Page 10
Turni
by Greg Kristen
Collegian Skiff
The Lady Lions showed their
strength and determination as
they won two more games on
their way to justify their chances
for an NCAA playoff berth.
At Bethany last Saturday
against the Lady Bison, the Lady
Lions exploded to a 45-22
halftime lead, shooting 52% from
the field.
Coach Roz Fornari said, "That
was the best first half we played
all year. That was the most
determined they've been."
In the second half, the Lady
Lions lost their first half thunder.
Fornari said, "In the second
half we were playing like we
were afraid to lose."
The Lady Lions kept their
composure and held on to post a
73-66 win over the Lady Bison.
Leading the way for the Lady
Lions was Anne Bonner with 22
pts. on 7-12 shooting from the
field and 7-8 from the foul line,
while Becky Swartz netted 13.
Last week at home against the
Unstoppable
by Joe
ie Motdllo
Coildgss Splf
Through a disastrous 2-9
start, the Lions have regrouped
to win five of their last six and
improve to 8-12 on the season.
"We're playing with the
confidence that a team with its
collective ability should've been
playing with all season long,"
said Lions' Head Coach, Chris
Gilmartht.
The most recent victim in the
Lions' tour of victory was
Bethany College. Th e Lions
made the trip to West Virghda
to take on the 6-13 Siam
The Lions fell behind early as
they were down by 12 at
halftime. 44-32. The sexed
half didn't look much different
they were down by as many
as 19 at one point.
'1 told them that nothing in
my mind said we wouldn't win.
The encouraging thing is that
all of the players felt the same
way," said a victorious
Gilmartin.
The Lions outscored the
Bison in the second half 45-30
to post a 77-74 win.
Byron Thome led a balanced
attack with 21 points, 9
rebounds, and 6 assists. Todd
Sungin and Don Plyler ear* had
16 points. Stwgin also added a
game high 11 rebounds.
Plyler's 16 put him over the
1,000 point plateau for his
career joining his backcourt
wane. Thorn& in dint (*WY
auttebounded the
Lady Wolverines of Grove City,
the Lady Lions defeated a
younger, much inexperienced
Grove City team 55-32.
The Lady Lions dominated the
fast half with a 33-12 halftime
lead. In the second half the story
was different. The starters sat out
most of the second half for rest
and because they were in foul
trouble. ,
Coach Fornari said, "I don't
think we played very well
together and we didn't play very
hard, but they're (the Wolaines) a
type of team you can't perform
very well against"
The Lady Lions improved their
record to 15-5 for the season.
The leading scorers were Karen
Strait with 11 pts. and Becky
Swartz who chipped in 10 pts.
and 4 assists.
As for the rest of the season,
Assistant Coach Rob Wittman
said, "We need to keep our
intensity up and stay focused.
We're not going to play the
pines not to kw. were going to
play the gnus to win."
Bison 38-22 and made ten more
free throws to give them the
deciding edge in the game.
"It takes time for you to learn
to play together. With constant
work and improvement. were
done that," said Gilmartin.
Besides leading all Lion
scorers against Bethany, Thorne
is also leading the Lions in
scoring and assists this season
with a 22.9 ppg and 4.3 apg. He
is second in rebounding
6.0 rpg behind Rob Hunt%
rpg•:
As a team the Lions
Putting uP 80.7 PPS. Yee
giving up &t. 3 PPIP The'Ve *
also being outrebounded Vir
braids a game.
think that defame
sttitude. I think
developing an Milted.
anytime you scam against
it's going to be a chore;
Gilmartin of the Lions'
man &team
On Saturday, the Lions
on a Washington mid
team that handed-`the :"
defeat earlier in the :carat,'
that game, Ryles hit 9 three.
pointers which set the single
game mead far &hand.
Gilmartin said of the W
Presidents, *They're , a very
talented team. The key *lb
victory will be our ability to
control tempo and continue
.play with the confidence that
there `is no team that can beat
us, provfirksk, we put forth ,the
effat."
up the heat
Roxanne ScotV Collegian photographer
All for one: The Lady Lions come together before a recent home game. The lady
cagers are 16-5 and are working towards an NCAA bid.
Strait to the top
by Ilia Balkh'
Collegian Sioff
This week's Athlete of the
Week comes to us from the
women's basketball team.
Junior forward Karen Strait
collected 8 points, 9 rebounds,
and 4 assists in Behrend's 73-66
win against Bethany this past
week.
Through 21 games, Strait has
been averaging almost 8 points
and 5 rebounds per game helping
Behrend have another very
impressive season. The Lady
Lions are 16-5 and are looking
forward to a very strong finish.
When Karen was asked about
her performance this past week,
she said that she was "happy to
contribute to the team's winning
ways."
Karen is a third year player
from Warfordsburg, PA. She
comes out of Southern Fulton
High School where she played
softball and basketball.
When she came to Behrend she
had the reputation of being a
scrappy player who would do
anything would take for the team
to win. She has lived i 4) to all
those expectations so far.
If you see Karen play, she is
usually diving for the basketball
or playing great defense at all
times.
When Head Women's
Basketball Coach Roz Fornari
was asked to comment on
Karen's play.
She said, "This is a true team
player. Any role she is given for
the team, she'll take it and do it
just for a win."
Holy Dewy/ Cobairn Photo Coonimitix
Bell! bell! bell!: Athlete of the Week, Karen Strait shows
off her tenacious defensive skiNs.
"She's truly a remarkable
athlete who doesn't have as much
talent as some of the players, but
makes up for it with heart and
guts." She is the same way when
it comes to softball, where she
plays second base for the Lady
Lions.
February 10, 1994
When Karen isn't playing
basketball or softball she's
usually hanging out with her
friends.
Karen is a communication
maior and is planning to graduate
next year.