PSAC Women's Basketball Weekly Release - Jan. 25 (pdf)
A pair of first-time honorees for this year have been named this week's Players of the Week, as Kutztown's Melissa McQuade and Mercyhurst Samantha Loadman are this week's East and West Players of the Week, respectively. Shippensburg's Caitlin Bamberger is this week's East Freshman of the Week while Lock Haven's Kacie Hershey is the West Freshman of the Week for the second time this year.
PSAC Players of the Week - Jan. 25
PSAC East Player of the Week
Melissa McQuade, Kutztown
F, Jr., Pittsburgh, Pa./Shaler
McQuade earns her first PSAC East Player of the Week award of the season after averaging 21.0 points, 9.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 3.5 steals in two Kutztown wins last week. The junior shot 60 percent from the floor (15-for-25), inclufing 5-of-9 (55 percent) from beyond the arc, and made all seven of her free throw attempts. McQuade recorded her third double-double of the season with 23 points and 14 rebounds in Kutztown’s 86-73 double overtime win over Mansfield on Wednesday, and she then finished the week by scoring 19 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the floor while adding five rebounds in an 82-65 win over Shippensburg on Saturday. The junior is now just 37 points shy of 1,000 for her career.
PSAC East Freshman of the Week
Caitlin Bamberger, Shippensburg
F, Fr., Blandon, Pa./Fleetwood
Bamberger earns her first career PSAC East Freshman of the Week award and becomes the second different Lady Raider to be honored this year. Despite a pair of losses for the team, Bamberger was solid as she averaged 7.0 points and 8.0 rebounds while having her best game as a collegian so far. After scoring three points and pulling down six rebounds against Millersville on Wednesday, Bamberger came back and recorded her first career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds against Kutztown on Saturday. She shot 4-of-7 from the field and 6-of-10 from the free throw line in the two games.
PSAC West Player of the Week
Samantha Loadman, Mercyhurst
G, Jr., McMurray, Pa./Bethel Park
Loadman earns her first PSAC West Player of the Week award of the season after helping lead Mercyhurst to two wins last week by averaging 22.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists while shooting 61.5 percent from the field (16-for-26), including 57.9 percent from three-point range (11-of-19). She also made both free throw attempts. Loadman started the week by scoring 14 points while adding five rebounds and three assists in a five-point win over Edinboro. She then went for a career-high 31 points, including 19 in the second half, in Saturday’s win over Lock Haven. She shot 12-of-17 from the floor, including 7-of-11 from three-point range in the win. She also added six boards and four assists in the win.
PSAC West Freshman of the Week
Kacie Hershey, Lock Haven
F, Fr., Cochranville, Pa./Octorara
Hershey earns her second PSAC West Freshman of the Week award of the year after averaging 12.5 points and 5.5 rebounds for the Bald Eagles last week. Despite losses in both games, Hershey was solid in both for the Eagles, scoring a team-high 17 points to go along with five rebounds on Wednesday vs. IUP. She then had eight points and six rebounds against Mercyhurst on Saturday. For the week, Hershey shot 50 percent from the floor (9-of-18) and also made 7-of-8 free throw attempts (87.5 percent). She also committed just two turnovers in 41 minutes of play.
PSAC Team Notes
Bloomsburg Huskies
The Huskies went 1-1 this week, with a 64-49 victory over East Stroudsburg on Wednesday and a 68-45 loss to Millersville on Saturday…The 11-5 start for BU is the best since the 2001-02 team started 15-1, eventually finishing 21-6 and advancing to the quarterfinals of the PSAC Tournament…Against the Warriors, Fr. F Kayla Oxenrider led all scorers with 17 points, also collecting six rebounds and four assists…So. G Kelsey Gallagher and Fr. G Dana Wieller also hit double-figures, scoring 15 points apiece…The Huskies forced ESU into 29 turnovers, collecting 19 steals, including eight by Fr. G Alyssa Flanagan...The battle with Millersville was a matchup for the top spot in the PSAC East…Gallagher scored a game-high 22 points, the most of any individual opponent against Millersville all season…All of those points came in the second half as Gallagher went 7-of-14 from the floor…Fr. F Christine Sereta had a team-high nine rebounds and three blocks.
