SLIAC Weekly Release - February 8

This week in the SLIAC is a weekly review of the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Read the recaps of the prior weeks results and highlights of upcoming events. You can also find the latest standings, statistics, schedules and awards.

HEADLINES

Feature Friday with Kaycee Turasky (February 3, 2017)
In this week's Feature Friday we sat down with MacMurray College two sport student-athlete Kaycee Turasky. Kaycee tells us about her "odd" food choices and why she likes Nursing so much.....MORE

SLIAC To Induct Second Largest Hall of Fame Class (February 6, 2017)
The 2017 St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) Hall of Fame Class will be the largest since 2007 and includes Rachel Backes, Jeff Borengasser, Christina Day, Ricky Seaman, Katy Meyer, and Crystal Spinner.....MORE

SLIAC Game of the Week: Spalding at Fontbonne (February 7, 2017)
It is that time of year where every game matters and that is certainly the case in this week's SLIAC Game of the Week when Spalding University meets Fontbonne University in a meaningful game for the women's basketball standings.....MORE

SLIAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

The SLIAC Players of the Week are honored for their performances during the week. Click on the sport link below to see the full list of 2016-17 Players of the Week. For this week's Player of the Week release - HERE

Men's Basketball l Women's Basketball

SLIAC WINTER STANDINGS

AROUND THE SLIAC

	Blackburn College will hold a 'White Out' night on Wednesday as they host Westminster College in a conference double header at 6 and 8 p.m. The men's team is currently in a battle for a postseason berth and currently sit in fifth place in the standings with an 8-6 record. With Iowa Wesleyan not eligible for the postseason the Beavers are in the final spot into the four team tournament but have Principia and Eureka just one game back in the loss column.
	Eureka College announced that Becca Idell will return as the Red Devil head volleyball coach. Idell served on an interim basis last fall, guiding the Red Devils to a 12-16 record, a nine-win increase from the previous year. They also finished with a 7-11 conference mark, their most conference wins sin e 2009. To read more on the announcement of the return of Head Coach Becca Idell click HERE
	Already a holder of numerous school records Fontbonne University senior guard Emmie Haring became the SLIAC career leader in assists last week when the surpassed Blackburn's Lisa Pilskin who graduated with 540 in 1994. Haring currently leads NCAA Division III Women's Basketball in assists with 171 and is averaging 7.8 per game this season.
	The Greenville men's basketball team has won five straight games to shoot into a tie atop the SLIAC standings with an 11-3 SLIAC record. The Panthers can clinch a berth into the SLIAC Tournament with one more win. They are 17-4 overall this season and will face Iowa Wesleyan and Eureka this week as they look to secure that berth.
	The Iowa Wesleyan women's basketball team has dropped two games in a row which halted a stretch of five wins in six games. The Tigers will look to get back to the right side of the record column when they face Greenville and Westminster this week. Iowa Wesleyan is currently 8-11 overall and 7-5 in the SLIAC. Cairece Allen has led the way for the Tigers this year, ranking fourth in the SLIAC in scoring (13.0 ppg) and second in rebounding (7.9 rpg).
	The Highlander women's basketball team suffered a heart breaking loss to Blackburn last week, falling 58-57 in the final seconds of the game. MacMurray held a 17-12 lead after the first quarter but saw their lead slip away. Destyne Powell led the way for MacMurray with 22 points while reaching the free-throw line 19 times in the game. MacMurray has just one game this week as they face Eureka on Wednesday night in Eureka, Ill.
	The Principia men's basketball team is making a late push for the playoffs, having won four of their last five games. The Panthers are 8-7 in conference play and have three games remaining to try and catch Blackburn (8-6) or Webster (9-5) for the playoffs. The Panthers picked up a big come from behind win over Fontbonne on Tuesday to keep those hopes alive. Trailing by 10 in the second-half Principia rallied behind Micah Paulson's 23 points. Principia's next hurdle will be against MacMurray on Saturday.
	The Spalding women's basketball team is in the hunt for the SLIAC Tournament. The Golden Eagles are 6-6 in conference play, currently on the outside looking in by one game in the loss column, but have two big games this week that could change their fortunes. The Golden Eagles will face Webster and Fontbonne this week, two teams also battling to secure a playoff position.
	At 12-9 overall and 9-5 in SLIAC play the Webster men's basketball team is in good position for the SLIAC Tournament. The Gorloks are currently in the third spot into the playoffs and hold a two game lead over the final spot with just four games remaining. Webster had their five game winning streak snapped last Saturday by Iowa Wesleyan. They return to action this week with games against Spalding and Blackburn.
	Westminster men's basketball team has rebounded from back to back losses last week to win three straight games; defeating Spalding, MacMurray, and Eureka. The Blue Jays are 11-3 in conference play and are battling Greenville for the rights to host the SLIAC Men's Basketball Tournament. Next up for Westminster is Blackburn on Wednesday night and Iowa Wesleyan on Saturday.

THIS WEEK'S SLIAC SCHEDULE
To see a complete schedule of this week's SLIAC action click HERE

KEEP UP WITH THE SLIAC ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Be sure to keep up with the SLIAC using various social media platforms. You can follow us on Twitter (@sliac) HERE , Facebook (St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) HERE , or on Instagram (@SLIAC) Don't forget to share your game day photos from around the conference by using #SLIACtion on your tweets.

Be sure to check out the SLIAC Feature Friday interview series. Each Friday we will feature interviews with student-athletes, coaches, and administrators from around the SLIAC. You can also view our previous feature videos, where you can get to know our student-athletes outside of athletics and get an idea of what it is like to be a NCAA Division III student-athlete, as well as conference tournament highlight videos.