ambrose escaped with the win after Megan Storjohann dropped in two free throws with 16 seconds left. Viterbo missed three shots in the closing seconds.

This season, Dolphin leads the Queen Bees in scoring (17.5 ppg), rebounding (9.7 rpg), assists (5.3 apg) and steals (3.7). She is second on the team in blocked shots, averaging 1.2 per contest.

The St. Ambrose Queen Bees women’s basketball team squeaked out a 56-55 victory against Viterbo University on Saturday afternoon. It was their second win over Viterbo on the season.

It was a game that saw Ali Dolphin score a season-high 31 points. It would also tie her career-high set back in December of 2007. The big night also put her over the 1,000 point mark in her impressive SAU career. Dolphin scored 30 just one week ago against Waldorf.

The game itself was exciting and close to say the least, with neither team ever leading by more than eight points. St. Ambrose would have that eight point lead early on in the first half, but Viterbo would fight back by tying the game on two different occasions. However, free throws helped the Queen Bees enter halftime with a six-point lead. Free throws would also play a key role late in the game.

Dolphin led SAU with 12 points in the first half after going 5 of 8 from the field. As a team, St. Ambrose shot just 38.5 percent (10 of 26) from the field and were just 2 of 10 from beyond the arc.

The second half would start out well for SAU as they would again lead by eight. However, Viterbo would keep them within striking distance and eventually take a one-point lead with just 1:36 remaining.

The Queen Bees would have many chances to take the lead in the final 90 seconds, but came up empty on their next several possessions. They would keep giving themselves chances, however, by forcing three turnovers in the span of 25 seconds. Finally, SAU’s Megan Storjohann was fouled with 16 seconds remaining and delivered in the clutch, making both of her free throws and putting her team back on top by one.

Viterbo tried desperately to regain the lead in the final nine seconds but couldn’t as Dolphin capped an outstanding performance with her fourth block of the game, all but sealing the victory for St. Ambrose.

Dolphin would finish an impressive 14 of 22 from the field. In addition to her season and career-high 31 points, she would total nine rebounds, four assists, four blocks, and two steals. Amy Fulfs would add 12 points.

With the win, the Queen Bees improve to 8-5 in the Midwest Collegiate Conference and 16-10 overall. They also remain in fourth place in the MCC. Next the team will travel to Oskaloosa to face William Penn on Wednesday night at 5:30 p.m.

The St. Ambrose Queen Bees women’s basketball team could not quite complete a comeback in a game where they trailed by as many as 20 points, as they fell to Iowa Wesleyan for the second time this season, 82-75.

Iowa Wesleyan would begin the game on a 15-3 run, putting St. Ambrose in an early hole. Minutes later while trailing 24-9, the Queen Bees would rattle off a 17-1 run, putting them ahead by one. The game would remain close until Iowa Wesleyan closed the first half on a 14-4 run, giving them an 11-point lead at halftime.

SAU would shoot 44.8 percent (13 of 29) from the field in the first half. However, they shot only 25 percent (2 of 8) from beyond the arc.

Ali Dolphin led the Queen Bees with 12 points and four assists in the first half. Jenny Clark would add eight points.

The second half would see Iowa Wesleyan increase their lead to as many as 20 points with just 13 minutes remaining. The Queen Bees would not give up, however, as they stormed back and cut the lead down to as little as four points. But they would not be able to get any closer than that as they were defeated by seven points.

SAU’s shooting from the field declined in the second half and along with shooting over 10 percent worse than Iowa Wesleyan throughout the course of the game, the Queen Bees were out-rebounded 44-29.

Dolphin led the team with 24 points, eight assists, and five steals. Amy Fulfs scored 16 points, Clark finished with 15, while Mary Burmeister added 12 and led the team with nine rebounds. Megan Storjohann also had eight points and eight rebounds. But perhaps the biggest problem for St. Ambrose this game was the fact that they had zero points off the bench.

With the loss, the Queen Bees fall to 7-5 in the Midwest Collegiate Conference and 15-10 overall. Next they will head home for a 1 p.m. contest against Viterbo on Saturday at Lee Lohman Arena.

St. Ambrose Athletic Director Ray Shovlain announced today members of the Fall 2008 Athletic Director Honor Roll. To be eligible for the award, student-athletes must have had a minimum 3.0 grade-point average in the fall semester.

There were 306 total Fighting Bee student-athletes named to the honor roll. Of the group, 138 had GPAs between 3.0-3.49, 131 had GPAs between 3.5-3.99 and 37 had 4.0 GPAs.

Women’s Basketball
Mary Burmeister
Megan Cash
Jennifer Clark
Alison Dolphin
Kirstin Kramer
Jennifer Lickteig
Lauren Ryan
Tara Sigona

Fresh off a victory against nationally-ranked Mount Mercy, the St. Ambrose Queen Bees women’s basketball team would rally late against Waldorf on Saturday afternoon, closing the game on a 16-3 run, and securing a 64-59 win.

The game would start off well for St. Ambrose, as they led for the majority of the first 10 minutes of the first half until Waldorf would take the lead and go into halftime with a four-point cushion.

The Queen Bees would shoot 39.4 percent (13 of 33) from the field in the first 20 minutes of play. Ali Dolphin led the team with 13 points in the first half.

The second half saw Waldorf lead for the majority, by as many as 10 points. Trailing by eight with just six minutes remaining, SAU embarked on a 16-3 run, giving them a five-point victory in thrilling fashion.

Despite the win, St. Ambrose would actually shoot worse in the second half, going just 11 of 34 (32.4 percent) from the field and 3 of 16 (18.8 percent) from beyond the arc.

But free throws would once again help propel the Queen Bees to victory as they would finish 10 of 13 (76.9 percent) from the line.

Dolphin finished with a season-high 30 points, one point off her career-high of 31 that she set in December of 2007. Dolphin would also lead the team with 10 rebounds and went an impressive 10 of 11 from the free throw line. Megan Cash would finish with 10 points while Jenny Clark added eight.

The victory was SAU’s seventh in their last eight games, improving their record to 7-4 in the Midwest Collegiate Conference and 15-9 overall. Next they will travel to Mount Pleasant to face Iowa Wesleyan on Wednesday night at 5:30 p.m.

Just three days after their five-game winning streak ended against Grand View, the St. Ambrose Queen Bees women’s basketball team rebounded by knocking off Mount Mercy College, a team who entered the game ranked 23rd in the most recent NAIA Division II poll and was tied with Iowa Wesleyan atop the Midwest Collegiate Conference standings.

St. Ambrose and Mount Mercy already met once this year back on Dec. 6 in Cedar Rapids, a game in which Mount Mercy won by a score of 69-59.

As this game began, Mount Mercy would jump out to a 7-0 lead but the Queen Bees would respond by scoring 11 unanswered points, giving them a four-point lead. St. Ambrose would hold a small lead for the next several minutes before going on a 13-4 run to close the first half, giving them a 37-24 lead at halftime.

