WBB: Landmark Conference

[saratoga]

UofS website update...Lady Royals announce 3 more additions to their freshman class. Some very talented kids from great programs. At least 2 of the 4 announced freshmen should get serious playing time on a team that returns all but one player...another great job by Coach Strong & his staff.

[ronk]

  I spent today at a very good girls' high school tournament http:www.bestofmd.net  . Teams included 2008 Pa. champ Central Dauphin(with a MD recruit), current champ Mount Lebanon, schools from NJ, NY,WV, KY, OH, NC, FL, and many DC-Balt suburbs. Mount Lebanon, with 3 D1 prospects won it all and look capable of defending their state title. One very good offensive player from NC and only a rising junior so she could be Duke, NC, TN level player by the time she graduates.
  Programs were only available to the college coaches in attendance so it was hard to gather info about any Dlll prospects to be lady Royals. You want somebody good enough for a strong program but not so good as to draw competition from the lesser Dl schools. A Loyola coach concurred on a prospect that I had seen this past year as a Dll at best, not lower Dl, so I'll check her out again this coming year along with a few that I saw today..
  I talked with the Goucher coach for a few mins and remarked that her team improved this year over their 1st Landmark year and she agreed that she was happy with her frosh class this past year and hopeful for her incoming class.

[RoyalGator]

Was looking the Lady Royals schedule, and I saw we are playing the Trinity (TX) team on Dec. 20.  This is very intriguing and will most likely make my way down from Connecticut to see this game.

[saratoga]

RoyalGator: I'm pretty sure the game vs. Trinity is in a tournament Scranton is playing in LasVegas. Looks like they have Wisconsin Whitewater the night before so once again, Coach Strong puts together one tough non-conference schedule that will rank as one of the nation's strongest.
   By the way, is the thesis completed? If so, congratulations RoyalGator Ph.D.

[saratoga]

Congratulations to Scranton's Megan Kopecki...just named D3 Hoops Pre Season All-American...First Team!

[saratoga]

In a related note... I certainly think Pat & company did a great job in their recent previews of both the F&M men and the Scranton women. I seriously doubt either team will go quietly into the season as they did last year.
  Regarding Scranton's schedule...as if it were not tough enough, it appears the two schools they'll be playing in Las Vegas were not penciled in at the time the article was submitted. Those schools have now been announced...Wisconsin Whitewater & Trinity (Texas) are also on Scranton's schedule. Ouch!
  Congrats to Coach Strong & staff for playing the best & making his schedule once again one of the toughest in D3.

[TheGrove]

Susquehanna opened its season last night with a heartbreaker in Selinsgrove, falling to Messiah 73-72 on last-second free throws by the Falcons.

http://www.gosusqu.com/sports/women/wbkb/2009-10/news/messiah_11-17

[ronk]

  Took in the Lady Royals against Alvernia this afternoon; they built a large lead via 7 3s in the 1st half from Jenny and Megan and numerous steals, turnovers and transition baskets in the 2nd. Alvernia knocked off 15 points from the lead by offensive board work and foul shooting.
  Of the newcomers, Tayler Pallotta looks like the real deal: can run, jump, defend, set picks for Megan(and anyone else willing to play pick-and-roll), and shoot the in-the-paint jumper. The rest looked promising,as well. Shernai Bentley was aggressive in-the-paint offensively in a brief stint and was able to swish her only 2 foul shots.
  Of the returnees, Sidney appeared to have made the most improvement in performance and assertiveness.
  Big challenge tomorrow when they face the Mules led by Alex Chili. She resembles Taryn Mellody as a 3-pt shooter(96 last year as a frosh) and is an outstanding entry passer, as well. Hopefully, Ryan and mates will be able to keep the ball out of her hands.
Game will be videostreamed live for you home gamers. get the link off the Mules web site.
                     

[saratoga]

Very big early season win for Scranton last evening vs. Muhlenberg in the championship of the Mules Scotty Wood Tournament. Great balence inside & out with Scranton's scoring & one relentless defense that totally shut down Muhlenberg's top scorers.
  The Mules are a very good team that will be around at tournament time. Scranton seems very well conditioned, very deep & they play unselfish ball with a serious passion for defense. I think this has been a descriptive on the Lady Royals for 25 years straight. Great win!

[fourguysdone]

this year's goucher squad is deeper then the last few years, plays solid defense   not clear offensive strategy yet and the young players throw up some crazy stuff but they could be a problem for some teams down the road if they learn how to score consistently

[mytwocents]

Just looked at the Scranton schedule, wow.  Kean, Whitewater and Trinity Tex all within a week. The Royals sure will be battled tested going into conference play and tourney time.   Coach Strong and staff do an amazing job year after year, one heck of a program. Best of Luck Royals.

