Colonial States Athletic Conference

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PAC North Division

Institution	PAC	Overall
(1) Alvernia	14-2	24-6
(3) Gwynedd-Mercy	13-3	16-12
(4) Misericordia	11-5	16-11
Marywood	5-11	7-17
Arcadia	2-14	6-18
Cedar Crest	2-14	3-19

Institution	PAC	Overall
(2) Wesley	14-2	19-9
(5) Rosemont	10-6	12-10
(6) Cabrini	10-6	15-10
(7) Eastern	8-8	11-14
(8) Neumann	5-11	7-19
Immaculata	2-14	4-21

* - Clinched berth in PAC Tournament, number at left indicates seed;
PAC Tournament Champion in Bold

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2004-05 Women's Basketball Pre-Season Coaches' Poll

October 25, 2004

PAC Coaches Select Alvernia as Favorite in Women's Basketball

Aston, PA - Alvernia College's women's basketball team has been selected as the pre-season favorite in the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference (PAC) coaches poll. The defending-champion Crusaders received six of 12 first-place votes and earned 66 points in the poll to edge out Gwynedd-Mercy College and claim the honor.

Gwynedd-Mercy earned five first-place votes and 65 points. The Griffins were picked to finish second in the PAC North.

Neumann College received the other first-place vote, and tallied 53 points. The Knights are the favorite to win the PAC South.

"We are honored to be selected as the preseason favorite by the coaches of the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference," Alvernia head coach Kevin Calabria said. "With four returning starters we are confident that we will be good, but we also know the level of competition in the PAC continues to rise."

In the North, Misericordia University (43), Marywood University (33), Arcadia University (27) and Cedar Crest College (17) rounded out the voting.

The race was tight in the South, with five points separating the top four teams. Wesley College (52) was selected as the runner-up in the South, followed by Cabrini College (50), Eastern University (48), Immaculata University (32) and Rosemont College (17).

2004-05 PAC Women's Basketball Coaches Pre-Season Poll

PAC North

Institution (First Place vote)	Points
Alvernia (6)	66
Gwynedd-Mercy (5)	65
Misericordia	43
Marywood	33
Arcadia	27
Cedar Crest	17

PAC South

Institution (First Place vote)	Points
Neumann (1)	53
Wesley	52
Cabrini	50
Eastern	48
Immaculata	32
Rosemont	17

 

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2004-05 Women's Basketball Awards

First Team

Erin McIntyre, Alvernia (Sr, G, 5-6, Orwigsburg, PA/Blue Mountain)
Amanda Magri, Eastern (Sr, G, 5-6, Clayton, DE/Smryna)
Jackie Dougherty, Gwynedd-Mercy (So, G, 5-9, Roslyn, PA/Abington)
Katie Linder, Rosemont (So, C, 6-0, Philadelphia, PA/St. Basil Academy)
Tricia Cassaretto, Wesley (Jr, F, 5-11, Camden, DE/Caesar Rodney)
T’Neisha Turner, Wesley (Jr, G, 5-7, Upper Marlboro, MD/Frederick Douglas)

Player of the Year: T’Neisha Turner, Wesley
Rookie of the Year: Samantha Hartling, Cabrini
Coach of the Year: Michele Stabley, Wesley

Second Team

Caitlin Sparks, Arcadia (Fr, C, 5-11, Harleysville, PA/Souderton)
Samantha Hartling, Cabrini (Fr, C, 6-1, Travis AFB, CA/Vanden)
Jaime Williams, Immaculata (Sr, F, 6-0, Minersville, PA/Nativity BVM)
Alicia Woodruff, Marywood (Jr, G/F, 5-10, Elysburg, PA/Southern Columbia)
Ericka Morrison, Misericordia (Fr, F, 5-11, Avon Lake, OH/Avon Lake)
Kristen Patton, Neumann (Jr, F, 5-10, Wilmington, DE/Padua Academy)