SAU would go 13 of 30 (43.3 percent) from the field in the first half and 5 of 10 from beyond the arc. Megan Cash led the Queen Bees with 13 points in the first half. Jenny Clark would add nine.

St. Ambrose would come out and dominate the second half, never letting their lead get below 10 points and at one time stretched their lead out to as many as 23. Mount Mercy would battle back and cut the lead to 11, but it wasn’t enough as SAU held on for an 85-70 victory.

The Queen Bees improved their shooting in the second half, going 12 of 24 (50 percent) from the field. Drawing fouls seemed to propel them to the victory as they shot a total of 38 free throws as a team, knocking down 27 of them for a 71.1 percentage. Good defense also benefitted SAU as they held Mount Mercy to just 14.8 percent (4 of 27) from three-point range.

Cash would finish with a team-leading 26 points and would set the St. Ambrose school record for most free throws attempted at 19, passing the previous records of 18 held by former players Robin Becker and Angie Shinstock.

Clark would add 16 points while Ali Dolphin would score 11 and lead the team with five steals. Dolphin, Delaney Graziano, and Mary Burmeister would all foul out as the Queen Bees fouled 26 times, well shy of the team record of 34 set in 1982.

With the win, the Queen Bees move to 6-4 in the Midwest Collegiate Conference and still sit in fourth place. They improve to 14-9 overall and next will travel to Forest City to face Waldorf College on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Throughout the rest of the season, junior guard Jenny Clark will be writing a blog to give Queen Bee basketball fans an inside look at the 2008-09 season. Her blog can be found here.

After winning five games in a row, the St. Ambrose Queen Bees women’s basketball team was defeated by Grand View 58-52 on Monday night in Des Moines.

SAU would get off to a quick start, leading for most of the first half and taking a 29-26 lead into halftime.

St. Ambrose would shoot 35.5 percent (11 of 31) from the field in the first half and would go 4 of 10 from beyond the arc.

Ali Dolphin led the Queen Bees with nine points, nine rebounds, and three assists in the first half. Jenny Clark added eight points.

The second half started out smoothly for SAU as they increased their lead to as many as eight with just six minutes remaining. Grand View, however, would go on a 15-3 run and defeat the Queen Bees by six, giving them their first loss since Jan. 7.

St. Ambrose would shoot just 28.6 percent (8 of 28) from the field in the second half and were only 2 of 13 (15.4 percent) from three-point range.

Dolphin finished with a team-leading 18 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists. Jenny Clark added 16 points.

With the loss the Queen Bees drop to 5-4 in the Midwest Collegiate Conference and 13-9 overall. Next up will be a home game Thursday night against Mount Mercy at Lee Lohman Arena. The game is scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m.

The St. Ambrose Queen Bees women’s basketball team would cruise easily to an 82-53 victory over Clarke College on Saturday afternoon at Lee Lohman Arena. It was their fourth straight conference win and fifth straight win overall.

SAU would score the first six points of the game, but Clarke quickly fought back and tied the game at eight roughly five minutes into the first half. However, St. Ambrose would reclaim the lead and increase it to as many as 19 points as they took a 43-24 lead into halftime.

Despite having a large lead at halftime, the Queen Bees shot just 36.6 percent (15 of 41) from the field in the first half. They did, however, force 16 Clarke turnovers in the first 20 minutes of play.

SAU’s Amy Fulfs had an impressive first half, scoring 17 points, 15 of which came from beyond the arc. Jenny Clark had eight points, four assists, and four steals in the first half.

The second half would see St. Ambrose continuing their dominance as they increased their lead to as many as 36 points before taking home a 29-point victory.

The Queen Bees did not improve their shooting by much in the second half, going just 13 of 35 (37.1 percent) from the field.

Fulfs would finish with a team-leading 22 points. Clark was next with 16 points, and led SAU with six assists and five steals. Megan Cash finished with 11 points while Ali Dolphin added 10. Freshman Megan Storjohann led the team with 11 rebounds.

After winning their fifth straight game, the Queen Bees improve to 5-3 in the Midwest Collegiate Conference and 13-8 overall. Next they will travel to Des Moines to face Grand View on Tuesday night at 5:30 p.m.

St. Ambrose junior Jenny Clark netted her 1,000th career point in SAU's 82-70 win at Ashford Wednesday night. She is just the 26th Queen Bee to reach the 1,000-point mark.

Needing just six points entering the game, Clark reached the milestone with a 3-pointer not quite four minutes into the game. The 5-5 guard from Cambridge, Ill., scored 12 points in the victory, giving her 1,006 points in her SAU career.

Clark is averaging 12.5 points per game this season. She holds SAU single-game (8 on two occasions), single-season (106 last year) and career (211) records for 3-pointers made.

Clark will be recognized for her achievement on Saturday, prior to the Queen Bees' 1 p.m. home game against Clarke College.

The St. Ambrose Queen Bees women’s basketball team won their fourth game in a row on Wednesday night by defeating Ashford University 82-70 in Clinton. It was also a game that saw junior guard Jenny Clark score her 1,000th point in her impressive SAU career.

SAU got off to a great start in the game by scoring the first seven points, giving them an early lead. They would dominate the first half for the most part, leading by as many as 15 and taking a 10-point lead into halftime.

The Queen Bees would shoot 42.9 percent (15 of 35) from the field in the first half and 42.9 percent (9 of 21) from beyond the arc.

Jenny Clark would eclipse the 1,000 point mark in the first half as she scored 12 points, all coming from three-point range. Ali Dolphin would have nine points, seven rebounds, five assists, and three steals in the first half alone.

SAU would continue dominating in the second half, stretching their lead out to as many as 23. Ashford would get about half of the lead back, but it would not be enough as the Queen Bees captured a 12-point victory.

In the second half, St. Ambrose would almost mirror their shooting from the first half, shooting 42.5 percent (17 of 40) from the field and 38.5 percent (5 of 13) from beyond the arc.

Dolphin would finish with a season-high 27 points. She would also add 16 rebounds, eight assists, and four steals. Amy Fulfs would add 17 points, and also went 5 of 11 from three-point range. Clark would finish with 12 points while Lauren Ryan added 10.

The win was the fourth in a row for the Queen Bees, improving their record to 4-3 in the Midwest Collegiate Conference and 12-8 overall. After playing three of their last four games on the road, SAU will head home to face Clarke College. The game will be held at Lee Lohman Arena on Saturday at 1 p.m.

The St. Ambrose Queen Bees women’s basketball team cruised to a 75-49 victory on Saturday afternoon against St. Mary of the Woods College. It was SAU’s first non-conference game since Dec. 29.

St. Ambrose would for the most part dominate the game from start to finish. They had a strong first half despite only shooting 35.1 percent (13 of 37) from the field, putting up 40 points and taking a 14-point lead into halftime.