[ronk]

  Lady Royals go 2-2 in 4-game stretch against top 25 teams, losing to Moravian and Kean at home and beating UW-Whitewater and Trinity(Tex) in Las Vegas. For Pool C considerations, the losses will count in-region, but the wins will not. Whitewater was missing their leading scorer/rebounder(Dana Thompson) so they should be stronger upon her return.
  Kean appears underrated nationally with only loss to D1 power Rutgers.
  One more tuneup for the ladies(Albright) before the 2nd season(conference play) resumes.

[cuabigdog]

Jenny McGann lifts Women's Basketball to 73-71 Win Over Juniata

1/8/10

WASHINGTON-- Brianna Peterson dropped 28 points but her most memorable play of the evening was a laser pass inbound from the far baseline that one hopped up into the waiting hands of Jenny McGann. McGann's layup with 4.1 seconds remaining put the Cardinals on top 73-71 over conference rival Juniata.

Peterson shot 9-of-17 from the field and converted 6-of-8 free throws, leading CUA with 28 points. J. McGann and Jill Woerner both finished in double figures with 17 and 11 points, respectively. 

Four Eagles finished in double figures for Juniata, led by Kelly Rotan with 18 points and 10 rebounds.

The Cards led early in the first half, breaking out to a five-point lead with 15:46 remaining in the first half, but back-to-back triples by the Eagles put the visitors on top. Juniata led for the remainder of the half expanding its lead to as many as 15 before settling on an eight-point advantage heading into the locker room, 28-36.

CUA ran away with the scoring early in the second half, knotting the game at 36 less then three minutes in.  Triples were the answer again for the Eagles as they again hit back-to-back shots and pulled away.

The visitors again expanded their lead to 13 with 11:17 remaining before the Cards began to cut away at the advantage. With solid shooting and defense, CUA again knotted the game, this time at 60 with 5:07 left.

It appeared that CUA would again find themselves trailing after the Eagles hit two triples, but a layup between them and five straight free throws converted by Peterson would put the Cards up three with only 36 seconds remaining.

Juniata answered with a triple to knot the game at 69. Jill Woerner gave the Cards an advantage with a layup with eight seconds left. A foul by Kate Robinson would give Ashton Bankos a chance to tie the game with 4.1 seconds on two free throws.  Bankos converted both and the Cards called a timeout to setup their inbound play.

Peterson took the inbound at the baseline and made a pass that one-hopped into Jenny McGann's hands at the opposite foul line. McGann completed the play with just over two seconds remaining and the following inbound pass was intercepted to seal the victory for the Cards.

CUA will return to the hardwood this afternoon as the Cards will take on Susquehanna University at 2 p.m.

[cuabigdog]

Woener and McGann Lift Women's Basketball to 55-44 Win Over Susquehanna

1/9/10

WASHINGTON-- Jill Woerner and Jenny McGann each scored 16 points as CUA (10-3, 3-0 LC) dropped Susquehanna (7-7, 1-2 LC), 55-45 on Saturday.

Brianna Peterson added 13 for CUA joining McGann and Woerner in double figures. Woerner also added 10 rebounds for a double double along with four blocks and three steals.

Rachael Hughes led the was for the Crusaders with 15 points and four rebounds.

The teams exchanged small leads for much of the first half, but a Woerner triple with 7:12 remaining sparked a 8-0 run that put the Cards ahead for good. At the break CUA led by two, 28-26.

The second half was all CUA as the Cardinals out scored their opponents 27-19 shooting 10-of-25 from the field and adding seven from the charity stripe. The Cards used a steady dose of solid shooting and strong defense to maintain their lead that never expanded to double digits until Woerner hit the last shot of the game, a free throw with 41 seconds remaining.

The Cardinals shot just 36.5% from the field in the game, but 16 free throws and 12 steals helped list the hosts to the victory.

CUA will return to action on Saturday, January 16 at 5:30 p.m. as the Cardinals will take on USMMA in Landmark Conference action.

[ronk]

  The Lady Royals ran into a sticky man-to-man defense and were smothered by the Lady Falcons of Messiah 62-55 tonight. Julie Henninger was able to deny the ball to Megan K and, with the help of her teammates, also foiled the roll half of the pick and roll offense resulting in mostly forced shots(even the successful ones) for most of the game.
   On offense, Messiah had good interior passing leading to layups and were successful on the offensive boards. Scranton did make runs at the beginning and end of the 2nd half with intensified pressure.
  In all fairness, yours truly didn't play any better than the Royals, missing a 3-pt shot during the halftime break in my quest for a Messiah t-shirt.
  I did get to discuss the game, teams, and Mid-Atlantic hoops in general with game broadcaster Gordon Mann.