PSAC Women's Basketball Athletes of the Week - 12 (Feb. 8)
PSAC Women's Basketball Weekly Release - Feb. 8 (pdf)
Kutztown's Melissa McQuade and Clarion's Lizzie Suwala are this week's PSAC East and West Players of the Week, respectively. Each recorded double-doubles in helping their respective teams to wins last week. Bloomsburg's Kayla Oxenrider is this week's PSAC East Freshman of the Week after leading the Huskies in scoring in their win in their lone game last week while IUP's Sarah Pastorek is the PSAC West Freshman of the Week for the third time in four weeks after averaging over 20 points in helping the Crimson Hawks to two wins last week.
PSAC Players of the Week - Feb. 8
PSAC East Player of the Week
Melissa McQuade, Kutztown
F, Jr., Pittsburgh, Pa./Shaler
McQuade scored 25 points and pulled down 13 rebounds and also added three assists, three steals and a block to help Kutztown to a 63-61 win over Cheyney in the Golden Bears’ lone game of the week. The junior scored 19 of her 25 points in the second half, becoming the 12th player in Kutztown women’s basketball history to surpass the 1,000-point mark in her career. McQuade’s effort, which helped the Bears overcome a 16-point deficit, gave her 1,007 points in her career.
PSAC East Freshman of the Week
Kayla Oxenrider, Bloomsburg
F, Fr., Ashland, Pa./Tri-Valley
Oxenrider becomes the fourth different freshman on Bloomsburg’s freshman-laden roster to be honored as the PSAC East Freshman of the Week this year, after she led the Huskies with 19 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the floor in a 74-54 win over Mansfield on Wednesday in the Huskies’ only game of the week. Her shooting performance included a 5-of-6 showing from three-point range and she also added a rebound, a steal and two free throws made on as many attempts in just 23 minutes of action.
PSAC West Player of the Week
Lizzie Suwala, Clarion
G, Sr., Ford City, Pa./Ford City
Suwala averaged 28.0 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists for Clarion in a 1-1 week for the Golden Eagles. She scored 28 points, equaling her career high, in both of Clarion’s games last week and has now scored 28 points in three straight games. Suwala also grabbed 15 rebounds in Wednesday’s win at Lock Haven, tying her career high. For the week, Suwala shot 64.3 percent from the field (18-for-28), including 62.5 percent from three-point range (10-for-16) and was a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line.
PSAC West Freshman of the Week
Sarah Pastorek, IUP
F, Fr., Johnstown, Pa./Bishop McCort
Pastorek averaged 21.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.0 steals, 2.5 assists, and 2.0 blocks to lead IUP to a 2-0 week with wins over Edinboro and Clarion. She shot 52 percent from the field (13-for-25) and 17-of-21 from the free throw line (81 percent). Pastorek began the week with a 22-point, nine-rebound performance in the Crimson Hawks’ 58-52 win over Edinboro, hitting on 6-of-11 from the field and 10-of-12 from the charity stripe. She netted 16 of her 22 points in the second half and also added three blocks. She then scored 21 points and recorded eight rebounds, four assists and four steals, again starring in the second half as she put up 14 of her 21 points in the second frame, helping IUP rally back from an 18-point deficit to extend their winning streak to three games, during which Pastorek has scored 20 or more points in all three contests.
PSAC Team Notes
Bloomsburg Huskies
The Huskies had a win in their only game of the week, a 74-54 victory over Mansfield on Wednesday night at the Nelson Field House…Fr. F Kayla Oxenrider scored a game-high 19 points, going 6-of-8 from the field, including 5-of-6 from behind the three-point line…So. G Kelsey Gallagher posted her first double-double of the season, scoring 13 points and grabbing a career-high 12 rebounds and Fr. G's Dana Wieller and Alyssa Flanagan also hit double-figures in points, scoring 15 and 13, respectively…Wieller has hit 61 three-pointers this season, six behind Michelle Albanese who had a BU record 67 during the 2003-04 season…She also had a 43.0 three-point FG%, the second highest in BU history behind Christie Berry, who connected on 46.9 percent of her three-point attempts during the 1997-98 season…The Huskies played just one game due to the winter storm that hit Eastern Pennsylvania over the weekend
California Vulcans
Cal U took a split in two PSAC West games against Slippery Rock and Gannon last week…After falling to No. 3 Gannon, the Vulcans moved back into a tie with IUP for second place in the league standings…Cal U opened the week with a dominant 97-47 win over Slippery Rock behind double-doubles by Sr. G Brooque Williams and Kayla Smith…On Saturday, the Vulcans suffered only their second loss in the last 31 games at Hamer Hall when they fell 72-61 to the No. 3 Golden Knights…Smith posted seventh-consecutive double-double against Gannon with 10 points and 13 rebounds…Williams was limited to single digits for the first time in 36 games on Saturday…Williams now ranks third in conference history with 380 career steals.
