PSAC Women's Basketball Athletes of the Week - 11 (Feb. 1)
PSAC Women's Basketball Weekly Release - Feb. 1 (pdf)
Shippensburg's Kasey Gardner becomes the second different Lady Raider to be honored at the PSAC East Player of the Week this year after helping lead the Raiders to a 2-0 week. Bloomsburg's Dana Wieller played in just one game last week due to injury but made it count, making the game-winning layup in the final seconds and she earns the PSAC East Freshman of the Week once again. Edinboro's Kelsey Conklin came just one point shy of a career-high while averaging a double-double for the week to garner the PSAC West Player of the Week award while IUP's Sarah Pastorek also averaged a double-double to earn the West Freshman of the Week honor.
PSAC Players of the Week - Feb. 1
PSAC East Player of the Week
Kasey Gardner, Shippensburg
F, Jr., Sharpsville, Pa./Sharpsville
Gardner helped lead Shippensburg to a 2-0 week, including a double-overtime win, by averaging 20.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists for the week. She made 12-of-23 from the field (12-for-23), 11-of-13 from the free throw line (84.6 percent) and was 5-of-8 (62.5 percent) from three-point range. Gardner started the week with a double-double, scoring 16 points and grabbing 10 rebounds to go along with four assists in a win over Bloomsburg. She then led the Lady Raiders with 24 points on 8-of-16 shooting along with eight rebounds and just one turnover in 47 minutes of play in a double OT win over Cheyney.
PSAC East Freshman of the Week
Dana Wieller, Bloomsburg
G, Fr., Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty
Wieller scored 16 points and dished out four assists while making the game-winning layup in Saturday’s 46-45 win over Kutztown for the Huskies. It has her only game of the week due an injury that forced her to miss Wednesday’s game vs. Shippensburg. Wieller fought off a tough shooting day from the floor by helping lead the charge that saw the Huskies come back from 12 points down with just over five minutes to play. She made a field goal, a three-pointer and two free throws in a span of just over a minute to cut the lead to just five with 4:05 remaining. She made the game-winner with just 1.4 seconds remaining, splitting a pair of defenders in the middle of the lane for the layup. Wieller led all scorers in the game and converted on 6-of-7 from the free throw line and also added two rebounds in the win.
PSAC West Player of the Week
Kelsey Conklin, Edinboro
F, Sr., Edinboro, Pa./General McLane
Conklin averaged 21.0 points and 10.5 rebounds in a 1-1 week for the Fighting Scots last week, shooting 51.3 percent from the floor (19-for-37) while also contributing 2.0 steals per game. Conklin started the week with 15 points and nine rebounds in a loss to Gannon and then exploded for 27 points and 12 rebounds in a win over Clarion on Saturday. The 27 points, including 16 in the second half, were just one shy of a career-high and her numbers vs. the Golden Eagles marked her first double-double of the season.
PSAC West Freshman of the Week
Sarah Pastorek, IUP
F, Fr., Johnstown, Pa./Bishop McCort
Pastorek averaged a double-double with 16.0 points and 10.5 rebounds for IUP, which went 1-1 on the week. She shot an impressive 12-for-18 (66.7 percent) from the floor and was also 8-of-13 from the free throw line while averaging 2.5 steals. Pastorek posted her first career double-double with a career-high 25 points and 12 rebounds to go along with three steals in Saturday’s win over Slippery Rock. She also had seven points and nine boards in Wednesday’s single-digit loss to California. The freshman is averaging 11.3 points and 6.2 rebounds in PSAC West games.
