Thursday, February 26, 2004

MORAVIAN TO HOST WIDENER IN COMMONWEALTH CONFERNECE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

BETHLEHEM, PA --- The Moravian College women’s basketball team will make its second straight appearance in the Commonwealth Conference Championship game, and the Greyhounds, which are the second seed, will host fourth-seeded Widener University in the title contest on Saturday, February 28th at 7:00 p.m. in Johnston Hall.

The winner of the game will receive the conference’s automatic bid to the 2004 NCAA Division III Tournament, which begins on March 3rd. Moravian reached the championship game with a 57-52 victory over third-seed Lebanon Valley College in the semifinals while the Pioneers earned the trip to the championship game, their first since the 1982-83 season, with a 69-64 upset win at top seeded Messiah College.

The Greyhounds, who have an overall record of 18-8 and a 10-4 slate in the Commonwealth Conference, competed in the championship a year ago, losing at Messiah, 73-52. Moravian, which has won three straight games, finished in a tie for second place with Lebanon Valley during the regular season but the Greyhounds earned the higher seed on the seventh tiebreaker, point differential. Moravian and Widener won on each other’s home floor this season with the Greyhounds earning an 80-64 win in Chester on December 2nd and the Pioneers winning 64-52 in Johnston Hall on February 4th. Moravian is 35-13 all-time against Widener with a 15-8 mark at Johnston Hall. The loss to the Pioneers earlier this month snapped a seven-game winning streak by Moravian in the series.

Moravian head coach Mary Beth Spirk, who was named the Commonwealth Conference Coach of the Year on Tuesday, has the Greyhounds in the playoffs for the 14th time in her 17 years as head coach. Spirk, who has an overall record of 307-151, is trying to guide the Greyhounds to their first 20-win season since 1993-94 and the squad’s first conference title since 1991-92. The last time Moravian hosted the conference championship game was on February 29, 1992 when the Greyhounds defeated Susquehanna University, 83-77, for their second straight Middle Atlantic Conference title.

The Greyhounds are ranked 14th in the nation this week in free throw percentage, making 73.8 percent of their foul shots (482 of 653), and the squad is 44th in the country in rebounding margin at 6.0 more boards per game than its opponents. Free throw shooting has been a key for Moravian all season. The Greyhounds have been outscored by ten points from the field, however, Moravian has made 176 more free throws than its opponents.

Senior guard Kim Hughes (Manasquan, NJ/St. Rose HS) leads the Greyhounds in scoring this season with an average of 11.8 points per game. Hughes, who has missed three of the last eight games with an illness and has been held scoreless in three others, also leads the squad with 41 three-pointers, and she has added 52 rebounds, 46 assists and 33 steals. Hughes, who is ranked nationally in free throw percentage at 85.0 percent, became the 15th player in Moravian history to score 1,000 points in a career, and she is currently eight with 1,222 points. Hughes is also fourth in school history with 162 career three-pointers. Sophomore forward Stephanie Seaman (Bethlehem, PA/Bethlehem Catholic HS), who was named to the Commonwealth All-Conference First Team on Tuesday, leads the Greyhounds on the boards at 8.0 rebounds per contest, and she is netting 11.3 points per game. Seaman also leads the squad with 58 steals and she has added 34 assists and 15 blocked shots.

Freshman forward Jenny Hackleman (Solvang, CA/Rutgers Prep {NJ} HS), the 2003-04 Commonwealth Conference Rookie of the Year, is contributing 7.9 points and 6.7 rebounds per game, and she leads the team with 31 blocked shots to go along with 34 assists and 28 steals. Junior guard Jen Behagg (Hamburg, NJ/Pope John XXIII HS) leads Moravian with 89 assists and is averaging 7.6 points and 4.2 rebounds per contest. Behagg also has 14 three-pointers, 49 steals and 17 blocked shots.