Cheyney Wolves
Cheyney only played one game this week due to a snow storm that crippled southeastern Pennsylvania. The postponement of Saturday's game and subsequently Sunday's contest marks the second time this year that Cheyney had to postpone a contest...Earlier this season the Cheyney Lincoln game was postponed due to a snow storm in December...Snow is scheduled for Wednesday which might affect the Cheyney West Chester contest...Despite double doubles by Angel Stephens and Stephanie Orji the Cheyney fell 63-61 to Kutztown...Lutfiyya Muhammad led the Lady Wolves with 15 points...Orji netted 14 points while grabbing 12 rebounds...Stephens scored 10 points and pulled down 11 rebounds...Cheyney jumped out to a 17-2 lead after the first 5:30 minutes before settling on a 36-27 lead at halftime...With 4:31 remaining Cheyney stilled owned a nine point lead but the Golden Bears went on a 12-2 run over the next 3:25 to take the lead for the first time.
Clarion Golden Eagles
Lizzie Suwala twice tied her career high for points during the week scoring 28 vs. both Lock Haven and IUP. She also tied a career high in rebounds with 15 vs. Lock Haven Wednesday and has scored 28 points in each of her last 3 games becoming the first Clarion player since the turn of the century to do that…Suwala has also scored in double digits 17 straight times and in 30 of her last 34 games…Sara Pratt is back in the lineup after missing 3 of 4 games with an injury and has scored 20 points to with 14 rebounds and 6 blocked shot in her two games back.
East Stroudsburg Warriors
ESU battled to the wire with PSAC East leader Millersville before falling 55-46 on the road on Wednesday night...Saturday's game vs. Kutztown was rescheduled for Feb. 15...Warriors enter second half at 3-17 (1-6)...Fr. G Barb Borst scored career-high 12 points, hitting four 3-pointers at key points to keep ESU in the game...Sr. F DeAnna Rayam scored 9 points, her first game not in double figures after 19 straight...Rayam leads ESU in scoring (14.1), rebounding (6.3) and assists (46)...Has scored 941 career points with seven games remaining...Two 3's away from becoming fourth player with 100 career 3's in school history...Sr. G Mel Villano remains among PSAC leaders with 37.9 3-point percentage (22-58)...ESU hosts Bloomsburg Wednesday and travels to Shippensburg Saturday.
Edinboro Fighting Scots
Samantha Reimer continues her march to break Edinboro's career scoring record. The Sr. G ran into the worst shooting slump of her career, resulting in an 0-for-27 stretch from the floor, but she appeared to snap out of it in the second half, scoring 12 of her 14 points to help the Scots defeat Lock Haven 62-49. Reimer now has 1,809 points, just the second player to top 1,800 points. She needs 38 more points to break Jessica Rowe's school record…Reimer has also moved into sixth place in career assists with 424…So. G Raven Metz scored a career-high 12 points vs. Lock Haven…Reimer wasn't the only one experiencing a shooting slump. Incredibly, Edinboro missed 22 straight shots in the first half at IUP, and at one point was 2-for-27. The Scots shot 21.5 percent for the game…Renee' Brown had 10 points and 13 rebounds for her sixth double double.
Gannon Golden Knights
Gannon improved to 24-0 for the first time in school history with road victories last week at Mercyhurst (66-52) and California (Pa.) (72-61)...The Lady Knights were ranked third in the February 2 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 February 3 NCAA Division II Atlantic regional rankings...The Lady Knights have won 34 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 40 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...Sr. Kim Vargas became the fourth current Lady Knight to reach the 1,000-point plateau last Wednesday at Mercyhurst...She ranks 23rd all-time at Gannon with 1,016 career points.
IUP Crimson Hawks
IUP moved into a tie for second place in the PSAC West with wins over Edinboro and Clarion to improve to 6-2 in the division…Fr. Sarah Pastorek continued her impressive play with a pair of 20-point games to extend her streak in that department to three…She had 22 in a 58-52 win over Edinboro and 21 in an 84-83 victory at Clarion when the Crimson Hawks wiped out an 18-point second half deficit to defeat the Golden Eagles for the 10th straight time…Kierstin Filla capped the rally with a coast-to-coast layup with eight seconds left…Eryn Withers had a solid week with 11 points and 13 rebounds versus Edinboro and 22 points - one shy of her career high - and nine rebounds versus Clarion…Filla finished the week with 402 career assists, a total eclipsed in IUP history only by the 499 dished out by Patti Connaghan…IUP is 43-15 in the PSAC West over the past five seasons.
Kutztown Golden Bears
Melissa McQuade became the 12th KU women's basketball player to score 1,000 career points…With 1,007 career points, McQuade scored the milestone basket with 4:58 remaining in the second half against Cheyney…Meredith Starr and McQuade combined to score KU's last 18 points of the game against Cheyney…Starr provided the winning margin in the 63-61 win over Cheyney when she sank a pair of foul shots with 21 seconds remaining…It was McQuade's fourth double-double of the season…She has grabbed double digit rebounds in two straight games…McQuade grabbed 12 rebounds against Bloomsburg and 13 boards against Cheyney…Starr has scored in double figures in five games this season…Rachel Wisemiller has 934 career points…Vivian Melvin continues to lead Kutztown in assists with 79…Chauntelle Schroeder leads Kutztown with 55 offensive rebounds…The Golden Bears host Mansfield on Wednesday and Millersville on Saturday.