Honorable Mention

Trish O’Gurek, Alvernia (Sr, F, 5-7, Summit Hill, PA/Panther Valley)
Sharae Middlebrook, Cabrini (Fr, F, 5-7, Philadelphia, PA/Central)
Courtney Porzio, Cedar Crest (Sr, G, 5-6, Lehighton, PA/Lehighton)
Lauren Healy, Gwynedd-Mercy (Fr, G, 5-6, Glenmoore, PA/Owen J. Roberts)
Meg Legere, Immaculata (So, F, 6-0, Lancaster, PA/Lancaster Catholic)
Amy Hughes, Misericordia (Fr, G, 5-6, Scranton, PA/Bishop Hannan)

All-PAC Women’s Basketball Sportsmanship Team

Erin McIntyre, Alvernia (Sr, G, 5-6, Orwigsburg, PA/Blue Mountain)
Christine Snow, Arcadia (Fr, G, 5-1, Maynard, MA/Maynard)
Jackie Yoder, Cabrini (Jr, F, 5-10, Lansdale, PA/North Penn)
Courtney Porzio, Cedar Crest (Sr, G, 5-6, Lehighton, PA/Lehighton)
Marci Pentz, Eastern (Jr, C, 5-10, Mickleton, NJ/Kingsway)
Lauren Healy, Gwynedd-Mercy (Fr, G, 5-6, Glenmoore, PA/Owen J. Roberts)
Nina Cammarano, Immaculata (Fr, G, 5-5, Reading, PA/Holy Name)
Maureen Kenny, Marywood (Sr, G, 5-5, Scranton, PA/Scranton Prep)
Rachel Haley, Misericordia (So, G, 5-6, Palo Alto, PA/Nativity BVM)
Mary Kate Devine, Neumann (Jr, F, 5-10, Philadelphia, PA/Archbishop Ryan)
Maureen Deviney, Rosemont (Jr, G, 5-5, Philadelphia, PA/Hallahan)
Robin Smith, Wesley (Jr, C, 6-3, Washington, DC/St. John’s College High)

February 21

Wesley College's Brittany Lundy (So, G, New Castle, DE/William Penn) and Gwynedd-Mercy College's Jackie Dougherty (So, F, Roslyn, PA/Abington) - Lundy averaged 24.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.0 steals and 2.0 assists per game in a 2-0 week for Wesley, while Dougherty averaged 19.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.3 steals per game in a 2-1 week for the Griffins.

February 14

Wesley College's Tricia Casarotto (Jr, F, Camden, DE/Caesar Rodney) and Neumann College's Kirsten Patton (Jr, F, Wilmington, DE/Padua Academy) - Casarotto averaged 18.0 points, 11.3 rebounds, 2.3 steals, two blocks and 1.3 assists per game in a 3-0 week for Wesley, while Patton averaged 21.3 points, nine rebounds, 2.7 steals and 1.3 assists per game in a 3-0 week for Neumann.

February 7

Wesley College's Tricia Casarotto (Jr, F, Camden, DE/Caesar Rodney) - Casarotto averaged 13 points, 11 rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots per game in a 3-1 week for Wesley.

January 31

Eastern University's Amanda Magri (Sr, G, Clayton, DE/Smyrna) - Magri averaged 23 points and 3.7 steals per game in a 1-2 week for the Lady Eagles.

January 24

Cabrini College's Samantha Hartling (Fr, C, Travis Air Force Base, CA/Vanden) - Hartling averaged 20.5 points, 10 rebounds 2.5 steals, two assists and 1.5 blocked shots per game in a 2-0 PAC week for the Lady Cavaliers.

January 17

Gwynedd-Mercy College's Karen Tierney (Fr, G, Philadelphia, PA/Kennedy-Kenrick) - Tierney scored a game-high 21 points and added seven assists, six rebounds, and five steals (all season-highs) in a win over Cedar Crest.

January 10

Eastern University's Amanda Magri (Sr, G, Clayton, DE/Smyrna) - Magri averaged 25.5 points as the Lady Eagles split a pair of contests.