SAU would continue their dominance in the second half, putting 35 more points on the board and coasting to a 26-point victory.

The Queen Bees would improve their shooting in the second half to 48.5 percent (16 of 33), more than a 13 percent increase from the first half.

Perhaps the biggest key to the SAU’s victory was the turnover battle. St. Ambrose would force 41 turnovers throughout the game while only committing 18 turnovers themselves.

Megan Cash led the Queen Bees with 24 points and five steals. Jenny Clark would add 18 points and lead the team with five assists while Ali Dolphin scored 11 points and led the team with 12 rebounds. Lauren Ryan would also add nine points.

With the victory, the Queen Bees improve to 11-8 overall and remain 3-3 in the Midwest Collegiate Conference. Next they will travel to Clinton, Iowa to face Ashford University on Wednesday night at 5:30 p.m.

The St. Ambrose Queen Bees women’s basketball team evened their Midwest Collegiate Conference record at 3-3 on Wednesday night by defeating William Penn University 63-43.

SAU were coming off an 18-point conference road win against Viterbo University last Saturday but did not start out very well in this game as William Penn took an early lead. They would lead by as many as seven points before St. Ambrose battled back and eventually tied the game with seven and a half minutes remaining in the first half.

Despite only shooting 32.4 percent (12 of 37) from the field in the first half, the Queen Bees would take a 32-26 lead into halftime.

Jenny Clark would lead St. Ambrose with 12 points in the first half, all of which came from beyond the arc as she made 4 of 7 shots from three-point range.

William Penn would cut the SAU lead down to one point about four minutes into the second half. The Queen Bees then began a 9-0 scoring run, immediately stretching their lead to 10. William Penn would cut the lead back down to seven before SAU would run away with the game, leading by as many as 21 points and cruising to a 63-43 victory.

Despite the large victory, the Queen Bees would only shoot 33.3 percent (10 of 30) from the field in the second half. They would, however, connect on six more three-point shots, giving them an impressive 13 for the game.

Megan Cash would have a big second-half for St. Ambrose, scoring 15 points and giving her 21 total for the game. Clark would finish with 15 points, all coming from beyond the arc while Ali Dolphin finished with 12 rebounds and six steals despite only having eight points.

With the victory, the Queen Bees even their MCC record at 3-3 and improve to 10-8 overall. Next the team will travel to Terre Haute, Indiana to face St. Mary of the Woods College in a non-conference matchup on Saturday at 2 p.m.

The St. Ambrose Queen Bees women’s basketball team cruised to a 66-48 victory over Viterbo University on Saturday afternoon in La Crosse.

St. Ambrose, who came into the game with a record of just 1-3 in the Midwest Collegiate Conference, would have lead for almost the entire game and were able to win easily after a very good performance in the second half. A primary reason for the big win was the fact that St. Ambrose forced 33 Viterbo turnovers while turning the ball over only 14 times themselves.

SAU would lead by about a half-dozen for most of the first half, taking a 26-21 lead into halftime. They would shoot only 10 of 33 (30.3 percent) from the field in the first half and went 0 of 7 from beyond the arc.

The Queen Bees would open up their lead in the second half however, beginning the half on a 13-6 run and increasing their lead to 12. Viterbo would cut the lead back down to six before SAU went on an 11-0 run, putting the game out of reach.

SAU’s dominating performance in the second half was due largely to good shooting as the Queen Bees went 14 of 28 (50 percent) from the field and 5 of 9 (55.6 percent) from beyond the arc.

Ali Dolphin led the Queen Bees with 18 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists. Megan Cash would add 15 points.

With the victory, SAU moves to 2-3 in the MCC and 9-8 overall. Next up the Queen Bees will face William Penn on Jan. 14. The game will be held at Lee Lohman Arena at 5:30 p.m.

The St. Ambrose Queen Bees women’s basketball team lost its third Midwest Collegiate Conference game of the season on Wednesday, dropping a 68-55 contest to Iowa Wesleyan, who remains undefeated in the MCC.

As the game started, a three-pointer by SAU’s Amy Fulfs gave the Queen Bees a quick 3-0 lead. It would not last long, however, as Iowa Wesleyan tied the game and then took a three-point lead about eight minutes into the game. The lead would change hands for the rest of the half until Iowa Wesleyan was able to take a five-point lead into halftime.

Fulfs led SAU with 10 points in the first half. Ali Dolphin added five points and had eight rebounds.

St. Ambrose shot just 25.7 percent (9 of 35) from the field in the first half and were just 3 of 15 (20 percent) from beyond the arc.

The game would stay close during the beginning of the second half, with each team taking turns leading. However, Iowa Wesleyan would begin to pull away with about 12 minutes remaining in the game as they marched on a 20-2 run, giving them a 21-point lead and putting the game out of reach for the Queen Bees.

St. Ambrose was able to cut the lead down to 11, but it was not enough as they would lose by 13 points.

The Queen Bees improved their shooting only slightly in the second half, making 11 of 37 (29.7 percent) shots from the field and 2 of 9 (22.2 percent) shots from beyond the arc. They would have a hard time stopping Iowa Wesleyan in the second half as they went on to shoot 60 percent (12 of 20) from the field and 81.3 percent (13 of 16) from the free throw line.

Dolphin led the team with 18 points, nine rebounds, and seven steals. Fulfs had 13 points and led the team with five assists. Megan Cash would add eight points.

With the loss, the Queen Bees move to 1-3 in the MCC and 8-8 overall. Next up they will travel to La Crosse, Wisconsin to face Viterbo University on Jan. 10 at 1 p.m.

The St. Ambrose women’s basketball team has added two new recruits to the roster as the second semester begins. Megan Storjohann and Kourtney Lilienthal have joined the Queen Bees and are eligible to play immediately.

Storjohann, a 6-0 freshman from Waukee, Iowa, led Waukee High School to the state tournament last year. The team recorded the best offensive and defensive averages in school history. Storjohann holds single-game, season and career rebounding records at Waukee.

Lilienthal, a 5-5 freshman from Durant, Iowa, holds season and career records for 3-pointers made at Durant High School. She is also a school record holder in the 4x100 and 4x200 track and field relays.

“What stands out most about Megan is the rebounding success she had in high school,” said SAU head coach Nathan Altenhofen. “And our biggest need this year is help on the boards, and she adds that immediately. Kourtney will add depth to our guards, and with her track background, she will enjoy the temp of our system.”

Storjohann and Lilienthal join guard Alyssa Curtis and center Miranda McCormick as freshmen additions to the roster in the last month. SAU has one of the youngest teams in the Midwest Collegiate Conference, with 14 of the 16 players on the team either in their freshman or sophomore years.