California Vulcans
After losing its PSAC West opener, Cal U has won three-straight league games to move into a three-way tie for second place in the PSAC West standings…Sr. G Brooque Williams set the all-time school record with 363 steals on Saturday, surpassing the previous mark of 359 set by Megan Storck (2003-06)…Williams also ranks fifth in PSAC history in steals…She enters the week needing only 23 points to surpass Lara Thornton (1990-94) for second place in school history in scoring…Jr. F Kayla Smith is the only player in the PSAC averaging a double-double at 16.1 points and 12.1 rebounds per game…The Vulcans travel to rival IUP on Wednesday in a rematch of the last three PSAC Championships…Last year, Cal U swept the regular-season series against IUP before losing 60-51 in overtime to the Crimson Hawks in the title game.
Cheyney Wolves
Stephanie Orji recorded a career high 31 points as the Lady Wolves cruised to a 76-52 victory over East Stroudsburg. She also grabbed a team high 14 rebounds for her third double double in four games...Shanira Blake grabbed a career high nine rebounds in the contest...Cheyney limited the Warriors to 29% from the floor...Earlier in the week, Angel Stephens recorded her fifth double double of the season, scoring 15 points while grabbing 14 in a loss at cross town rival West Chester...The Wolves shot a 27 % from the floor...It was the second time this season that Cheyney shot less than 30% from the field...Cheyney posted 50 rebounds in each contest this week, eclipsing the half century mark for the first and second time this season...Cheyney has out rebounded their opponent in each of the four conference games...Lutfiyya Muhammad has scored in double figures in the last 11 games she has scored less than 10 points only once this year.
Clarion Golden Eagles
Two Golden Eagle sophomores recorded career highs during the week…So. G Aleya Miller had a 12 points and 5 rebounds Wednesday at Cal, both career bests, while So. G Rachel Skolny had 12 points Saturday vs. Slippery Rock, including going 8-of-11 from the free-throw line…Skolny made her first career start Saturday…With back-to-back double-digit games during the week, Sr. G Lizzie Suwala has now scored in double figures in 13 straight games this year, the most at Clarion in a single season since Katrina Greer did it in 15 straight two years ago…Clarion picked up his first PSAC-West win of the season Saturday vs. Slippery Rock and thus avoided going 0-4 in the PSAC-West for the first time since 2000.
East Stroudsburg Warriors
ESU fell to 3-14 (1-3 PSAC East) with two road losses this week, 64-49 at Bloomsburg and 76-52 at Cheyney...The Warriors are 0-6 in away games, 0-5 in neutral site games and 3-3 at Koehler Fieldhouse this season...ESU hosts Mansfield on Wednesday and West Chester on Saturday in conference action this week...Sr. F DeAnna Rayam has 910 career points after scoring 13 at Bloomsburg and 12 at Cheyney...Rayam (14.7 ppg) has hit double figures in all 17 games...Sr. C Alexa Detzi had a season-high 12 points at Bloomsburg...Sr. G Mel Villano (8.8 ppg) is shooting 43 percent from the 3-point line...So. F Jennifer Scherer scored 13 points for the third time this season at Cheyney...Scherer is averaging 9.4 points and 5.8 rebounds in the last five games (6.6/5.2 for the season).
Edinboro Fighting Scots
Samantha Reimer failed to score in double figures for the first time in 27 games as she was held to nine points against California(Pa.). The Vulcans were also the last team to hold her in single digits…Reimer now 1,765 points, pulling to within 81 points of Jessica Rowe's school record 1,846 points…She also recently broke the PSAC record for career free throws made (577)…Edinboro entered the week leading the PSAC in free throw percentage at just under 78 percent, but made just 19 of 29 free throws at Mercyhurst and 3 of 9 vs. Cal…Renee' Brown had her fifth double-double of the season with 19 points and 11 rebounds at Mercyhurst.