January 3

Marywood University's Alicia Woodruff (Jr, G/F, Elysburg, PA/Southern Columbia) - Woodruff scored 29 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to lead Marywood to a 79-77 win over Keystone College.

December 13

Wesley College's Tricia Casarotto (Jr, F, Camden, DE/Caesar Rodney) - Casarotto averaged 24 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 2.5 blocked shots and 1.5 steals per game in a 1-1 week for the Lady Wolverines.

December 6

Wesley College's T'Neisha Turner (Jr, G, Upper Marlboro, MD/Frederick Douglass) - Turner averaged 20 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and one steal per game in a 2-0 Conference week for the Lady Wolverines.

November 29

Alvernia College's Erin McIntyre (Sr, G, Orwigsburg, PA/Blue Mountain) - McIntyre had 21 points, three assists and two steals in the Lady Crusaders' 66-57 win over Albright College.

November 22

Neumann College's Kirsten Patton (Jr, F, Wilmington, DE/Padua Academy) - Patten was named to the All-Tournament Team at the Cardinal Classic, averaging 20.5 points and 19.5 rebounds as the Knights split a pair of contests to open the season.

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2004-05 Women's Basketball Championships

Latest News | Championships PAC | NCAA | ECAC

PAC Final

Saturday, February 26, 2005

#1 Alvernia 80, #3 Gwynedd-Mercy 61

Reading, PA – Senior forward Trish O’Gurek racked up 12 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists to earn MVP honors as top-seeded Alvernia College defeated #3 Gwynedd-Mercy, 80-61, Saturday evening in the Championship Game of the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament at the Physical Education Center.

O’Gurek and fellow seniors Kacie Androsko, Erin McIntyre, and Sarah Swears earned their third PAC Title in the past four years with the win over the Griffins (16-12) who were making their eighth straight finals appearance.

For the second time in as many days the Crusaders fell into a small hole early, trailing 6-3 after GMC sophomore Rebecca Frederick hit a jumper at the 16:21 mark. McIntyre dropped in a layup on the Crusaders’ next possession and the hosts rattled off 11 straight to take a 14-6 lead with 15:32 left in the first half.

The teams traded buckets and freshman Becky Strohecker hit her only 3 of the half to pull the Griffins within five, 16-11. Alvernia answered with six straight from freshman forward Tasheika Kennedy to take an 11-point lead with 9:33 left in the half. The lead grew to 16 points, 31-15, on Ashley Shrawder’s firsts of two first-half 3s at the 5:46 mark.

Gwynedd-Mercy trimmed the lead back down to 10 points with a quick 6-0 spurt capped by a pair of free throws by senior Gina Morano at the 2:43 mark. The Crusaders quickly got six points back and following Shrawder’s second 3 led 40-23 with 59 ticks left. Sophomore Lauren Fortna dropped a pair of free throws with seven seconds left giving Alvernia its largest lead of the half and GMC freshman Lauren Healy went the length of the floor to score at the buzzer for the 42-25 halftime score.

Alvernia junior Mandy Reinhart hit a 3 to open the second half pushing the lead to 20 points, 45-25, but the Griffins rattled off a 9-1 run to cut the gap to 12 with 15:39 to play. Alvernia responded with eight straight sparked by two of Fortna’s 15 points and had the lead back up to 20 points at the 12:48 mark.

Gwynedd-Mercy made one last push scoring nine straight points, the first five from Strohecker who tallied 14 points off the bench to lead the Griffins, to cut the gap to 11. O’Gurek had a layup and a steal that led to a Rhealynn Davis bucket at 8:11 pushing the lead back to 15 points, 61-46. A minute and a half later the lead was back to 20 when McIntyre nailed her only 3 of the night.

The gap grew to as many as 23 late in the game with the Crusaders taking the 19-point win and their fifth overall PAC Title. Alvernia will await the NCAA call Sunday night for opponent and location of its first-round NCAA Touranment game.