PSAC Team Notes
Bloomsburg Huskies
The Huskies went 1-1 on the week, losing at Shippensburg on Wednesday 80-44 and defeating Kutztown at home on Saturday 46-44…BU kept the score tight with the Lady Raiders, leading 16-15 nine minutes in but Shippensburg would go on a 20-0 run and pulled away in the second half…Fr. G Tanejha Smith led the Huskies with 11 points in 14 minutes…The Huskies were down by 12 with 5:22 left before scoring the final 13 points, including a layup with 1.4 seconds left by Fr. G Dana Wieller to defeat the Golden Bears…Wieller finished with a game-high 16 points while Fr. F Kayla Oxenrider had 13 points and six boards and Fr. F Christine Sereta finished with a season-high 14 rebounds…Earlier in the week, So. G Kelsey Gallagher moved into a tie for 10th in BU history in career three-pointers with 87.
California Vulcans
The Vulcans broke a three-way tie for second place in the PSAC West standings with wins over IUP and Mercyhurst last week…Cal U is currently second in the Atlantic Regional rankings behind only undefeated Gannon…Sr. G Brooque Williams moved into second place in school history on Saturday with 1,909 points and joins all-time leading scorer Sara McKinney as the only players in program history with 1,900-plus points…Jr. F Kayla Smith is leading NCAA Division II in rebounding and is the only player in the PSAC averaging a double-double at 15.7 points and 12.1 rebounds…Against IUP last week, So. Amy Johns scored a season-high 19 points after scoring only a combined 22 points in the seven previous games…Since Gannon joined the PSAC last year, the Vulcans and Golden Knights have split the four meetings with the home team winning each game.
Cheyney Wolves
Cheyney snapped a 38 game losing streak to the Marauders with a 67-58 victory. Cheyney had not beaten Millersville since 1990....It was the Lady Wolves lone victory of the week as they dropped a double overtime thriller to Shippensburg and make-up contest against Lincoln...Cheyney limited Millersville to 5-30 (17%) shooting from the field in the first half and built up a twenty point lead...Four Lady Wolves tallied double figures while Sharina Blake grabbed a career high 11 rebounds...Cheyney let a slim half time lead slip away when the Lady Wolves shot 12% from the field the second half before falling in double OT...The following day Cheyney faced fellow HBCU rival Lincoln in the Liacouras in a make-up game...Despite forcing 26 turnovers the Lady Wolves could not find the range again in the second half shooting 10-45 (22%) from the field...It was the first time in 19 tries that Lincoln defeated Cheyney in the Holiday Classic.
Clarion Golden Eagles
Lizzie Suwala scored a career-high 28 points Saturday vs. Edinboro. She has now scored in double figures in 15 straight games tying the longest in-season stretch by a Golden Eagle since Katrina Greer (15 in 2007-08)…Heather Cigich recorded double-digits games in the first 26 contests of 2003-04…Suwala's 15-game double-digit streak is also the longest consecutive double-digit streak at Clarion since Greer did it in 22 straight games between 2006-07 and 2007-08…Suwala has now scored in double figures in 28 of her last 32 games…Aleya Miller tied a career high with 6 rebounds Sat. vs. Edinboro…When Mercyhurst beat Clarion on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer Wed. it was the first time Clarion had lost a game in the final 5 seconds in over six years (Jan. 11, 2004, to Bloomsburg).
East Stroudsburg Warriors
ESU fell to 3-16 (1-5 PSAC East) with two home losses this week, 47-44 vs. Mansfield and 82-55 vs. West Chester...Tthe Warriors were 3-3 at Koehler Fieldhouse before their losses this week...ESU is still looking for its first road or neutral site win of the season...This week brings a trip to Millersville to finish the first half and a home game vs. Kutztown on Saturday...ESU held its WBCA "Pink Zone" event during Saturday's game which included remarks from representatives from the Susan G. Komen Foundation and PA Breast Cancer Coalition...Sr. F DeAnna Rayam has 931 career points and maintained her streak of hitting double figures in all 19 games...Sr. C Alexa Detzi has scored at least eight points in five of the last six games...ESU forced a season-high 39 turnovers in the loss to Mansfield.