“It’s awesome that as most teams are trimming their rosters at this point of the season, we’re able to add four new players,” said Altenhofen. “We worked really hard to bring the latest two recruits to St. Ambrose. This makes us even younger, but we’re extremely confident of our future.”

The Queen Bees host Iowa Wesleyan tonight at 5:30 p.m. before visiting Viterbo Saturday at 1 p.m.

The St. Ambrose Queen Bees women’s basketball team won its first Midwest Collegiate Conference game of the season on Saturday afternoon by defeating Waldorf College 79-71.

The Queen Bees did not start quickly as they would trail 8-2 in the opening minutes of the game. They would respond from there, however, by scoring eight straight points and taking a 10-8 lead.

The lead would change hands several times in the first half until SAU pulled away toward the end of the first half, leading by as many as nine and taking a 41-35 lead into halftime.

St. Ambrose would make 15 of 37 shots (40.5 percent) from the field in the first half and were 4 of 15 (26.7 percent) from three-point range.

Amy Fulfs led the Queen Bees with 15 points in the first half, 12 of them coming from beyond the arc. Ali Dolphin added 8 points and also had four steals.

As the second half began, St. Ambrose would continue leading, although not by many. They would never lead by more than 12 points and only led by three with six minutes remaining as Waldorf made it a one-possession game.

SAU would answer, however, with seven straight points, putting them back up by 10 and enabling them to hang on for their first conference victory of the season.

St. Ambrose would shoot 41.9 percent (13 of 31) from the field in the second half and 41.2 percent (7 of 17) from three-point range. Despite losing, Waldorf would shoot an impressive 63.6 percent (14 of 22) from the field in the second half.

Fulfs and Dolphin would both lead the Queen Bees with 21 points each. Fulfs would finish with six three-pointers while Dolphin led the team with seven steals and seven assists.

With the win, the Queen Bees improve their record to 1-2 in the MCC and 8-7 overall. Next up will be another home game, this time against Iowa Wesleyan. The game will take place on Jan. 7 at Lee Lohman Arena and will start at 5:30 p.m.

The St. Ambrose Queen Bees women’s basketball team won two of their three games in the St. Xavier Tournament they participated in from Dec. 27-29.

They would begin the tournament with a 60-50 win over Siena Heights University on Saturday. SAU would be defeated 95-71 on Sunday against St. Xavier University but would bounce back on Monday with an 80-60 victory over Aquinas College.

St. Ambrose would begin the game on Saturday against Siena Heights on a 12-2 run. Siena Heights would respond quickly by going on a 14-4 run of their own, tying the game at 16 just under eight minutes into the game.

The Queen Bees would stretch the lead back out to as many as 10 and led by a score of 36-28 at halftime.

SAU made just 12 of 33 shots (36.4 percent) from the field in the first half but knocked down 5 of 10 shots from beyond the arc. They would not surrender the lead at any point in the second half and at one time would lead by 17 points before cruising to a 10-point victory.

Despite the win, the Queen Bees’ shooting would decline greatly in the second half as they converted on only 6 of 32 shots (18.8 percent) from the field and 3 of 16 shots (18.8 percent) from beyond the arc. Fortunately for SAU, Siena Heights would shoot only 13.6 percent from the field in the second half, enabling St. Ambrose to pickup its sixth win of the season.

Ali Dolphin would lead the Queen Bees with 15 points, nine of them coming from the free throw line. She would also lead the team with eight rebounds.

Sunday’s game against St. Xavier would not have as fortunate of an outcome for the Queen Bees as St. Xavier would knock down a three-pointer in the first 30 seconds of the game and would basically dominate the rest of the game.

St. Xavier began the game on an 8-0 run as SAU would not score during the first four minutes of the game. St. Ambrose would eventually get on the board and kept the lead under 15 until the end of the first half when St. Xavier would stretch it to 20 entering halftime.

Megan Cash would lead the Queen Bees with 12 points in the first half. SAU would shoot a decent 41.9 percent from the field and an impressive 47.4 percent from beyond the arc in the first half but could simply not stop the shooting of St. Xavier, who connected on 25 of 35 shots (71.4 percent) from the field and 8 of 12 shots (66.7 percent) from beyond the arc.

For the most part, the Queen Bees were able to keep the lead from growing in the second half. However, they were still defeated soundly by 24 points.

Cash would finish with a team-leading 16 points for SAU. Amy Fulfs would add 10 points while Ali Dolphin led the team with eight rebounds.

On Monday the Queen Bees would face Aquinas College with a chance to rebound from Sunday night’s loss. They would get off to a good start by opening the game on a 15-6 run. They would lead by as many as 12 in the first half before taking a 41-33 lead into halftime.

Mary Burmeister led SAU with 10 points in the first half while Megan Cash added seven points.

St. Ambrose made an impressive 18 of 36 shots from the field in the first half but knocked down only 2 of 15 shots (13.3 percent) from beyond the arc.

Aquinas would cut the lead down to six in the second half before the Queen Bees took control of the game, stretching their lead out to as many as 23 points before cruising to a 20-point victory.

Burmeister finished with a team-high 20 points. Ali Dolphin added 16 points and 13 rebounds while Cash finished the night with 12 points.

After their outstanding tournaments, Burmeister and Dolphin were named to the all-tournament team.

After the tournament, the Queen Bees sit 7-7 overall and remain 0-2 in the Midwest Collegiate Conference. Next up is the beginning of the main portion of MCC regular season play, with a home game coming on Jan. 3 against Waldorf. The game is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Lee Lohman Arena.

The St. Ambrose Queen Bees women’s basketball team overcame a seven-point Wartburg College lead with two minutes remaining and forced overtime, but could not capitalize as they were defeated 89-80.

Wartburg led at the start of the game by as many as five before St. Ambrose tied the game and took the lead halfway through the first half. Wartburg would comeback however and take a three-point lead into halftime.

SAU shot just 12 of 33 (36.4 percent) from the field in the first half while Wartburg made 17 of 29 (58.6 percent) shots.

Jenny Clark led the Queen Bees with 13 points in the first half. Amy Fulfs added 11 while Ali Dolphin had six points and four assists.

The lead would change hands several times in the second half, but it was Wartburg who would take a seven-point lead with just two minutes remaining. But five straight points from Dolphin and a couple of free throws from Clark tied the game at 75. SAU had a chance to win the game at the buzzer but a shot by Dolphin missed.

The Queen Bees took a quick two-point lead at the start of overtime but would not score in the last two and a half minutes as Wartburg ended the night with a nine-point victory.

Dolphin ended up leading SAU with 22 points and eight assists. Clark and Fulfs each added 18 points while Mary Burmeister finished the night with eight points and eight rebounds.

With the loss the Queen Bees fall to 5-6 overall and remain 0-2 in the Midwest Collegiate Conference. Next up for St. Ambrose is the St. Xavier Tournament in Chicago that runs from Dec. 27-29.