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PAC Semifinal Round

Thursday, February 24, 2005

#1 Alvernia 70, #4 Misericordia 44

Reading, PA – Senior forward Kacie Androsko scored a game-high 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting and top-seeded Alvernia forced 31 turnovers in a 70-44 win over #4 Misericordia University Friday evening in Pennsylvania Athletic Conference women’s basketball semifinal action at the Physical Education Center.

Senior guard Erin McIntyre also reached double figures for the Crusaders (22-5) with 12 points. Alvernia will host #3 Gwynedd-Mercy, an 88-85 overtime winner over #2 Wesley College, in Saturday evening’s PAC Final at 7:00 in the PEC.

Neither team could find the range early as they combined to start the game 1-for-7 from the floor and the Cougars missed three of their first four from the free throw line. CM freshman Amy Hughes was the only player to connect from the floor in the opening four minutes on a layup that gave the guests a 3-0 lead.

Alvernia senior Trish O’Gurek found Androsko all alone under the basket at 15:58 and the Crusaders were finally on the board. Androsko scored again following a 3 from Misericordia’s Cheri Magda and O’Gurek tied the score at 6-all with a long jumper at 14:02.

Androsko hit a free throw with 6:08 left in the first half to close what amounted to a 22-2 run that put the game out of reach. Misericordia’s bucket came at the 12:54 mark by Johnna Schickram and pulled the Cougars within two at 10-8, but the Crusaders ran off 14 straight led by five points from freshman reserve Ashley Shrawder.

The Crusaders 16-point gap remained the same at the 43 second mark of the half and the Cougars closed the gap to 14 by the break, 33-19.

The lead went back and forth from 14 to 16 points until McIntyre’s 3 at 17:06 put Alvernia up 40-23. The lead was up to 19 points following an Androsko layup and the Crusaders finally pushed it up to 20 points on a Mandy Reinhart (Pine Grove, PA/Pine Grove) 3 with 7:28 to play. The Cougars closed to 60-44 at the 3:41 mark and Alvernia scored the final 10 points of the game for the 70-44 final.

Alvernia advances to its seventh PAC Final and third in the past four years while the Griffins will appear in their eighth straight final. Gwynedd-Mercy is 3-4 in the last seven finals with three of the losses coming at the hands of the Crusaders.

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#3 Gwynedd-Mercy 88, #2 Wesley 85 (OT)

Dover, DE - Wesley College (19-8) fell to Gwynedd-Mercy College (16-11) in overtime by a final score of 88-85, in PAC semifinal play in front of a sell-out crowd in Jim and Shirley Wentworth Gymnasium. T'Neisha Turner scored a game-high 33 points for Wesley.

The Lady Griffins jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead and pushed the margin to 13 (20-7) on a jump shot by Karen Tierney at the 10:08 mark in the first half. Wesley battled back going on a 13-4 run to go into halftime down 30-27.

The Lady Wolverines grabbed their first lead with 13:15 remaining in the second half on a lay-up by Tricia Casarotto. Casarotto finished with 10 points for Wesley. Wesley held its largest lead of the half, going up 69-61 on a jumper by Brittany Lundy for 2 of her 16 points. Gwynedd-Mercy tied the game at 73-73 with :44 seconds remaining on a free-throw by Tierney, which finished off a 12-4 run for GMC. After a timeout, the Lady Griffins had the ball with :27 seconds remaining, but were unable to convert the shot attempt.

In overtime, Wesley jumped out to a quick 77-73 lead and pushed the lead to 7 (85-78), with 2:36 remaining in the extra period. Lauren Healy put GMC up 86-85 with :57 seconds remaining. Wesley was held scoreless for the final 2:36 as the Lady Griffins went on a 10-0 run to finish the game.

Healy led GMC with 24 points on 8-of-15 shooting, while grabbing 7 rebounds in the effort. Gina Morano had 21 points, while Tierney added 16. Wesley's Robin Smith had 18 points and a game-high 22 rebounds. The Lady Wolverines committed only 16 turnovers to 22 of GMC and held a 57-51 advantage on the boards.