Gannon Golden Knights
Gannon improved to 20-0 for the first time in school history with victories last week over Slippery Rock (74-40) and Indiana (Pa.) (75-59)...Gannon has won 14 consecutive games against the Rock...The Lady Knights were ranked fourth in the January 19 USA Today ESPN Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll. It represents the highest national ranking in school history...The Lady Knights have won 30 consecutive regular-season games dating back to last season...The program's last regular-season loss was a 65-52 setback at Indiana (Pa.) on January 24, 2009...Gannon has won 37 consecutive games when leading at halftime...The Lady Knights are 7-0 at home this season and have won 19 of their last 20 homes games...Jr. Shanna Thompson scored a career-high 18 points off the bench against IUP...Sr. Brittany Tabron recorded her 23rd career double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds.
IUP Crimson Hawks
IUP won its fourth in a row and third straight in the PSAC West with an 88-59 win at Lock Haven on Wednesday before both streaks ended with a 75-59 setback at No. 4 Gannon on Saturday…The Crimson Hawks placed five players in double figures in the win over the Bald Eagles, led by Hillary Shope with 18…IUP shot 56.1 percent from the floor and made 11 of 19 3-pointers and 13 of 15 from the line…Lacey Claar made three 3-pointers and moved into second place in school history with 129 in her career…The loss at Gannon was just the 14th in the past 54 games for IUP in the PSAC West…Shope again led IUP with 13 points…Kierstin Filla had 10 assists in the two games to give her 387 in her career and create a tie for second place in the school career record book with Megan Woodall.
Kutztown Golden Bears
Melissa McQuade has scored 963 career points…McQuade will be the 11th player in school history to join the 1,000-point club…Rachel Wisemiller has scored 904 career points…McQuade reached double figures for the 50th time in her career with her 19-point performance against Shippensburg…McQuade became the first KU player to score 20 points in a game this season when she scored 23 points in an 86-73 double overtime victory at Mansfield…KU opened the second overtime against Mansfield by scoring the first 15 points…The double overtime game was the Golden Bears' first since it beat Mansfield, 74-73, on Jan. 29, 2005…Vivian Melvin handed out seven assists against Shippensburg, the fourth time this season, she has handed out seven or more assists…Chauntelle Schroeder made her first seven shots against Shippensburg…Meredith Starr scored a career-high 14 points against Mansfield…Kristen Murray's 11-point effort in the win over Shippensburg was her first double-digit outing since she scored 15 points against California on Dec. 2.
Lock Haven Bald Eagles
When the Lady Eagles travel to Slippery Rock on Wednesday night, they will do with hopes of snapping a five-game losing streak...Lock Haven is 5-10 overall and 0-4 in PSAC West action...The Haven's last win came on January 10, in its final PSAC Crossover game against East Stroudsburg...Kristen Kudrick leads the team in scoring with 11 points/game. She's also averaging 6.3 points per game...Over the last two games, rookie Kacie Hershey has come alive. In last week's two-game span, she averaged 12.5 points and 5.5 rebounds. In the loss to IUP, she scored team-high 17 points and also gabbed five rebounds...On Wednesday, Lock Haven heads to SRU before hosting Gannon, one of the nation's best teams.
Mansfield Mountaineers
The Mountaineers came close to upsetting Kutztown in a double overtime 86-73 loss in Decker Gymnasium…It marked Mansfield first overtime game since beating St. Thomas Aquinas in 2007-08 and first double overtime contest since beating Cheyney 81-75 at Cheyney during the 2006-07 campaign…Mallory Hafer connected on five 3-pointers at West Chester to close to within five of Alicia Espigh's career 3-point record of 171…Jr. F Tegan Atallah had perhaps the best game of her career against Kutztown scoring a career-best 18 points and pulling down eight rebounds…Mansfield, which had scored more than 50 points just once during the previous eight games, scored more than 60 in both games during the week.