Lock Haven Bald Eagles
Lock Haven is 5-14 overall and 0-8 in PSAC West action...LHU went 0-2 last week with losses at home to Clarion and on the road at Edinboro...Kristen Kudrick still leads the team in scoring with 11.4 points/game. She's also grabbing 6.3 rebounds...LHU is on a nine-game losing skid with the Lady Eagles last win coming in early January in PSAC Crossover action...Casi Donelan is Lock Haven's only other player averaging double figures. The senior is giving LHU 10.2 points a game and leads the team in assists with 65.
Mansfield Mountaineers
Mallory Hafer became the Mountaineers all-time 3-point lead with her fourth 3-pointer in a game at Bloomsburg last week. Hafer surpassed for teammate Alicia Espigh and now has 177 treys in her career…Mallory Moore recorded her seventh double-double of the season with 18 points and 13 rebounds against Bloomsburg…Moore has also been on fire at the free throw line connecting on 27-of-28 free throws (96.4%) over the past four games…Mansfield have tied or outscored opponents in the second half in the past five games.
Mercyhurst Lakers
Mercyhurst dropped two tough home games this past week, 66-52 to Gannon and a 54-53 heartbreaker at the hands of Slippery Rock…The Lakers trailed by eight at halftime against Slippery Rock, and were on the verge of the largest second-half comeback of the year before The Rock held on…Samantha Loadman averaged 12 rebounds per game on the week, including a career-high 15 boards as part of her second career double-double Saturday…Loadman joins Amy Achesinski and Jackie Artise with double-doubles, the first time three Lakers had double-doubles in the same season since 2006-0…Achesinski passed Stephanie Prischak into 11th place all-time with 1,119 career points…Mercyhurst shot 11-of-15 from the line in each game this past week...Loadman and Achesinski are the first Laker teammates to have games of 15 or more rebounds during the same season since Mercyhurst greats Teresa Szumigala and Julie McChesney did so in1994-95.
Millersville Marauders
Millersville didn't manage to reach the 60-point plateau in either of its games this past week, but it didn't matter because the nation's leading scoring defense did its job well enough to help the team earn wins over East Stroudsburg and West Chester…The Marauders are allowing an NCAA Division II-best 50.6 points per game…The MU defense has held six of its last seven opponents under 50 points…Raquel Green and Jenna Craig took the team on their backs offensively this week. Green put up 19 points and 12 boards in the win over ESU, while Craig tied a career-high with 19 points and added 11 rebounds in the win at WCU…With three steals against ESU, Mashira Newman eclipsed Safiyyah Bashir's freshman steals record which stood for 12 years. Bashir had 71 during her rookie season and Newman now has 76…Newman ranks sixth in the country in steals per game with 3.7.
Shippensburg Red Raiders
Shippensburg picked up a big win over Mansfield and nearly got a road win over West Chester this week…Jr. Kasey Gardner averaged 24 points per game this week and continues to lead the team in scoring through PSAC East play…Sr. Lauren Beckley extended her double-double streak to three straight games and now has 10 this season and 56 in her career…Beckley has now moved into the PSAC's Top 10 list for career rebounds with 1,078 to her credit and inched within five three-pointers of Tracy Spencer's school record…Beckley is now 59 points short of the PSAC scoring record…SU had 23 assists compared to just 15 turnovers against Mansfield, one short of the season high for assists…SU travels to face first-place Millersville on Wednesday and will host ESU on Saturday.
Slippery Rock - The Rock
Slippery Rock went 1-1 last week, including an upset 54-53 win at Mercyhurst on Saturday...Chere' Marshall scored the final seven points in the game, including a jumper with three seconds left in the game to seal the win...The Rock had three players score in double figures, with Marshall scoring 13, and Julie Molloy and Grace Palucis adding 12 each...The win was the first for SRU at the MAC since the 2005-06 season...On Wednesday SRU traveled to California and Marshall again led the team with 10 points in a 97-47 loss to the Vulcans...Molloy is the team's leading scorer averaging 12.0 points per game and 33 steals while Nikki Presto is the leading rebounder with 5.2 rebounds per game and 74 assists this season.
West Chester Golden Rams
West Chester split its two league contests last week, defeating Shippensburg in the middle of the week while falling to first-place Millersville on Sunday...West Chester is 4-2 in its last six contests...Sr. F Janelle Garber became the 14th player in school history to reach 1,000 career points during the win over Shippensburg...Jr. G Megan Stewart surpassed 300 assists, becoming just the seventh player in school history to dish out that many helpers...Stewart finished with a season-high nine assists in the win over Shippensburg...Stewart has 99 assists on the year...With her next assist, she will become just the third player in school history to record 100 assists in three separate seasons...Only the all-time leader in school history (Colleen McNamara) and Adelle Schade pulled off that trifecta.