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PAC Quarterfinal

Tuesday, February 22, 2005

#1 Alvernia 98, #8 Neumann 45

Reading, PA - Everyone to suit up tallied at least two points for Alvernia College, led by Tasheika Kennedy's (York, PA/William Penn) game-high16 points, in a 98-45 win over eighth seeded Neumann College Tuesday evening in Pennsylvania Athletic Conference women's basketball quarterfinal action at the Physical Education Center.

Senior guard Erin McIntyre (Orwigsburg, PA/Blue Mountain) scored 15 points on the strength of 4-for-5 from the 3-point arc and Camrell Gholston (Westminster, MD/McDonough School) added 10 for the Crusaders (21-5) who will host #4 Misericordia University, a 66-56 winner over #5 Rosemont, in Thursday's PAC Semifinal.

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#4 Misericordia 66, #5 Rosemont 56

Dallas, PA - Amy Hughes had a team-high 17 points to lead the Misericordia University womens basketball team to a 66-56 win over Rosemont in the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference quarterfinals, Tuesday at the Anderson Center.

Rachel Haley added 14 points for the Cougars, including four three-pointers, while Megan Torbik had a game-high 22 points for Rosemont despite being hampered by a leg injury in the second half. Katie Linder added 18 points and eight rebounds for Rosemont. Ericka Morrison added nine points, 11 rebounds and four steals for CM.

With Rosemont leading 51-50, Cheri Magda drilled a three-pointer to put CM ahead to stay, 53-51 with 5:44 remaining. Hughes made a steal on the next possession and went the length of the floor for a layup to give CM a 55-51 lead. She added six free throws over the 2:10 to seal the victory.

Misericordia grabbed an early 13-4 lead on a pair of layups and two free throws by Hughes. Rosemont responded with five straight points from Torbik to cut the margin to 13-9 and the Ramblers eventually tied the score, 26-26, with 4:57 left in the half. A Shannon Thomas three-pointer gave CM a 33-28 lead but Torbik answered with a three of her own and CM led 33-31 at the half.

The teams swapped baskets for the first 10 minutes of the second half before Rosemont used a 9-2 to grab a 48-41 lead with just 10 minutes remaining. Kelly Aharts three-pointer made it 48-44 and Rachel Haley drained a three from the left corner to pull the Cougars within one, 49-48, with 7:40 to play. Johnna Schickram gave CM a 50-49 lead off a feed from Jenell Fort, but Linder put Rosemont in front, 51-50 with a pair of free throws at 6:11. After Magda and Hughes gave CM the lead, Haley made another three for a 58-51 advantage and Rosemont never got closer than four points over the last five minutes.

Misericordia improves to 16-10 and will visit top-seeded Alvernia in the PAC semifinals, Thursday at 7:00 pm. Rosemont concludes the season at 12-10.

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# 2 Wesley 78, #7Eastern 54

Dover, DE - Wesley College (19-7) defeated Eastern University (11-14) by a final score of 78-54, in PAC quarterfinal action on Tuesday night. Brittany Lundy paced the Lady Wolverines with 26 points on 11-of-20 shooting, while adding 6 steals. Lundy dropped in 21 points in the 1st half helping Wesley go into halftime with a 45-28 lead. T'Neisha Turner added 23 points, 5 steals and 4 assists. Robin Smith and Tricia Casarotto had 13 and 10 points respectively, with Smith grabbing a game-high 13 rebounds.

Lundy scored Wesley's first 7 points in the game and helped Wesley to its largest lead of the first half on a field goal at the 2:41 mark, to put the Lady Wolverines up 43-23. Eastern was able to cut the Wesley lead down to 14 (47-33) on a 3-point basket by Jacey Bray with 15:36 remaining in the game, but was unable to get any closer the rest of the way. Eastern was led by Marci Pentz's 23 points, 11 rebounds and 2 steals. Amanda Magri added 10 points for the Lady Eagles.