Edinboro Fighting Scots
Edinboro fell behind by double digits in both of its games and nearly came all the way back in both...At Gannon, the Fighting Scots trailed by as many as 17 points in the first half before pulling to within three points early in the second half...They ultimately lost 79-67 to the third-ranked Golden Knights...Three days later the Scots fell behind by 12 points less than ten minutes into the game, but rallied to take the lead at the half...They would go on to post a 94-85 win over the Golden Eagles…Edinboro has scored 90-or-more points eight times, but the Clarion game marked the first in eight games...It marks the first time the Scots have scored 90-or-more points in eight games since 1995-96…Samantha Blazetic set a school record with eight blocked shots and fell two blocks shy of a triple double.
Gannon Golden Knights
Gannon improved to 22-0 for the first time in school history with victories last week over Edinboro (79-67) and Lock Haven (74-51)...Gannon owns five-game winning streaks over both Edinboro and Lock Haven...The Lady Knights were ranked third in the January 26 USA Today ESPN Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll...It represents the highest national ranking in school history. Gannon was ranked No. 1 in the January 27 NCAA Division II Atlantic regional rankings...The Lady Knights have won 32 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 39 consecutive games when leading at halftime...The Lady Knights are 8-0 at home this season and have won 20 of their last 21 homes games...Jr. Shanna Thompson has reached double digits in scoring in three consecutive games off the bench.
IUP Crimson Hawks
IUP defeated Slippery Rock for the eighth time in the past nine meetings with a 65-51 win that snapped a brief two-game losing skid for the Crimson Hawks…Fr. Sarah Pastorek had career highs with 25 points and 12 rebounds and scored 13 consecutive points for IUP in a 13-6 run that turned a 47-44 lead into a 10-point cushion with two minutes left…Pastorek also had nine rebounds in a 69-60 loss to California earlier in the week…Hillary Shope reached double figures for the fourth straight game with 17 vs. Slippery Rock…Kierstin Filla had eight assists in the two games and moved into second place in school history with 395 in her career…The Crimson Hawks set a school record by making 94.1 percent of their free throws (16 of 17) versus California…IUP is 41-15 in the PSAC West over the past five seasons.
Kutztown Golden Bears
Kutztown's 76-56 victory over West Chester was its largest over the Golden Rams since an 81-55 win over WCU in 2002…Kutztown has won three in a row over West Chester…The Golden Bears did not have a player reach double figures in their loss at Bloomsburg for the first time this season…Melissa McQuade needs 18 points to reach 1,000 for her career…McQuade scored 30 points and grabbed 19 rebounds in KU's last meeting against Cheyney on Feb. 25, 2009, an 82-65 victory. KU hosts Cheyney and travels to East Stroudsburg this weekend…Cheyney has won 3 of the last 4 matchups against KU…Rachel Wisemiller made a season-high five 3-pointers in the victory over West Chester…McQuade and Chauntelle Schroeder each had 12 rebounds against Bloomsburg…The 12 rebounds for Schroder were a season high…Vivian Melvin continues to lead the Golden Bears with 77 assists…Wisemiller has scored 930 career points…Coach Janet Malouf has used the same starting line-up in every game this season.
Lock Haven Bald Eagles
The Lady Eagles went 0-2 last week and are still searching for that first in league win...LHU is 5-12 overall and 0-6 in PSAC West action...A bright spot for Lock Haven is Jr. Kristen Kudrick, who missed last year while recovering from injury. The Western Pa. native is averaging 12 points a game and scored a career-high 27 points at SRU on Wednesday night. It marked the most points she has scored since dropping 25 in 2008. Kudrick is also pulling down 6.4 rebounds/game.
Mansfield Mountaineers
The Mountaineers snapped a six-game losing-skid and picked up their first conference win of the season with a 47-44 victory at East Stroudsburg…It marked Mansfield's first road win against a PSAC East opponent since beating Cheyney in double-overtime during the 2006-07 season…So. F Mallory Moore averaged a double-double during the week scoring 15.5 points and pulling down 10.5 rebounds per game…Mansfield connected on a remarkable 91% (33-36) of its free throw attempts during the week.