The St. Ambrose women’s basketball team recently received an infusion of size and local talent with the addition of two players to the roster. Alyssa Curtis and Miranda McCormick have joined the Queen Bees to give the team more depth as Midwest Collegiate Conference play heats up.

Curtis, a 5-6 freshman guard from Bettendorf, Iowa, was named the 2008 Athlete of the Year as a senior at Bettendorf High School. She earned third team all-conference honors as a junior and senior and received all-metro honorable mention. Curtis also played in the Iowa/Illinois Senior All-Star Game last year.

McCormick, a 6-3 freshman center from Lansing, Iowa, will add size in the post. She averaged 8 points and 13 rebounds a game at Kee High School.

After an 89-62 win at Augustana last night, the Queen Bees won’t return to the court until Thursday, Dec. 18, when SAU hosts Wartburg in a non-conference battle at 7:30 p.m. in Lee Lohman Arena.

The St. Ambrose Queen Bees women’s basketball team ended their losing streak at four as they defeated Augustana 89-62 in Rock Island on Tuesday night.

The Queen Bees got off to a good start, beginning the game on a 15-6 run. They would increase their lead to as many as 19 in the first half before taking a 43-25 lead into halftime.

Despite the large lead at halftime, SAU made just 16 of 41 (39 percent) of their shots from the field in the first half. The key statistic though was their numbers from three-point range as they connected on 7 of 15 (46.7 percent) shots from beyond the arc.

Amy Fulfs led St. Ambrose with 16 points and four assists in the first half. Megan Cash added 13 points while Mary Burmeister had eight points and eight rebounds in the game’s first 20 minutes.

Augustana would open up the second half on a 12-4 run, cutting the SAU lead down to 10. The lead would stabilize around 10 until the Queen Bees increased it and put the game out of reach about halfway through the second half by going on an 18-2 run, giving them a commanding 30-point lead as they would cruise to victory from there.

The Queen Bees improved their shooting in the second half, going 19 of 41 (46.3 percent) from the field and 2 of 3 (66.7 percent) from beyond the arc.

Fulfs finished the game with 26 points and eight assists. Cash finished with 24 points while Burmeister added 22 and led the team with 16 rebounds.

With the victory, the Queen Bees move to 5-5 overall and remain 0-2 in the MCC. They will face Wartburg College on Saturday Dec. 18 at Lee Lohman Arena. The game starts at 7:30 p.m.

For the second game in a row, the St. Ambrose Queen Bees women’s basketball team could not hold onto a lead at half-time. This time they led by eight at the half but could not stop Mt. Mercy in the second half as they allowed them to score 47 points on their way to a 10-point victory.

St. Ambrose got off to a good start, leading by as many as nine in the first half and taking a 30-22 lead into half-time.

Mary Burmeister led SAU with 10 points in the first half. Ali Dolphin had seven points, eight rebounds, and four assists in the first 20 minutes of play.

The Queen Bees would go 12 of 34 (35.3 percent) from the field in the first half while shooting just 18.2 percent (2 of 11) from beyond the arc.

SAU saw their lead evaporated immediately in the second half as Mt. Mercy marched on a 14-2 run and took the lead.

The Queen Bees would cut the lead back down to one, but would not get any closer as Mt. Mercy dominated the second half and cruised to a 69-59 victory.

SAU struggled from the field in the second half, going just 9 of 32 (28.1 percent) from the field and 3 of 10 (30 percent) from three-point range.

Dolphin led the team with 17 total points, 13 rebounds, and seven assists. Burmeister and Jenny Clark each added 14 points.

The loss was the fourth straight for the Queen Bees as they fall to 4-5 overall and 0-2 in the MCC. St. Ambrose will now play five non-conference games in a row, including the St. Xavier Tournament in Chicago from Dec. 27-29 before resuming conference play on Jan. 3 against Waldorf.

The St. Ambrose Queen Bees women’s basketball team opened up Midwest Collegiate Conference play on a disappointing note, letting an 11-point half-time lead slip away as Grand View rallied in the second half to a 60-57 victory.

SAU got off to a great start, scoring the first seven points of the game. They would continue leading throughout the first half and were up by as many as 16 at one point before going into halftime leading by 11.

St. Ambrose were 10 of 29 (34.5 percent) from the field in the first half and 6 of 17 (35.3 percent) from beyond the arc. They also made all six free throws attempted at the line.

Jenny Clark led the Queen Bees with 12 points in the first half, all 12 coming from shots beyond the arc. Ali Dolphin added 10 points and had seven rebounds in the first half.

When the second half began Grand View would go on a 15-3 scoring run about six minutes into the half, turning a 10-point SAU lead into a two-point Grand View lead. They would lead the rest of the way as they defeated the Queen Bees by three points.

SAU were just 5 of 28 (17.9 percent) from the field in the second half and made just 3 of 14 (21.4 percent) three-point shots. In addition, the St. Ambrose defense allowed Grand View to convert on 16 of 32 (50 percent) shots from the field.

Clark led SAU with 15 total points, all of them coming as three-pointers. Dolphin finished with 14 points and led the team with 12 rebounds. Amy Fulfs added 12 points.

With the loss, the Queen Bees fall to 4-4 on the year and 0-1 in the MCC. They head to Cedar Rapids on Saturday at 1 p.m. to face Mount Mercy in their second MCC game of the season.

The St. Ambrose women’s basketball team couldn’t use having home-court to their advantage as they dropped both games of the Rivers Cities Classic last weekend.

Their first matchup came against Haskell Indian Nations University on Saturday, a game they would keep close to the very end before losing by three, 71-68.

The Queen Bees held a short lead throughout most of the first half, increasing it to as high as seven before entering halftime with just a one point lead.

Jenny Clark led SAU with 18 first half points, all of them coming from beyond the arc as Clark knocked down six three-pointers in the first 20 minutes.

The game remained close throughout the second half but St. Ambrose found themselves trailing late.

With 26 seconds remaining and down by two, Clark would miss a three-pointer. The Queen Bees would then get an offensive rebound, but Amy Fulfs could not knock down the potential game-tying shot. SAU would score another offensive rebound after Fulfs missed the field goal but this time it was Ali Dolphin who missed the two-point shot.

After Haskell Indian Nations increased the lead to three by making 1 of 2 free throws, SAU called timeout and then inbounded the ball to Clark who tried to tie the game up with what would have been her ninth three-pointer of the game. Her shot was blocked, however, as St. Ambrose would go on to lose its second game of the year.

Clark tied a school-record by making eight three-point shots and finished the game with 26 points. Fulfs and Dolphin each finished the day with 11 points. Dolphin added 13 rebounds and nine assists as she just missed a triple-double for the third straight game. Dolphin, who has been named the MCC Player of the Week the last two weeks, looks for her third straight award this week.

One day later the Queen Bees would matchup with Davenport University, a school located in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Davenport would get off to a quick start and never look back. The Queen Bees would cut the lead to three a couple times, but would get no closer than that as they were defeated 72-57.

