MORAVIAN SELECTED TO ECAC SOUTH TOURNAMENT; SEVENTH-SEEDED GREYHOUNDS TO TRAVEL TO PENN STATE-BEHREND ON FEBRUARY 28TH

CAPE COD, MA --- The Moravian College women’s basketball team will make its making its fifth straight postseason appearance beyond the Commonwealth Conference as the Greyhounds have been seeded seventh in the Eastern College Athletic Conference Division IIII Southern Basketball Championships. Moravian will travel to second seed Penn State-Behrend on Wednesday, February 28th for a 6:00 p.m. tip-off in Erie.

The tournament will continue with the semifinals on Friday, March 2nd and the championship game on Saturday, March 3rd at the highest remaining seed. Wednesday’s other first round games will have top seed King’s College traveling to eighth-seed Villa Julie College, third seeded Albright College playing six-seed Neumann College and fourth seeded Washington & Jefferson College hosting fifth-seed Cabrini College. The Moravian at Penn State-Behrend winner will play the winner of Albright and Neumann. The winners of the other quarterfinals will meet in the other semifinal game.

The Greyhounds are 16-11 overall this season and will be making their tenth appearance in the ECAC Tournament. Moravian won the ECAC Championship in 1987 and has a 7-8 all-time record in ECAC games. Moravian lost in the ECAC Southern Championship game in 2005 and the semifinals in 2003 and 2004. The Greyhounds fell in the Commonwealth Conference Championship game for the fifth straight season last Saturday, losing to Messiah College, 79-57.

Moravian head coach Mary Beth Spirk has the Greyhounds in the playoffs for the 17th time in her 20 years as head coach. Spirk, who has an overall record of 369-180, has the Greyhounds looking for the program’s first ECAC Southern Championship since 1987. Moravian has been the runner-up in the ECAC Southern Tournament five times.

Senior forward Kelly Applegate (Easton, PA/Wilson HS), who was named to the Commonwealth All-Conference Team for the second straight season, leads the Greyhounds in scoring with an average of 14.9 points per contest, and she is second at 6.6 rebounds per game. Applegate, who has moved into sixth all-time in points with 1,477 points and seventh all-time in rebounds with 676 rebounds for her career, also has 43 steals, 41 assists and eight blocked shots while shooting 82.1 percent (128-156) at the foul line, currently ranked 33rd in the nation. Applegate has broken the school record for free throws attempted with 596 and free throws made with 458.

Senior forward Jenny Hackleman (Arroyo Grande, CA/Rutgers Prep {NJ} HS), who earned a spot on the Commonwealth All-Conference Second Team, is averaging 12.1 points and a team leading average of 9.2 rebounds per contest despite missing the first five games of the year with an injury. Hackleman, who was named to the All-Tournament Team at the Starters Moravian Winter Classic, has moved into fourth in school history in career rebounds with a total of 787, and she is 13th in scoring with 1,133 points. Hackleman has also contributed 47 steals, a team high 31 blocked shots and 54 assists since returning to the lineup.

Freshman guard Jessica Foran (Annandale, NJ/Rutgers Prep HS) is scoring 9.0 points per game in her debut season, and Foran has added 88 rebounds, 44 steals, 41 assists and nine three-pointers, and she is shooting 84.5 percent (82-97), currently 28th in the nation, at the foul line. Both Applegate and Foran were named to the All-Tournament Team at the Mike Durgala Memorial Tournament at Johns Hopkins University to open the 2006-07 season.

Freshman forward Kirsty Stearns (East Norwich, NY/Oyster Bay HS) is averaging 9.0 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, and she has 12 blocked shots to go along with 22 steals and 18 assists. Freshman guard Kate Harrison (Cold Spring Harbor, NY/Cold Spring Harbor HS) has 44 steals this season, and she has added 88 rebounds, 42 assists, six blocked shots and an average of 7.4 points per contest while freshman guard Amanda Brown (Schuylkill Haven, PA/Schuylkill Haven HS) has team highs of 41 three-pointers and 64 assists to go with 38 rebounds, 24 steals and an average of 6.4 points per game.

Freshman forward Alyssa Bisci (Easton, PA/Easton HS) is scoring 3.6 points per game and has added 69 rebounds, 16 assists and 11 steals while sophomore forward Cody Fedorishen (Nazareth, PA/Allentown Central Catholic HS) has contributed 64 points, 63 rebounds, 14 assists, 11 steals and five blocked shots for the Greyhounds. Senior guard Katie Rizman (Wall, NJ/St. Rose HS) has added 63 points, 32 rebounds, 20 assists, 13 steals and eight three-pointers while junior guard La'Toya Blake (Allentown, PA/Dieruff HS) has netted 61 points while contributing a team high 69 steals to go with 38 assists and 49 rebounds.

Sophomore forward Rachelle Elneus (Easton, PA/Notre Dame HS) has 23 points, 11 rebounds and five steals while junior guard Megan Kocon (Bethlehem, PA/Liberty HS) has 15 points, 12 rebounds and six assists. Senior guard Kristina Adams (Belle Mead, NJ/Montgomery HS) has 11 points, four rebounds and five steals while junior guard Tina Moll (Kintnersville, PA/Palisades HS) has added seven points and four rebounds. Freshman guard Alexis DiFazio (East Hanover, NJ/Hanover Park HS) has contributed eight points and three rebounds in limited action.

King’s enters the tournament with an overall record of 19-8, and the Lions posted a 10-4 mark in Freedom Conference action. King’s was knocked out of the Freedom Tournament in the championship with a 79-63 loss to the University of Scranton. The Lions are making their fourth trip to the ECAC South Championships and won the title in 1998. King’s will be unable to host any games due to its men’s team in the NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament.

Penn State-Behrend is playing in the ECAC Tournament for seventh time. The Lions enter the tournament with an overall record of 21-5 overall record and a 10-2 slate in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference. Penn State-Behrend lost to Medaille (NY) College, 66-39 in the AMCC championship game.

Albright enters the ECAC Southern Championships with an overall record of 17-9. The Lions were 10-4 in the Commonwealth Conference and fell to Moravian in the conference semifinals, 68-61. Albright is making its first ECAC Tournament appearance.

Washington & Jefferson, which lost to Westminster College 57-51 in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference semifinals, enters the tournament at 19-8 overall. The Presidents, who are making their third ECAC Tournament appearance and won the Southern title in 1994, were 10-2 in Presidents’ Athletic Conference action.

Cabrini is a member of the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference. The Cavaliers have an overall record of 19-9 and were 13-3 in conference action, losing to Gwynedd-Mercy College, 68-61, in the PAC championship.

Neumann is also a member of the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference and was 18-9 overall. The Knights had a record of 11-5 in conference action and lost to Gwynedd-Mercy, 80-61 in the conference tournament semifinals.

Villa Julie had an overall record of 19-9, and the Mustangs were 13-3 in North Eastern Athletic Conference action. Villa Julie was knocked out of the NEAC Tournament in the championship with a 67-44 loss to Keuka College. Villa Julie is making its first appearance in the ECAC Tournament.