Freshman forward Kelly Applegate (Easton, PA/Wilson HS) is scoring 8.2 points per game and 4.7 rebounds per game, to go along with 22 blocked shots, 14 steals, and 11 assists. Freshman guard Rachel Berlin (Bethlehem, PA/Freedom HS) is adding 6.7 points and 2.5 rebounds per game with 15 three-pointers, 31 steals, 22 assists, and eight blocked shots. Freshman guard Katie Rizman (Wall, NJ/St. Rose HS) has an average of 5.6 points per game with 14 three-point field goals, 70 rebounds, 54 assists, 29 steals, and eight blocked shots. Sophomore forward Lindsay Brase (Bethlehem, PA/Notre Dame HS) is contributing 5.3 points with 82 rebounds, 20 assists, 20 steals, and eight three-pointers, while senior forward Tracie Shipman (Seaside Park, NJ/Archbishop Ryan HS) has averages of 4.8 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. Shipman, who is out for the remainder of the season with an injury, also has 24 steals and 18 assists.

Sophomore guard Nicole Savino (Macungie, PA/Brandywine Heights HS) has contributed 49 points, and she has 40 rebounds, eight assists, and eight steals. Junior guard Marion Berry (Avon, NJ/St. Rose HS) has added 18 points, 14 rebounds, seven assists, and five steals. Sophomore forward Heather MacDonald (Wayne, NJ/Wayne Valley HS) has 26 rebounds and 23 points, while sophomore guard Catherine Golden (Bethlehem, PA/Freedom HS) has two points in limited action this season. Sophomore guard Dianna DeFiore (Hammonton, NJ/St. Joseph HS) has added five points, five rebounds, and five assists. Freshman forward Lindsay Walter (Mechanicsburg, PA/Red Land HS) has contributed 12 points and five rebounds, while junior forward Iva Havlikova (Tabor, Czech Republic) has five rebounds in limited action this season.

Widener enters the Commonwealth Conference championship game with an overall record of 17-9. The Pioneers snapped a three-game losing streak with the upset of Messiah, which was ranked fifth in the country in the latest D3hoops.com Top 25 poll. Widener is under the direction of first-year head coach Alissa DiBonaventura.

Sophomore guard Chelsea Luhta leads the team in scoring averaging 14.5 points per game and assists with 75. Luhta is second on the squad in rebounding averaging 7.1 rebounds per game and second in three-point field goals with 23. Luhta has also contributed 38 steals and nine blocked shots. Senior guard/forward Nikki Carden, who was named to the Commonwealth All-Conference First Team, leads the Pioneers in three-point field goals with 52 and is second on the team in scoring averaging 14.0 points per game. Carden is also averaging 4.7 rebounds per game to go along with 56 assists, 47 steal, and 10 blocked shots.

Junior guard Nicole Stanley, a member of the Commonwealth All-Conference Second Team, is third on the squad in scoring averaging 10.0 points per game. Stanley has also added 3.8 rebounds per game, 59 steals, 56 assists, and two blocked shots this season. Senior center/forward Erin Nemshick leads the team in rebounding averaging 9.4 rebounds per contest, to go along with 8.5 points per game, 41 assists, 50 steals, and 11 blocked shots. Senior guard Kate Smyth is averaging 8.1 points per game and 3.1 rebounds per game. Smyth leads the team in steals with 63 and has also contributed 60 assists and 21 blocked shots.

Sophomore center/forward Celeste Baumgardner is averaging 4.7 rebounds per game and has also added 60 points, seven assists, 11 steals, and four blocked shots. Freshman guard/forward Rachel Paul has contributed 89 points, 54 rebounds, six assists, 13 steals, and four blocked shots, while freshman center/forward Shanais Hilliard has contributed 59 points, 49 rebounds, five steals, five blocked shots and one assist. Freshman guard Kelli Murphy has contributed 50 points, 17 rebounds, six assists, 12 steals, and one blocked shot, while sophomore guard Linette Babiarz has added 44 points, 37 rebounds, 41 assists, and 18 steals. Freshman guard Sonja Fenner has contributed 24 point, 11 rebounds, six assists, seven steals, and two blocked shots in limited action this season.