Wesley shot 30-of-71 (42.3%) for the game and forced Eastern into 24 turnovers. Wesley has now won 7 straight games and will face #3 Gwynedd-Mercy on Thursday, February 24th with tip-off slated for 7:00 at Jim and Shirley Wentworth Gymnasium. With the win, Wesley is making its second straight appearance into the PAC semifinal game.

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#3 Gwynedd-Mercy 60, #6 Cabrini 48

Gwynedd Valley, PA - Three players reached double figures to help #3 Gwynedd-Mercy to a 60-48 win over #6 Cabrini in a first-round game of the 2005 Pennsylvania Athletic Conference Tournament Tuesday evening.

With the win, the Griffins advance to the PAC Semifinals on Thursday at Wesley with tip-off at 7:00 pm.

Freshman Lauren Healy led GMC with 18 points. Sophomore Jackie Dougherty added 15 points, 14 rebounds, and five assists and freshman Beccie Strohecker chipped in 12 points and five boards.

Gwynedd-Mercy (15-11) opened up a 22-19 halftime lead using an 18-5 run to open the second stanza.

The Cavs (15-10) could get no closer than eight points, as GMC used clutch free-throw shooting to keep Cabrini at bay. The Griffins hit 20-of-26 from the line including a 16-for-20 effort in the second half alone.

Samantha Hartling led Cabrini with 28 points, 13 rebounds, and six blocks.

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NCAA Second Round

Saturday, March 5, 2005

Bowdoin (25-2) 69, Alvernia (24-6) 46

Brunswick, ME - Sophomore forward Eileen Flaherty scored 11 of her game-high 25 points during the decisive first half to lead Bowdoin College, ranked 2nd by d3hoops.com, to a 69-46 win over Alvernia College in second round action of the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament Saturday evening at Morrell Gymnasium.

Flaherty opened the scoring after nearly two minutes of anxious play that included three turnovers and four straight misses from the floor, and converted a 3-point play with 3:58 left in the opening half that put the Polar Bears (25-2) put 18 points, 32-14, their largest lead of the half.

Alvernia trimmed the lead to 13 points with five straight points capped by a Mandy Reinhart 3 at 1:16 and again following a pair of Kacie Androsko free throws with 13 ticks left, but Bowdoin senior Alison Smith hit a momentum-crushing layup on the last play of the half to put the Polar Bears up 15 points at the break, 36-21.

Flaherty helped the Polar Bears extend the lead during the first three minutes of the second half with four straight points and her only blocked shot of the night as the hosts quickly built a 23-point lead, 44-21. The lead crept up to 24 points with 15:07 left after a pair of Flaherty free throws and reached 29 points at the 4:27 mark when Vanessa Russell's 3 put Bowdoin up 64-35. Alvernia closed the gap with two 3s in the final two minutes, but it will be Bowdoin advancing to the NCAA Sectional for the fifth straight season at a place and time to be determined.

Alvernia got a team-high 11 points and 11 rebounds from Androsko and freshman reserve Ashley Shrawder also reached double figures with 10 points. The Polar Bears got 14 points and seven rebounds from junior forward Justine Pouravelis and 11 points from freshman Melissa Berne including eight during a pivotal 10-0 first half run.

Neither team could find offensive rhythm early as Flaherty and Androsko were the only players to score in the opening three and a half minutes. Pouravelis and Alvernia sophomore Lauren Fortna traded a free throw and a driving layup on the next two possessions and the Crusaders took their first lead, 4-3. Bowdoin was the first to settle into its offense when Flaherty scored at 14:49 and Berne hit back-to-back 3s as a 10-0 Polar Bears' run opened up a 15-6 lead for the hosts.

Alvernia came back with four straight points, but Flaherty answered with a layup that started a second 10-0 run for the hosts that left Bowdoin up 25-10 at the 6:43 mark. The Crusaders could never get the lead back under 10 points and saw a 14-game win streak come to an end.