Davenport began the game on an 11-2 run and kept their lead around 10 most of the first half. St. Ambrose kept fighting back however as they went into halftime trailing only by nine.

Ali Dolphin led SAU in the first half with 13 points and seven rebounds while Mary Burmeister added 10 points.

The Queen Bees would cut the lead down to three in the second half before Davenport pulled away again and cruised to a 15-point victory.

St. Ambrose made just 17 of 55 (30.9 percent) shots from the field in the game and were just 1 of 20 (5 percent) from beyond the arc.

Dolphin led the Queen Bees with 20 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists. Burmeister added 15 points while Amy Fulfs and Megan Cash each added seven.

The Queen Bees move to 4-3 on the year and will begin Midwest Collegiate Conference play on Wednesday when they take on Grand View at Lee Lohman Arena at 5:30 p.m.

The St. Ambrose Queen Bees women’s basketball team notched their fourth victory of the season Tuesday night at Lee Lohman Arena by defeating the University of Illinois-Springfield 68-52.

The game was close throughout most of the first half, the each team taking turns leading. The Queen Bees were able to close out the half on a 13-2 run and take a 28-17 lead into halftime.

It was a sloppy first half as both teams struggled shooting. St. Ambrose went just 10 of 37 (27 percent) from the field and 2 of 10 from beyond the arc. Luckily for the Queen Bees, Illinois-Springfield shot only 18.5 percent from the field in the first half.

Ali Dolphin led SAU with nine points and six rebounds in the first half while Jenny Clark registered five assists.

St. Ambrose would increase their lead when the second half began, going on a 12-3 run to open the half, increasing their lead to 20. They would cruise from there as Illinois-Springfield would cut the lead back to as little as nine, but could get no closer than that.

The Queen Bees improved their shooting drastically in the second half, connecting on 12 of 26 (46.2 percent) shots from the field. In addition they were an impressive 12 of 14 (85.7 percent) from the free throw line in the half.

Dolphin and Amy Fulfs each had 10 points in the second half, giving Dolphin 19 points on the evening. Fulfs finished with 15 points while Clark added 13 while registering eight assists. Clark and Dolphin both led the team with eight rebounds.

With the win, the Queen Bees move to 4-1 on the season and will host the River Cities Classic tournament this Friday through Sunday.

For the second straight week, Ali Dolphin was named the Midwest Collegiate Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Week. The 5-9 sophomore forward from Marshalltown, Iowa (Marshalltown High School), picked up her second award on Tuesday, Nov. 25, after averaging 20.5 points, 12.5 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 3.5 steals over two games last week.

Dolphin started the week by scoring 17 points in a 97-66 win over Webster on Friday at the North Central Holiday Inn Select Tip-Off Tournament. Along with hitting all nine of her free throw attempts, Dolphin finished with 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals in the win.

The reigning MCC Newcomer of the Year was one assist shy of a triple-double the next night. Dolphin finished with season highs of 24 points, 19 rebounds and 9 assists while playing all 50 minutes in an 82-80 loss to North Central. She added 3 steals and blocked 2 shots.

This season, Dolphin leads the Queen Bees in points (18.8 ppg), rebounds (11.0 rpg), assists (5.8 apg), steals (3.0 spg) and blocked shots (1.8 bpg). SAU is 3-1 overall.

The St. Ambrose Queen Bees women’s basketball team fell just short of a weekend sweep in the North Central Classic, cruising to a victory against Webster University 97-66 but losing to North Central University in double overtime 82-80.

SAU took their 2-0 into the North Central Classic on Saturday as they squared off with Webster University.

The Queen Bees scored the first two points of the game on a lay-up by Amy Fulfs and would never look back from there as they led the entire 40 minute game.

St. Ambrose had an excellent first half, connecting on half of their field goals (18-36) and half of their three pointers (9-18). They were also 9 of 9 from the free throw line as they entered halftime leading 54-17.

The Queen Bees continued to add on in the second half, stretching their lead out to as many as 48. Webster would eventually get the lead down to 31, but it wasn’t enough as SAU cruised to their third victory of the season.

Fulfs registered 12 points in the second half and led the team with 24 points on the day. Clark would finish with 19 points and 10 assists while Ali Dolphin added 17 points and Megan Cash added 15.

On Sunday the Queen Bees would face North Central University in what ended up being a very exciting game.

The two teams would go back and forth early on with each team exchanging leads. North Central jumped out to a seven-point lead around halfway through the first half but SAU would battle back, take the lead, and go into halftime leading by six, 43-37.

SAU would have another excellent first half shooting, connecting on 15 of 26 (57.7 percent) shots from the field and 8 of 10 shots from beyond the arc.

Ali Dolphin led the team with 12 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists in the first half.

The teams would exchange leads several times in the second half as well as they both battled down to the wire.

The Queen Bees found themselves trailing 67-64 with just 25 seconds remaining in the game but center Jordie Bongartz was fouled while making a lay-up, giving St. Ambrose a three-point opportunity and a chance to tie the game. Bongartz made the free throw and North Central missed a buzzer shot, sending the game into overtime.

The lead would change hands again in the five minute overtime but neither team would lead by more than two points. The Queen Bees would take a 72-70 lead with just 19 seconds remaining, but North Central would tie the game up at the buzzer on a lay-up from an offensive rebound, thus forcing a second overtime.

The game remained close in the second overtime as well, but St. Ambrose found themselves up by three with only 1:35 remaining. North Central would answer by tying it up on a three-pointer with 1:10 remaining, and then would turn a defensive rebound into a game-winning lay-up with two seconds remaining.

The Queen Bees struggled shooting in the second half, making only 8 of 36 (22.2 percent) shots from the field.

Dolphin would lead the team with 24 points, nine assists, and 19 rebounds. Her 19 rebounds were just six shy of the school record of 25 set by Lynda Talley back in 1979.

Next up the Queen Bees will face the University of Illinois-Springfield at Lee Lohman Arena at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday before hosting a three-day weekend tournament.

St. Ambrose sophomore Ali Dolphin was named the Midwest Collegiate Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Week on Tuesday, Nov. 18.

The 5-9 forward from Marshalltown, Iowa (Marshalltown High School) led the Bees to a pair of wins over NAIA Division I programs. She averaged 17.0 points, 9.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 2.5 blocks and 2.5 steals leading the team to a 2-0 start.

Dolphin had a double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds in SAU's 61-49 win over St. Gregory's on Friday. She added 3 assists, 3 blocks and 2 steals. The next night, Dolphin scored 20 points to go along with 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks.

Dolphin was one of three Bees to earn an honor from the conference. Sam Cohen and Erica Inendino received the award for Women's Soccer Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week, respectively.

