MORAVIAN’S APPLEGATE & HACKLEMAN NAMED TO COMMONWEALTH ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS

ANNVILLE, PA --- Senior forward Kelly Applegate (Easton, PA/Wilson HS), pictured at right, of the Moravian College women’s basketball team has been named to the Commonwealth All-Conference First Team while senior forward Jenny Hackleman (Arroyo Grande, CA/Rutgers Prep {NJ} HS), pictured below, was honored on the All-Conference Second Team announced by the Middle Atlantic States Collegiate Athletic Corporation Wednesday.

Joining Applegate on the All-Conference First Team were Nikki Lobach of Messiah College, who was also named the Commonwealth Conference Player of the Year, Sarah Ringer of Messiah, Jackie Hardwick of Albright College, Erin Walton from Elizabethtown College and Monica Johnson from Lebanon Valley College.

Moravian head coach Mary Beth Spirk has coached the Greyhounds to a 15-10 overall record, a 9-5 slate in Commonwealth Conference action and the squad’s sixth straight postseason berth this year. Spirk has a career record of 368-179.

Applegate, who was named to the Lehigh Valley Small College Basketball Team of the Year for the second straight season, leads the Greyhounds in scoring with an average of 14.6 points per contest, and she is second at 6.4 rebounds per game. Applegate, who has moved into sixth all-time in points with 1,441 points and seventh all-time in rebounds with 658 rebounds for her career, also has 40 steals, 40 assists and six blocked shots while shooting 83.9 percent (120-143) at the foul line, currently ranked 41st in the nation. Applegate, who was the Commonwealth Conference Player of the Year in 2005-06 as well as being on the Commonwealth All-Conference First Team and a Women’s Basketball Coaches Association/Kodak Honorable Mention All-American, has broken the school record for free throws attempted with 583 and free throws made with 450.

Hackleman, who had been on the Commonwealth All-Conference Second Team as a sophomore and the Commonwealth Conference Rookie of the Year in 2003-04, is averaging 11.9 points and a team leading average of 8.8 rebounds per contest despite missing the first five games of the year with an injury. Hackleman has moved into fourth in school history in career rebounds with a total of 760, and she is 14th in scoring with 1,104 points. Hackleman has also contributed 46 steals, a team high 26 blocked shots and 52 assists since returning to the lineup.

Moravian is the third seed in the upcoming Commonwealth Conference Tournament and will travel to second-seeded Albright College in a semifinal game on Wednesday, February 21st at 7:00 p.m. in Reading. The winner of the Commonwealth Tournament, which concludes on Saturday, February 24th, earns a berth in the 2007 NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament beginning on March 2nd.