Bowdoin shot 45 percent in the first half while Alvernia could manage just a 6-for-26, 23-percent first half effort. Alvernia picked up the offense in the second frame, but Polar Bears were just too strong, outrebounding the Crusaders 51-33 and hitting 19 free throws to Alvernia's nine.

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Alvernia (24-5) 60, @ SUNY-Brockport 38 (18-10)

Brockport, NY - Senior guard Trish O'Gurek scored five points and pulled down four rebounds during a pivotal 17-2 run to open the second half that lead Alvernia College to a 60-38 win over SUNY Brockport in the first round of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament Wednesday night at Brockport.

O'Gurek finished the night with her second straight double-double and fourth this season racking up a game-high 13 points and 14 rebounds. The 5-6 senior grabbed a pair of defensive rebounds as the Crusaders (24-5) were turning a 21-18 halftime deficit into a 23-21 lead with 2:40 gone in the second half. She was fouled on a putback attempt at 13:19 before putting the guests up 35-23 with a pair of free throws.

Alvernia, which held Brockport under 10 second-half points for nearly 15 full minutes, to a 21-point lead with a mix of tenacious defense and shot-making that was unavailable during an 18-point first-half effort. The Alvernia defense tallied 10 steals led by senior Erin McIntyre with four, and forced 15 turnovers while holding the Golden Eagles (18-10) to just 23 percent shooting from the floor including a 5-for-29 second-half effort.

The early scoring was even, but sparse as the opening 12 minutes featured just 22 total points and four ties, the last one of the half at 11-all when Alvernia freshman Ashley Shrawder nailed a pair of free throws at the 8:17 mark. Brockport had opened up its largest lead of the half at 7-4 when Katie Marcella (Schenectady, NY/Guilderland) dropped her first of two first-half 3s to cap a streak of five straight for the hosts.

Marcella broke the 11-all tie with a free throw before Alvernia freshman Rhealynn Davis began to carve up the middle of the Golden Eagles' defense scoring six of her eight points during a 7-2 run that put the Crusaders up 18-14 with 4:40 left in the opening half. Brockport held Alvernia off the board for the remainder of the half as the Crusaders went 0-for-5 from the floor and missed a pair from the free throw stripe during the last four-plus minutes of the half.

Freshman reserve Kim Schon helped the Eagles take advantage with two of her six first-half points at the 2:55 mark and Marcella canned her final 3 of the night at 1:59 as Brockport took back the slim lead, 19-18. Davis missed a running jumper with 21 ticks left on the clock and freshman Ashley Broadhurst spun home a layup with four second left to put the Eagles up 21-18 at the break.

Alvernia head coach Kevin Calabria was pleased with the defensive effort his team gave for the opening 20 minutes, but challenged the team at halftime to execute the offense at that same level in the second half. Senior center Kacie Androsko got things started with a short jumper that pulled the guests within one, 21-20, and junior guard Mandy Reinhart nailed her only 3 of the night to give Alvernia a lead it wouldn't relinquish.

The Crusaders cranked up the offense shooting 16-for-30 in the second half after just 7-of-22 in the opening frame and more than doubled their scoring output with 42 of their 60 total points after the break. Brockport senior Jill Abram scored to tie the game at 23-all with 16:26 to go before O'Gurek's layup on the ensuing possession sparked a 12-0 run that helped put the game out of reach.

Alvernia advances to the second round and will face Bowdoin College (24-2), champions of the New England Small College Athletic Conference and the #2 team in the land according to d3hoops.com. Game time is scheduled for 6:05 Saturday evening at Morrill Gymnasium in Brunswick, Maine.

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First Round

#1 Moravian 81, (23-5), #8 Wesley (19-9) 55

Bethlehem, PA - The Moravian College women’s basketball team, the top seed in the 2005 Eastern College Athletic Conference Division III Women's Southern Championship Tournament, advanced to the semifinals and will host the remainder of the tournament with an 81-55 victory over eighth seeded Wesley (DE) College in a quarterfinal game at Johnston Hall Wednesday evening.