Coming off a successful 2007-08 season, the St. Ambrose Queen Bees women’s basketball team got off to a good start in 08-09, defeating St. Gregory’s University and McKendree University in the MidAmerica Classic held in Olathe, Kansas.

Coach Nathan Altenhofen begins his second season as head coach of the Queen Bees, a team that features the return of their two leading scorers from the 07-08 season: Jenny Clark and Ali Dolphin. Also returning from the 07-08 team are Amy Fulfs, Mary Burmeister, Jennifer Lickteig, and Megan Cash.

The Queen Bees played their first game of the MidAmerica Classic on Friday night against St. Gregory’s. It was a relatively close game throughout, with SAU entering half-time holding a 29-25 lead.

They would pull away some in the second half due to better shooting and forcing St. Gregory’s into a large number of turnovers. They would cruise from there to a 61-49 victory.

St. Ambrose were just 9 of 41 (22 percent) from the field in the first half, and just 3 of 18 (16.7 percent) from beyond the arc. St. Gregory’s shot 36.4 percent from the field in the first half, but attempted half as many shots as SAU.

As mentioned above, the Queen Bees improved their shooting in the second half to 10 of 28 (35.7 percent) from the field and 5 of 14 (35.7 percent) from beyond the arc. SAU was 15 of 20 (75 percent) from the line in the game.

Fulfs would lead the Queen Bees with 15 points. Dolphin finished with 14 points and led the team with 11 rebounds. Freshman Lauren Ryan had 10 points and Clark finished with nine points and led the team with five assists.

One day after their victory against St. Gregory’s, the Queen Bees would face McKendree University, and once again it would be a close game throughout.

The Queen Bees did shoot better than they did the previous night, connecting on 10 of 24 (41.7 percent) shots from the field in the first half. They were 3 of 10 (30 percent) from beyond the arc.
Despite shooting better than their opponent in the first half, SAU found themselves trailing McKendree 32-29 at halftime.

Both teams shot around the same in the second half, with McKendree mirroring their first half field goal percentage of 38.7 percent (12 of 31). St. Ambrose actually shot slightly worse in the second half, connecting on 11 of 28 shots from the field (39.3 percent). They were slightly better from beyond the arc however, connecting on 4 of 9 shots (44.4 percent).

The difference of the game was the Queen Bees’ ability to draw fouls in the second half. After going just 6 of 9 from the free throw line in the first half, they were able to more than double that number by going 14 of 20 in the second half. This was enough to give SAU a 69-62 victory.

Amy Fulfs and Ali Dolphin both led the Queen Bees with 20 points. Dolphin and Jenny Clark both registered eight rebounds. Dolphin also led the team in assists with six. Fulfs led the team with four steals.

St. Ambrose will take their 2-0 record into Naperville, Illinois next weekend to participate in the North Central Classic.

Several 2008-09 St. Ambrose men's and women's basketball games, including the entire Midwest Collegiate Conference slate, will be broadcast on either TV-11 or 88.5 and 105.5 KALA-FM.

TV-11 Basketball Broadcast Schedule
Mon., Dec. 1	The Ray Shovlain Show	7 p.m.
	SAU Men vs. Augustana	7:30 p.m.
Wed., Dec. 3	The Nathan Altenhofen Show	5 p.m.
	SAU Women vs. Grand View	5:30 p.m.
	The Ray Shovlain Show	7:15 approx.
	SAU Men vs. Grand View	7:30 p.m.
Sat., Jan. 3	The Nathan Altenhofen Show	12:30 p.m.
	SAU Women vs. Waldorf	1 p.m.
	The Ray Shovlain Show	2:45 approx.
	SAU Men vs. Waldorf	3 p.m.
Wed., Jan. 7	The Nathan Altenhofen Show	5 p.m.
	SAU Women vs. Iowa Wesleyan	5:30 p.m.
	The Ray Shovlain Show	7:15 approx.
	SAU Men vs. Iowa Wesleyan	7:30 p.m.
Wed., Jan. 14	The Nathan Altenhofen Show	5 p.m.
	SAU Women vs. William Penn	5:30 p.m.
	The Ray Shovlain Show	7:15 approx.
	SAU Men vs. William Penn	7:30 p.m.
Sat., Jan. 24	The Nathan Altenhofen Show	12:30 p.m.
	SAU Women vs. Clarke	1 p.m.
	The Ray Shovlain Show	2:45 approx.
	SAU Men vs. Clarke	3 p.m.
Thur., Jan. 29	The Nathan Altenhofen Show	5 p.m.
	SAU Women vs. Mount Mercy	5:30 p.m.
	The Ray Shovlain Show	7:15 approx.
	SAU Men vs. Mount Mercy	7:30 p.m.
Sat., Feb. 7	The Nathan Altenhofen Show	12:30 p.m.
	SAU Women vs. Viterbo	1 p.m.
	The Ray Shovlain Show	2:45 approx.
	SAU Men vs. Viterbo	3 p.m.
Wed., Feb. 18	The Nathan Altenhofen Show	5 p.m.
	SAU Women vs. Ashford	5:30 p.m.
	The Ray Shovlain Show	7:15 approx.
	SAU Men vs. Ashford	7:30 p.m.
Feb. 28-Mar. 1	Possible Post-Season Tourney Title Games

All games broadcast on KALA-FM are also streamed online. All broadcasts are scheduled to begin 10-15 minutes prior to tip-off.

88.5 and 105.5 KALA-FM Basketball Broadcast Schedule
Mon., Nov. 10	SAU Men vs. Ill.-Springfield	7 p.m.
Tues., Nov. 25	SAU Women vs. Ill.-Springfield	5:30 p.m.
Sat., Dec. 6	SAU Women at Mount Mercy	1 p.m.
	SAU Men at Mount Mercy	3 p.m.
Tues., Dec. 9	SAU Women at Augustana	7:30 p.m.
Sat., Jan. 10	SAU Women at Viterbo	1 p.m.
	SAU Men at Viterbo	3 p.m.
Thur., Jan. 15	SAU Men at Olivet Nazarene	3 p.m.
Wed., Jan. 21	SAU Women at Ashford	5:30 p.m.
	SAU Men at Ashford	7:30 p.m.
Mon., Jan. 26	SAU Women at Grand View	5:30 p.m.
	SAU Men at Grand View	7:30 p.m.
Sat., Jan. 31	SAU Women at Waldorf	1 p.m.
	SAU Men at Waldorf	3 p.m.
Wed., Feb. 4	SAU Women at Iowa Wesleyan	5:30 p.m.
	SAU Men at Iowa Wesleyan	7:30 p.m.
Wed., Feb. 11	SAU Women at William Penn	5:30 p.m.
	SAU Men at William Penn	7:30 p.m.
Sat., Feb. 14	SAU Men at Purdue Calumet	3 p.m.
Sat., Feb. 21	SAU Women at Clarke	1 p.m.
	SAU Men at Clarke	3 p.m.
TBA	Women and Men's MCC Tournament Games

Based on last season’s 29-6 record and run to the Sweet Sixteen, expectations are high for the 2008-09 St. Ambrose women’s basketball team. But perhaps those expectations are just a little too high for a young team featuring 12 underclassmen and only one junior and one senior on the roster.

