Hampshire alum Heine on a roll at Saint Xavier

Hampshire girls basketball alum Jackie Heine is having a season to remember for the nationally ranked St. Xavier University women's team.

Heine has helped the Cougars jump out to a 16-3 overall mark and a No. 9 NAIA ranking.

In recent action, Heine scored 16 points and grabbed a game-high 9 rebounds in an 82-66 road nonconference win against Trinity Christian College in Palos Heights earlier this week.

Through the team's first 18 games, Heine was averaging a team-best 13.4 points per game, while also leading the team in rebounding average at 7.3.

Heine was averaging 25.4 minutes of playing time and had started all 18 games. She was shooting .534 from the field and .636 from the free-throw line. She also had 33 assists, 16 blocks and 33 steals.

Earlier this month, Heine was named the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference women's basketball Division I player of the week.

Heine earned the honor after helping lead St. Xavier to 2 nonconference victories over Purdue University-Calumet and Harris-Stowe State University from Missouri.

In those 2 games, Heine averaged 17.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game. She shot an impressive 65 percent from the field (13-for-20). Against Purdue-Calumet, Heine had 15 points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocks and then followed up that effort with 20 points and 16 rebounds in the triumph over Harris-Stowe State.

Schrader at Notre Dame: Former Bartlett standout Lindsay Schrader has helped the Notre Dame women's basketball team jump out to a 15-4 overall mark and a top 20 national ranking so far this season.

A sophomore guard, Schrader was averaging 10.3 points and 5.7 rebounds per game for the Fighting Irish.

In 19 games (18 starts), Schrader was averaging 26.4 minutes of playing time and was shooting .475 from the field, while also contributing 35 assists against only 29 turnovers. She also had 27 steals.

Schrader was one of 3 Notre Dame players averaging in double figures in scoring through the first 19 games.

In Big East Conference action, Schrader was averaging 9.2 points and 5.8 rebounds per game, while shooting .528 from the field and .727 from the free-throw line. Notre Dame was 3-2 in its first 5 conference games.

In a recent 81-80 conference loss to DePaul at the Joyce Center, Schrader had 8 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists. She shot 3-for-7 from the field.

Notre Dame takes the national stage on Sunday evening. Schrader and the Fighting Irish will host No. 1 UConn at 6 p.m. (Central). The game will be televised nationally on ESPN2. Beth Mowins and Carolyn Peck will have the call.

Pelka at Carthage: Elgin Academy graduate Michelle Pelka was recently named the CCIW's swimmer of the week after a strong showing at the Grinnell (Iowa) College Invitational.

Pelka helped Carthage finish second in the 9-team event with 495 points. Pelka won 4 events, taking first in the 200 butterfly with a time of 2:09.85, which made the NCAA "B" cut, was a Carthage school record and was a Grinnell College pool record).

She was also won 400 IM in 4:39.60, setting school and Grinnell College pool records. Pelka also won the 100 butterfly(59.64) and the 200 IM (2:14.40). Pelka was also part of Carthage's winning 200 medley relay and 400 medley relay teams.

Pelka's brother, Bryan, is a member of the Carthage men's swimming team, but has been on a 2-week medical learning trip to Nicaragua as part of the J Term Class he is a member of. He was scheduled to return this week. Both siblings will swim at the University of Chicago Saturday against Wheaton College and the University of Chicago.

Chuipek at St. Ambrose: Jacobs alum Drew Chuipek, a Gilberts native, has been chosen to represent the United States team at the 2008 World University Games in Sun City, South Africa.

Chuipek is one of 3 NAIA players chosen nationally for the event that will be held at the Gary Player Golf Course at Sun City near Johannesburg, South Africa, Sept. 2-5.

The World University Games features teams comprised of collegiate athletes from countries worldwide. The tournament is held every other year.

"This is a great honor for Drew and recognizes his hard work and dedication to golf," said St. Ambrose men's golf coach Jeff Griebel. "Drew has had a fantastic collegiate career at St. Ambrose and being chosen to represent your country in an international event such as this is a wonderful recognition of his talent and the respect he has gained as a player."

Chuipek is a 2-time NAIA first-team All-American pick as well as a Golf Coaches Association/PING first-team All-American selection (2006 and 2007).

Chuipek was voted the Midwest Collegiate Conference men's golf player of the year in 2006 and 2007.

Chuipek is also being considered for a spot on the prestigious U.S. Palmer Cup Team, which pits the top 7 U.S.-born collegiate players in the United States versus the top 7 players from Europe. That event will be played in Scotland in July. He's also being considered for the U.S. versus Japan matches that will be held this summer.

ECC hoops news: ECC freshman guard Ryan Harris (Dundee-Crown) was ranked No. 1 in the country in scoring in the most recent NJCAA Division II national statistics. In 17 games played, Harris was averaging 26.4 points per game.

On the women's side, ECC sophomore forward Ariana Topps (East Aurora) was ranked eighth nationally among NJCAA Division II rebound leaders. Topps was averaging 12.5 rebounds to start the week and was also the team's leading scorer at 12 points per contest.

The ECC men's and women's doubleheader on Jan. 31 against Waubonsee Community College has been tabbed Spirit Night. The student life and athletic departments will be giving away various prizes and "freebies" at the games. The Spartan Sweethearts dance team will also be performing at halftime.

Watzlawick at Parkside: Hampshire product Nicole Watzlawick is a senior on the University of Wisconsin-Parkside women's basketball team.

Through the team's first 16 games, Watzlawick was averaging 3.3 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. She started 13 of the first 16 games, averaging 20.1 minutes per contest. Watzlawick was shooting .553 from the field and .714 from the free-throw line.

In recent action, Watzlawick had 4 points and 5 rebounds in 20 minutes of playing time to help Parkside down Missouri-St. Louis, 76-72.

In a 65-56 loss to Missouri Science and Technology, she had 4 points and 3 rebounds in 30 minutes.

On a recent road trip, Watzlawick had 5 points and 3 rebounds in 22 minutes in an 80-56 triumph over Kentucky Wesleyan. She pulled down 3 rebounds in 27 minutes in a 70-63 victory at Southern Indiana.

Off at College wants your help: Send information and/or statistics on Fox Valley-area athletes playing collegiately to Mike Miazga at difibulator@aol.com.