Mercyhurst Lakers
Mercyhurst split a pair of conference away games this past week, defeating Clarion 61-58 Wednesday on a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Megan Hoffman and falling at Cal Saturday…Wednesday's victory was the Lakers first to come on a last-second shot since a 54-53 win at Le Moyne Dec. 15, 2008 which featured an Amy Achesinski layup in the final seconds…Loadman has made 25 three-pointers in six divisional games, and has scored in double-figures a career-high-tying five games in a row…Loadman is three triples away from becoming the fourth Laker with 150 or more three-pointers in a career…Achesinski netted 20 of her season-high 26 points after halftime Wednesday, joining Jackie Artise, as each player has a 20-point half this season…the Lakers have posted a better shooting percentage than their opponent in each divisional game thus far…Mercyhurst won three straight conference games before Saturday's setback, the first three-game conference winning streak since 1999-00.
Millersville Marauders
The Marauders were handed their first PSAC East loss by Cheyney on Wednesday, but recovered nicely to post a 59-40 victory at Mansfield on Saturday…Millersville slumped through its worst offensive half of the season against Cheyney, shooting just 5-of-30 in the opening half…Mashira Newman and Raquel Green led a frantic comeback in the second half, as MU tried to rally from a 17-point deficit. Newman scored 16 and Green 14, but the Marauders could only get as close as four in the closing minutes…With its win over Mansfield, Millersville improved to 52-3 all-time against the Mountaineers. Green scored 14 of her 17 points in the first half, with MU building a 42-19 advantage…Green has scored in double figures 11 times this season, and has done so in eight of her last 10 games…Newman collected nine steals in two games this week and has 70 this season. She is two steals shy of breaking the Millersville record for steals by a freshman, which is 71.
Shippensburg Red Raiders
Shippensburg picked up huge wins over Bloomsburg and Cheyney this week to move into the PSAC Eastern Division race at 3-3…Jr. Kasey Gardner has thrived in PSAC East play, averaging 18.5 ppg, 7.2 rpg and is shooting 50 percent from 3-point range (14-of-28)…Sr. Lauren Beckley moved into second place on the PSAC's all-time scoring list on Saturday with 17 points and needs 101 points to tie the all-time mark…She also tallied her 54th career double-double…SU's defense came up huge this week, holding both of its opponents to 25 percent shooting from the field…SU's opponents were also 5-of-45 (11.1 percent) from three-point range this week…The Lady Raiders start a three-game road trip on Wednesday in which they will face West Chester, Mansfield and Millersville.
Slippery Rock - The Rock
Slippery Rock won its first PSAC contest last week against Lock Haven, 60-50...Grace Palucis scored a team high 14 points going 2-3 from behind the arc...Julie Molloy recorded 12 points and a team high seven rebounds and four steals...Against Indiana, The Rock kept the game close, with three players scoring in double figures. Molloy scored 15, Chere' Marshall and Bethany Caudill recorded 12 and 11 points respectively in the loss...Molloy is on a three game double-digit scoring run, and has scored at least 10 points in 13 games this season...The Rock finishes out the first half of conference play, and starts a three-game road trip against California...The Vulcans took the season series last season...Saturday, SRU travels to Mercyhurst to avenge a 57-51 loss earlier this season at Morrow Field House.
West Chester Golden Rams
West Chester split its two contests this week, falling at Kutztown, 76-56, before bouncing back to defeat East Stroudsburg on the road, 82-55…The Golden Rams held the Warriors to just seven baskets and a 28 percent shooting effort in the first half en route to the victory…Sr. Janelle Garber is 16 points away from 1,000 in her career…She will become the 14th player in school history to reach that milestone when it happens…She recently grabbed her 600th career rebound…She is currently 12th on the school's all-time rebounding list…Jr. G Megan Stewart has 296 career assists, including 86 this winter…She is eighth all-time at WCU in that category - one assist away from current assistant coach Kiera Wooden…Four more assists and she will become the seventh player in WCU history to record 300 career assists.