“I’m not sure the expectations are fair this year,” said second-year head coach Nathan Altenhofen. “There needs to be some patience as we bring our young players along, but we want expectations to be higher at some point in the future.”

Coming off a Midwest Collegiate Conference championship and strong showing at the NAIA National Tournament, the Bees are ranked 12th in the preseason NAIA Coaches’ Poll and 19th in the Victory Sports Network poll. The team is also the MCC favorite, earning 6-of-9 first-place votes to sit atop the conference preseason coaches’ poll.

“For such a young team, I am absolutely ecstatic about the future of the program,” said second-year head coach Nathan Altenhofen. “We have three great leaders in Jenny Clark, Ali Dolphin and Mary Burmeister, who are tremendous people with outstanding work ethics.

“The team as a whole is probably more athletic north and south than we were last year, and that’s saying a lot because we were pretty athletic last year,” continued Altenhofen. “We may lack size and strength, and we’ll continue to work at that, but we can definitely run the court.”

SAU ran to the tune of 77.8 points per game last season, good for 11th in the NAIA. The team was also 15th in scoring defense, allowing only 56.9 points per game. St. Ambrose was the only team in the nation to finish in the top-15 nationally in both scoring offense and scoring defense.

The team’s leading scorer from a year ago, 2008 Second Team All-American Jenny Clark, returns for her junior season. The 5-5 guard averaged 16.6 points, 5.5 assists and 4.2 rebounds in earning MCC Player of the Year honors a year ago. She knocked down 106 3-pointers and shot 40 percent from beyond the arc.

“Jenny is one of the top shooters in the country and one of the hardest workers you’ll find,” said Altenhofen. “She’s had some injuries so she’s not going to start the season where she finished last year, but once she gets into form, she is one of the top guards in the conference. It’s her relentless work ethic and shooting ability that propel her to player of the year status.”

Clarke will again team with reigning MCC Newcomer of the Year Ali Dolphin. Dolphin, a 5-9 sophomore forward, averaged 15.7 points, 6.9 boards and 3.6 assists to earn first team all-conference recognition as a freshman.

“I am as big a fan of Ali Dolphin as you can imagine,” said Altenhofen. “Every month she takes her game to another level. She had an unbelievable freshman season; it was one of the best in St. Ambrose history. By the end of her career, she has the potential to be among the top 10 players in the country.”

A third key player returns, but in a different position in 2008-09. Sophomore Mary Burmeister appeared in all 35 games and made 29 starts, averaging 6.3 points and 3.7 rebounds at center a year ago. Now the 6-1 Burmeister will make the move to a power forward spot.

“Mary runs the court well and has a good mid-range jump shot to complement Jenny and Ali. But there was only so much she could get accomplished at center at 6-1. She was facing bigger opponents, especially at the national level, so now she’ll be an athletic four,” said Altenhofen.

“She’ll eventually excel and it will make us better in the long run, but it will take some time. I am 100 percent confident that at some point in the next year, we will mention Mary at the same level as Jenny and Ali. And when we do, we will be an outstanding team.”

The lone senior on the roster, Amy Fulfs, will share the backcourt with Clark. Fulfs played in all 35 games last season and averaged 5.8 points, 1.4 assists and 1.1 rebounds per contest. She connected on 36 percent of her 3-point attempts.

“In our most competitive games last year, Amy played her best basketball,” said Altenhofen. “She is a good complement shooter to Jenny and at some point, Jenny and Amy will give us as good a guard combo as there is in the conference.”

Sophomore Megan Cash is expected to be the first guard off the bench for the Bees.

“Megan joined the varsity late last year and athletically, she fits right in with what we are trying to do,” said Altenhofen. “She had a very good fall and has the potential to have a lot of success.”

Sophomore forward Jennifer Lickteig also saw time as a freshman while sophomore center Jordie Bongartz played for the SAU JV team in 2007-08.

The returning players are complemented by a strong freshman class. Forward Lauren Ryan and guard Kirstin Kramer are expected to make the biggest splashes initially.

“Lauren had a tremendous fall and of all the freshmen, she is the most ready to make an impact,” said Altenhofen. “Kirstin is Burlington High School’s all-time 3-point shooter and once she gets comfortable, she will add 3-point shooting and more athleticism to our team.”

The rest of the incoming class includes forwards Sara Fedler, Delaney Graziano, and Rachel Medland, and centers Miranda McCormick and Tara Sigona.

“Last year’s recruiting class was significant and several players from that group have already made an impact. But this class is just as solid as any other group in the last 7-8 years at St. Ambrose,” said Altenhofen. “It’s important that we keep adding depth. All of the freshmen have worked hard and had a good fall, and they all have the potential to help us down the road. The leaders have really enjoyed the newcomers on the team. The atmosphere at practice has been great and everyone has been working hard.”

The Young Bees will be tested early with three of the team’s first five games coming against NAIA Division I opponents.

After an exhibition game against NCAA Division II Minnesota-Duluth on Nov. 7, the Queen Bees will open the 2008-09 campaign against St. Gregory at the MidAmerica Nazarene Classic on Nov. 14.

SAU will also host Davenport (Mich.), ranked as high as #4 in the Victory Sports Network poll, on Nov. 30 as part of the River Cities Classic.

“Our schedule is a lot tougher this year,” said Altenhofen. “We will be underdogs in four of our first six games. But we have to start scheduling tougher opponents so we can eventually get to the level we want.”

MCC play begins on Dec. 3 when SAU hosts Grand View. The conference race appears to be tight with four teams (St. Ambrose, Iowa Wesleyan, Grand View, Mount Mercy) each receiving at least one first-place vote in the conference coaches’ preseason poll.

“I think this conference is good enough to eventually send two teams to the National Tournament,” said Altenhofen. “Like last year, Iowa Wesleyan is probably the most talented team in the conference. Our goal is to play our best basketball at the end of the year. If we do that, there’s no reason we can’t be in the same equation with Iowa Wesleyan again.”

The St. Ambrose women's basketball team recently spent a day in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, helping the area recover from summer flooding. The Queen Bees gutted a house on Sunday, Sept. 14, as part of a community service project.

"It was definitely an eye-opening experience," said SAU sophomore forward Ali Dolphin. "When we were driving down the street, you could see how bad it was. The water level was above the front doors of some of the houses.

"We gutted a house," Dolphin continued. "We picked up sledge hammers and shovels and cleaned out the house.

"It really was an awesome experience. Everyone on the team grew and it really helped the team bond. It definitely felt great to help the community."

Women's Basketball News - 2008-09