2006-2007 AU RosterNO. NAME POS. HT. YR. HOMETOWN/HIGH SCHOOL12 Beth Plucinski Guard 5'6" Sr Vernon Hills, IL/Vernon Hills21 Naomi Guise Guard 5'7" Jr Springfield, IL/Southeast22 Tiffani Gueste Forward 5'11" So Loves Park, IL/Christian Life23 Lexi Pioli Guard 5'4" Jr Oglesby, IL/LaSalle-Peru30 Rachael Blanton Guard 5'8" Jr Vernon Hills, IL/Vernon Hills33 Meagan Re Guard 5'9" So Belvidere, IL/Belvidere34 Kathleen Thanas Guard 5'8" Fr Plainfield, IL/Plainfield Central43 Jamila Tate Guard 5'6" Fr Naperville, IL/Neuqua Valley44 Emily Steinway Guard 5'6" Fr Elgin, IL/Elgin45 Brianna Leland Center 6'4" Fr Beaver Dam, WI/Beaver Dam50 Alison Kohler Center 6'0" Sr Sandwich, IL/Sandwich52 Lekiesha Byars Guard 5'5" So Decatur, IL/Eisenhower54 Laura Wiesner Forward 5'11" Sr Des Plaines, IL/Maine WestHead Coach: Michelle RoofAssistant Coaches: Keith Parris4 AU Women’s <strong>Basketball</strong>
Meet the <strong>Spartans</strong>#30 RACHAEL BLANTON, 5’8”, Jr, Guard,Vernon Hills, IN/ Vernon Hills HSCollege as a Sophomore (’05-’06): Started sixof the first seven games before being sidelinedwith an injury. College as a Freshman (’04-’05): Played in 25 games, averaged 2.0 pointsand grabbed 56 rebounds. High School:Attended Vernon Hills High School and playedfour years of varsity basketball under Coach Paul Brettner. Senioryear she was All-Area Honorable Mention and All-Conference.She played two years of varsity softball under Coach Greg Stilling,where she was All-Conference Honorable mention as a senior.Personal: Born 2/16/86 in Bloomington, IL. Parents: Roger andVictoria Blanton. She has one brother, Victor, and one sister,Rebecca. Hobbies: Movies and music. Major: Psychology.YR G FGM-A 3FGM-A FT-A R A TP PPG04-05 25 17-66 2-13 15-26 56 23 51 2.005-06 7 8-34 1-9 8-16 16 6 25 3.6#52 LEKIESHA BYARS, 5’5”, So, Guard,Decatur, IL/Eisenhower HSHigh School: Attended Eisenhower High Schooland played four years of basketball under CoachPotts. She also ran two years of track underCoach Bobby Jelks. Personal: Born 8/14/86 inDecatur, IL. Family: Thomas and GeorginaByars. She has four brothers: Marcus, Ryan, T.J.and Keith. Hobbies: <strong>Basketball</strong>, music and family. Major:Business Administration. Minors: Communication and CriminalJustice.#22 TIFFANI GUESTE, 5’11”, So, Forward,Rockford, IL/Christian Life HSCollege as a Freshman (’05-’06): Played in 25games, starting two and grabbed 58 rebounds.High School: Attended Christian Life HighSchool and played three years of varsitybasketball under Coach Donna Sheperd. Shewas named All-Conference Honorable Mentionher junior year and named First-Team All-Conference, Team MVP,Athlete of the Week and rebound leader all three years. Personal:Born 1/17/87 in Barrington, IL. Family: Walter and Yvetta Gueste.She has one brother, Chris. Hobbies: Playing sports, being active,coaching elementary and middle-school sports and refereeingelementary basketball. Major: Physical Education.YR G FGM-A 3FGM-A FT-A R A TP PPG05-06 25 16-34 0-0 3-9 58 3 35 1.4#21 NAOMI GUISE, 5’7”, Sr, Guard,Springfield, IL/Southeast HSCollege as a Junior (’05-’06): Played in 24games and averaged 17.0 points and 7.2rebounds. She led the team in both categoriesand was named All-NIIC. High School:Attended Southeast High School and playedthree years of varsity basketball under CoachJennifer Blongh. She was MVP her sophomore and senior year,Athlete of the Week her senior year, set a school record for mostdouble doubles her senior year, and was All-Region and All-Conference her senior year. She also ran two years of varsity trackunder Coach Thomas McBride. Family: Born 6/30/84 in Chicago.Family: Berrenice Guise. She has three brothers and four sisters.Hobbies: Watching TV and listening to music. Major: BusinessAdministration. Minor: Sports Management.YR G FGM-A 3FGM-A FT-A R A TP PPG05-06 24 168-331 12-30 59-86 172 27 407 17.0AU Women’s <strong>Basketball</strong>5