Purdue Calumet Takes on Valpo December 30; Game to be Streamed on ESPN3

PUC-PeregrinsThe No. 11 Purdue University Calumet women's basketball team will travel a short 30 miles east to take on NCAA Division I opponent Valparaiso University in an exhibition matchup at the Athletics Recreation Center Tuesday, Dec. 30.

The Peregrines (11-2) will face the Crusaders (3-8) beginning at 7:05 p.m. The game will be streamed live by ESPN3 at http://es.pn/1GzmlbY

WHAT'S ON TAP
The Peregrines, winners of five straight, will take on the Crusaders, who have lost seven in a row. The contest will mark the first contest between the two teams since the 2012-13 season, with Valpo coming out on top with a 76-59 victory at the ARC.

SCOUTING THE CRUSADERS
Valparaiso has struggled as of late, its most recent loss coming in a 79-61 setback at SIU-Edwardsville Dec. 20. The Crusaders average just 65.0 points per game, led by Dani Franklin's 13.0 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. Valpo's three victories have come over Butler (91-57), Northern Illinois (65-50), and Tennessee Tech (79-61).

LAST TIME OUT
The Peregrines picked up a 102-94 victory over visiting Rochester College (Mich.) Dec. 20 to make it 16-straight victories at the Fitness and Recreation Center dating back to last season. Sophomore Cassidy Deno (Otterbein, Ind./Benton Central) poured in a career-high 28 points and added 12 rebounds for her fourth double-double of her career and senior teammate Kami Graber (Nashville, Ind./Brown County) added 25 points and nine boards in the victory.

OFFENSE RULES
The Peregrines currently rank second in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference and third in all of NAIA Division II in scoring offense at 87.2 points per contest. Four players average double-figure scoring for Purdue Calumet: junior Jada Buggs (Elkhart, Ind./Elkhart Memorial) at 17.2 ppg, Deno at 17.0 ppg, junior Patrice McBee (Monterey, Ind./Culver Community) at 14.6 ppg and Graber at 12.6 ppg. McBee has been the most efficient, as she leads the nation in field goal percentage at 68.3 percent.

SERIES HISTORY
Purdue Calumet leads the all-time series with the Crusaders, 5-3, though the two teams have played each other just once in Peregrine Head Coach Tom Megyesi's eight-year tenure.

LIVE LOOK
The contest will be streamed live on ESPN3 at http://es.pn/1GzmlbY. Live audio: mms://audiocast.valpo.edu/wvursports and stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=68699 will also be available.