The Greyhounds improved to 23-5 overall and 13-1 at home this season while the Wolverines end their season at 19-9. Moravian will play fourth seeded the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg, an 82-76 winner over fifth seeded Widener University in a quarterfinal game on Wednesday, on Friday at 8:00 p.m. in one semifinal while Friday's other semifinal, which will tip off at 6:00 p.m., will feature second seeded DeSales University, a 71-63 winner over seventh seeded Grove City College, versus third seeded Lebanon Valley College, a 71-64 winner over sixth seeded Medaille (NY) College in Wednesday's final quarterfinal game. The championship game is slated for 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. This is the second time in three seasons that Moravian will host the semifinals and finals of the ECAC Southern Championship.

In the game versus Wesley, Moravian scored the first two points of the game and Wesley tied the contest at 2-2 1:16 into the game. The Greyhounds, who never trailed again, ran off six straight points for an 8-2 lead at the 16:49 mark. The Wolverines scored the next five points to cut the lead to 8-7 at the 14:54 mark in the first half before Moravian embarked on a 16-5 run over the next seven minutes to take control of the game with a 26-12 lead at the 7:35 mark. The Greyhounds, who led by as many as 21 points in the first half, had a 43-24 halftime advantage.

Moravian shot 51.4 percent (18 of 35) from the field in the first half with two three-pointers and a five of eight performance at the foul line. The Greyhounds, who committed nine turnovers in the first half to Wesley's seven first half turnovers, also had a 30-14 advantage on the boards at the intermission. The Wolverines connected on just ten of 34 first half field goal attempts (29.4 percent) with two three-pointers and two of five free throws.

Moravian would enjoy at least a 20 point lead for most of the second have, pushing the advantage to 30 points at 61-31 with 12:21 to play in the game. The Greyhounds shot just 26.5 percent (nine of 34) from the floor after the intermission with three three-pointers, however, Moravian, ranked tenth in the nation in free throw percentage this week, connected on 17 of 24 free throws (70.8 percent) in the second half. Moravian only made seven turnovers in the second half while Wesley had eight second half turnovers. The Wolverines connected on ten of 34 field goal attempts again in the second half with one three-pointers and a ten for 17 performance at the charity stripe.

Moravian finished the game with a 60-38 edge in rebounds, and the Greyhounds had all 15 players in uniform play at least four minutes in the game and score at least one point in the victory.

Moravian also put three players in double figures led by sophomore forward Jenny Hackleman, who scored 14 points, 12 in the first half, to go with eight rebounds. Sophomore forward Kelly Applegate added a double-double for Moravian with 13 points and a career high tying 12 rebounds while junior forward Stephanie Seaman had 12 points, ten of them in the first half, and eight rebounds.

Junior forward Lindsay Brase netted nine points in the victory for the Greyhounds while sophomore guard Katie Rizman contributed eight points and four rebounds. Sophomore guard Rachel Berlin, junior forward Heather MacDonald and freshman guard LaToya Blake each scored four points with Berlin adding four rebounds. MacDonald grabbed six boards while Blake had two steals for Moravian.

Senior guard Jen Behagg led the Greyhounds with six assists to go with three points, three rebounds and two blocked shots. Freshman guard Sara Steinman also netted three points while dishing out three assists for Moravian.

Junior guard T'Neisha Turner led Wesley with 14 points, four rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots before fouling out of the game. Sophomore guard Brittany Lundy added 13 points and two rebounds before being ejected with her second technical foul with 3:52 remaining in the contest.

Sophomore guard/forward Heather Kennedy added ten points and three rebounds for Wesley while junior forward/center Tricia Casarotto had a game high 13 rebound to go with six points. Junior center Robin Smith added ten rebounds, nine points and two blocked shots for the Wolverines.

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