Monday, February 28, 2011

MORAVIAN COLLEGE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TEAM AWARDED BERTH TO 2011 ECAC DIVISION III SOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT

CAPE COD, MA --- The Moravian College women’s basketball team has been awarded a berth to the 2011 Eastern College Athletic Conference Division III South Championship Tournament announced Monday, and the eighth seeded Greyhounds will travel to top seed Waynesburg University, 18-9 this winter,  for a quarterfinal game on Wednesday, March 2nd at 7:00 p.m. 

Moravian, which is 14-12 overall this season, will be making its 12th appearance in the ECAC Tournament, and the Greyhounds have won a pair of ECAC South Championships, one in 1987 and the other in 2007.  The program has finished as the ECAC South Runner-Up on five occasions.

Wednesday's other quarterfinal games will feature second seeded The Catholic University of America (17-9) hosting seventh seed Wesley College (16-12), third seed Gwynedd-Mercy College (17-10) hosting sixth seeded Alvernia University (13-13) and fourth seeded Penn State-Behrend (19-7) hosting fifth seeded Marywood University (19-7).  The semifinals and championship are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, March 5th & 6th at the highest remaining seed.

Moravian head coach Mary Beth Spirk has the Greyhounds in the postseason for the 21st time in her 24 years as head coach.  Spirk, who has an overall record of 448-210, has the Greyhounds looking for the program’s third ECAC Championship.  Coach Spirk also has her team near the top of the nation once again in free throw shooting.  The Greyhounds are 511-of-668 at the foul line this season (76.5 percent), while Moravian’s opponents are just 291-of-436 at the foul line (66.7 percent).

Leading the Greyhounds is senior guard/forward Amy Heffner (Schnecksville, PA/Parkland HS), who was named one of the Landmark Conference Tri-Players of the Year last week as well as earning a spot on the Landmark All-Conference First Team, with averages of 17.9 points and 7.0 rebounds per game this season, and she was named to the All-Tournament Team at Gwynedd-Mercy College as well as the D3hoops.com Team of the Week presented by Scoutware twice this season and the Women's DIII News November Player of the Month.  Heffner, who is averaging a team high 31.2 minutes a game, also has made team high of 41 three-pointers to go with 41 assists, 35 steals and 14 blocked shots while shooting 80.8 percent (143-for-177) at the foul line. 

Junior forward Alexandra Blair (Hellertown, PA/Bethlehem Catholic HS), the 2011 Landmark Conference Defensive Player of the Year, is contributing 11.3 points and a team high 7.8 rebounds per game with a school record 99 blocked shots to go with 45 assists and 17 steals.  Blair earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team at the 10th Annual Starters Moravian Winter Classic along with senior guard/forward Emily Smith (East Stroudsburg, PA/East Stroudsburg South HS).  Smith, who was also on the Landmark All-Conference First Team and missed five games earlier this season with an injury, is netting 13.6 points per contest to go with an average of 6.1 rebounds per outing, 48 assists, 37 steals and nine three-pointers while shooting 82.9 percent (68-for-82) at the foul line.

Junior guard Hilary Murray (Clinton, NJ/North Hunterdon HS) is netting 5.8 points per game with a team high of 75 assists to go with 54 rebounds, 31 steals, 19 three-pointers and three blocked shots while freshman guard Katie O'Rourke (Palmyra, PA/Palmyra HS) has averages of 5.2 points and 4.5 rebounds per contest to go with 49 assists and a team high 40 steals in her debut season at Moravian.  Murray is 40-for-46 at the foul line as well (87.0 percent).  Freshman forward/center Laura Jordan (Easton, PA/Easton HS) is contributing 3.9 points and 3.4 rebounds per outing with 21 blocked shots, 15 steals and 12 assists while sophomore guard Amanda Kreuder (Byram, NJ/Morris Catholic HS) is averaging 4.7 points per contest with 53 rebounds, 33 assists, 21 steals and six three-pointers. 

Freshman guard Caitlin Hrebik (Allentown, PA/Salisbury HS) has contributed 79 points, 37 rebounds, 14 three-pointers, 13 steals, 16 assists and four blocked shots in her first season while freshman guard Alyssa Hann (Nazareth, PA/Nazareth HS) has 63 points, 24 steals, 20 assists, 12 three-pointers and 22 rebounds for the Greyhounds.  Freshman forward Erika Blair (Hellertown, PA/Bethlehem Catholic HS) has 36 points, 41 rebounds, five assists, three steals and six blocked shots after missing the first nine games with an injury while senior center Amie Ballo (Andes, NY/Andes Central HS) has added 15 points, 16 rebounds, three assists and four steals in limited action. 

Freshman guard Danielle Brogan (Oakland, NJ/Indian Hills HS) has 15 points and four boards for Moravian.  Senior guard Jennie Miller (Lewisburg, PA/Lewisburg HS) has tossed in 16 points to go with five rebounds and four assists while freshman guard/forward Abbey Noble (Ashland, PA/North Schuylkill HS) has four rebounds and six points.  Junior guard Cassandra Phillips (Orwigsburg, PA/Nativity BVM HS) and freshman guard Laura Casey (Wilkes-Barre, PA/Holy Redeemer HS) each have seven points this season for the Greyhounds with Casey adding five rebounds and three assists.

Waynesburg is 18-9 on the season and was 10-6 during the regular season in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference.  The Yellow Jackets, under the direction of third-year coach Sam Jones, reached the semifinals of the PAC tournament before falling to St. Vincent College, 70-53.  Waynesburg is making its first appearance in the ECAC South Championships, and Wednesday’s game will be the first-ever meeting between the Yellow Jackets and the Greyhounds.