March 10, 2008

CHICAGO - Freshman Brittany Boeke (Cherry Valley, Ill./Rockford Boylan) and sophomore Keisha Collins (Chicago, Ill./Marian Catholic/Southern Indiana) were named to the Horizon League All-Newcomer Team today as the Horizon League announced its postseason awards. The pair are the second and third Loyola players to earn all-newcomer distinction in the last two years, following Maggie McCloskey last season.

Both Boeke and Collins were stalwarts in the Loyola line-up from day one, with Boeke getting the starting nod 28 times in 30 games and Collins starting all 29 games in which she appeared.

Boeke's versatility made her a tough matchup for opponents all season and she is playing her best basketball of the season down the stretch. The 6-foot-2 forward has scored in double figures in eight of her last nine games (13.2 ppg)?and scored at least eight points in 17 of Loyola's 18 Horizon League games this season. In addition to her ability to put points on the board, Boeke has also been a force on the glass, leading the Ramblers with 5.7 rebounds per game.

Collins has had a similar impact on Loyola's backcourt in her first season in Rogers Park, giving the Ramblers stability at the point guard spot. Among the Horizon League leaders in assists all season (she enters Horizon League tournament play second in the conference with 4.3 assists per game), Collins has displayed a terrific all-around game as her averages of 10.8 ppg, 4.1 rpg and 4.3 apg illustrate. Her nine points against Cleveland State in the regular season finale made her the first LU?player since Tracy Hoffmann (2000-01) to score 300 points, grab 100 rebounds and dish out 100 assists in a single season and she was Loyola's leading scorer (11.8 ppg)?in conference play.

The Ramblers open Horizon League Championship play tonight as the No. 9 seed. Loyola will battle eighth-seeded UIC at 7 p.m. at the UIC?Pavilion. The teams split their two regular-season meetings and this marks the first time that the teams have met in the postseason.