Mercyhurst Lakers
Mercyhurst, 11-5, 3-1 in PSAC West play, shot extremely well during its 2-0 week, going .568 from the field during, including a .611 (33-of-54) performance in an 86-71 win over Lock Haven…The Lakers held Edinboro's offense to a then-season-low in points in Wednesday's 70-65 win over the Fighting Scots…Jr. Amy Achesinski finished Wednesday's game one rebound shy of a triple-double, with 22 points, a career-high 10 assists and nine rebounds, the first Laker since Nov. 2002 with 10 assists…Samantha Loadman posted a career-high 31 points in the Lakers' win over Lock Haven Saturday, shooting 12-of-17 overall and 7-of-11 from downtown…Loadman's 31 points were the most by a Lakers since Achesinski's 38 at Wayne State Jan. 26, 2008…Mercyhurst set season highs in points, field goal percentage and three-point percentage against Lock Haven…Mercyhurst's .611 field goal percentage against LHU is the best mark by the Lakers in the past 15 seasons.
Millersville Marauders
The Marauders claimed sole possession of first place in the Eastern Division with another 2-0 week…MU took care of Shippensburg 67-45 on Wendesday, and halted Bloomsburg's hot start with a 68-45 victory on Saturday…Millersville is outscoring its opponents 458-334, an average of 17.7 points per game, during its current seven-game winning streak…Fr. Mashira Newman had 10 dimes against Bloomsburg, becoming the first MU player to dish out 10 or more assists in a game since Jayeneca Bailey did it on Feb. 11, 2004…Sr. Jenna Craig, known more for her rebounding, put forth her best offensive effort of the season against BU, scoring 15…The Marauders 23-point win at Shippensburg was their second straight at Heiges Field House by 20-points or more…Sr. Raquel Green has seven blocks in her last three games…Newman added seven more steals to her team-high 61 on Saturday. She has four games of seven steals or more this season.
Shippensburg Red Raiders
Shippensburg dropped a pair of games this past week to Millersville and Kutztown…The Lady Raiders have a crucial two-game home stand this week against Bloomsburg and Cheyney before embarking upon a three-game road swing from Feb. 3-10…Sr. Lauren Beckley is now just four points shy of Lock Haven's Tina Martin, who is currently in fourth place on the PSAC's all-time scoring list…Beckley continues to fight a bad back and constant double teams from each opponent as she nears the conference record for career points…Fr. Caitlin Bamberger had the best game of her young career on Saturday, recording her first career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds…Over her last six games, Bamberger has totaled 35 points and 36 rebounds while converting 17-of-25 free throw attempts.
Slippery Rock - The Rock
Slippery Rock (3-14) dropped two PSAC-West games last week to remain winless in the division (0-4)...On Wednesday, The Rock dropped a 74-40 game to Gannon. The 40 points is the teams lowest point total since the 2004-05 season, when The Rock fell at Shippensburg 62-33...On Saturday at Clarion, SRU held a 28-23 halftime lead, but made only four baskets from the floor in the second half, in the 61-48 loss to the Golden Eagles...Slippery Rock averages 61.4 points per game...Julie Molloy leads the way averaging 12.1 points per game and 25 steals. Nikki Presto averages 10.7 points per game and leads the team in rebounds (5.6 per game) and assists (60)... Amanda Mikatavge leads the team in blocks (15) and Bethany Caudill averages 7.8 points per game in 25.9 minutes per game...Tynesha Lee has recorded 10 blocks this season, and Grace Palucis is shooting 86.7% from the foul line.
West Chester Golden Rams
West Chester picked up two league wins to even its PSAC East record at 2-2 by defeating Cheyney and Mansfield…The Golden Rams downed the Wolves, 65-53, and then beat the Mountaineers, 60-49…WCU held Mansfield to just eight field goals in the first half and 18 total points…Sr. Janelle Garber and Allison Hostetter each averaged 13 points and six rebounds in WCU's two contests last week…Garber nearly pulled off a double-double against Cheyney with 13 points and nine rebounds…Garber's three rebounds against Mansfield pushed her over 600 in her career…She is currently 13th on the school's all-time rebounding list with 602…Hostetter scored 17 points in a win over Mansfield…She went 8-for-12 from the field against Mansfield.