LADY LIONS WIN AMCC CHAMPIONSHIP
Behrend women avenge 1998 disappointment with first ever AMCC title
hy Jason Snyder
sports editor
One year removed from an
emotional loss to the Pitt-Bradford
Panthers in the Allegheny
Mountain Collegiate Conference
championship game, the Behrend
women’s basketball team took over
the reigns of the conference with a
61-56 thriller over the Panthers in
the AMCC title game this past
weekend.
The Lady Lions survived the
grueling task of defeating two of
their conference foes in less than a
20 hour span. Behrend defeated
Laßoche College (#4 seed) in the
8:00 game on Saturday night. In
the 6:00 game preceding the Lions’
semifinal, Pitt-Bradford (#3 seed)
upset the second ranked Frostburg
State, 69-63. The wins set up an
AMCC title game between the
Behrend Lions and Pitt-Bradford
for the second straight season.
Behrend, however, didn’t get to
the championship game without a
respectable challenge from the
Laßoche Redhawks. The
Redhawks upset the Lions in their
regular season finale one week
previously and held Behrend to a
seven-point halftime lead.
Behrend’s s’lo freshman Erin
Phillips gave the Lady Lions an
early lift dominating with her post
play. Phillips scored 14 points in
the first nine minutes to guide
Behrend to a 23-11 lead with 10
minutes remaining in the half.
Carrie Nestor and Tiffany Buck
also supplied the Lions with strong
guard play as Nestor scored nine
first half points and pulled down
four rebounds. Buck added to her
career three-point record with two
from long range in the first half.
Jacqueline Jackson and Kate
Costanzo were the only other Lions
to score in the first half, combining
for five points in limited action.
Laßoche, however, was able to
hit key baskets as Behrend tried to
pull away, including an 8-0 run to
end the first half. Laßoche’s
Stephanie Pencak scored five of her
eight points in the final 2:15 of the
first half to pull the Redhawks
within seven at 34-27, entering the
intermission.
As a team, the Lady Lions
oulshot and outrebounded their
opponents in the first half. Behrend
shot 12-27 (45%), and a perfect 7-
7 (100%) from the free-throw line.
Laßoche only hit eight shots in the
first half on 24 attempts (33%), but
hit 8-9 from the foul line and 3-8
from long range. Behrend pulled
down 20 rebounds (8 offensive) to
rival Laßoche’s 11.
At the half, Fornari and the Lions
Behrend men qualify
ECAC Tournament
by Matt Buser
staff writer
For the fifth time in school
history and third consecutive year,
the Behrend men’s basketball team
qualified for the Eastern College
Athletic Conference (ECAC)
Division 111 Southern Men’s
Basketball Championship. The
men earned a #3 seed in the
tournament and faced Grove City
last night in Erie Hall. Details will
be in the next Beacon.
The Behrend men’s basketball
team suffered a disheartening 70-
68 overtime loss to Laßoche
College in the semifinals of the
Allegheny Mountain Collegiate
Conference (AMCC) tournament
this past weekend.
Behrend started fast, scoring the
first seven points of the game.
Laßoche didn’t score until 4:30
into the game. An Ashley Orris
three-pointer at 9:06 gave Behrend
their largest lead of the first half,
26-11. Orris hit a pair of three’s
during the game and finished with
made adjustments. Said Fornari, “They
were playing a lot of zone and we had
to make sure our ball rotation was a little
quicker. We needed to take care of the
ball a little better in the second half.”
To open the second half, Laßoche’s
first team AMCC All-Conference guard
Kristy Hiben led the Lady Redhawks to
a quiet comeback, closing the Behrend
lead to 41 -37. However, the Lady Lions
hammered the ball into Phillips and
Jackson down low, which proved too
much for their opponent.
Complimenting the overpowering inside
play of the Lions, was the key shooting
of Buck and Lisa Sanders who all
contributed to Behrend’s 13-3 run that
broke the game open. Jen O’Lare
ensured the victory with four points
down the stretch.
Phillips was the game's high scorer
with 24 points on 7-11 shooting from the
field and 10-12 from the free-throw line.
Nestor finished with her nine first half
points, but added six rebounds, five
assists and five steals. Jackson came off
the bench to score eight points and pull
down ten boards. Laßoche’s Hiben was
held to 12 points as their first half hero,
Pencak, was held scoreless in the second
half.
Behrend dominated the boards,
pulling down 43 rebounds opposed to
22 from Laßoche. That, along with the
shooting advantage proved too much for
the Lady Redhawks. who fell 63-48.
Fornari said of the effort, "Laßoche
was the first game that we did put two
halves together in a while.”
In the championship game on Sunday,
February 28, the Lady Lions were
matched up against 7-3 Pitt-Bradford. In
Roz Fornari won #lOO in the
AMCC championship game
photo by Andrea Zaffino
the two regular season games featuring
these teams, Behrend battled to two
close wins of 69-64 at Pilt-Bradford and
61-58 in Erie Hall. “We already knew
going into the game, it was going to be
a close game. It really just came down
to execution. They were really focused.
They knew what it took to beat (Pitt-)
Bradford.”
If the rivalry between these two teams
wasn’t evident leading up to the tip-off,
the first few plays of the game gave a
pretty good idea of the importance of the
AMCC trophy to both teams. The first
half consisted of a classic seesaw battle
between two teams with an undying
six points
Laßoche chipped away at the lead
and, as time expired in the first half, a
runner in the lane made it 32-26 in favor
of Behrend at the half.
Laßoche scored the first two baskets
of the second half, and were down only
three at 18:20, 32-29. An Andy
Lawrence three started a 19-7 Behrend
run, and Behrend led 51-36 with 10:14
to play. Lawrence finished the game
with fifteen points and five rebounds.
Behrend would score only one field
goal and five foul shots for the remainder
of the game, and were outscored 20-5
for the rest of regulation. Laßoche
forward Damian Hall, who finished with
game-highs of twenty-six points and
sixteen rebounds, hit two three-pointers
in the last :30 to send the game into
overtime.
Behrend fell behind 64-57 in the extra
period, but battled back to pull within
two as Brock Bovaird made the first of
two foul shots with :06 left. Bovaird
missed the second and Lawrence
grabbed the rebound. Orris’ attempted
three at the buzzer missed the mark.
Chris Hughes led the Lions with
desire to win. In the first 15 and a
half minutes of the contest, the lead
changed hands eleven times and
was tied on seven different
occasions. The biggest lead held
by either team in that period was
three points by Pitt-Bradford at 12-
9 and 24-21.
Not until Behrend reeled off
eight straight points from 6:09 to
3:27, did the nervous Lions’ fans
have a chance to breathe. The run
gave the Lady Lions a 29-24 lead,
marking their biggest advantage of
the first half. Perhaps the most
surprising event, was the fact that
the Behrend starters were given a
chance to rest as the bench led the
team to the five point lead and kept
that lead for the concluding
minutes of the half.
Fornari kept rotating the line-up,
keeping two Behrend starters in to
play with the less experienced
players. The Lions’ 5’4" guard
Jessica McDivitt teamed with
starting guard Nestor in the front
court to give the Lions a well
controlled offense. Freshman
forward Christine Charnock played
a swarming defense to force the
Panthers into bad shots. Charnock
also responded on the offensive end
with two free throws to keep the
Lions ahead. “Charnock comes up
big. She’s always doing the little
things right. There's just no let
downs with her in the game." Katie
Weigold hit a long two-pointer
from the corner with five seconds
remaining in the half to give the
Lady Lions a 35-30 halftime lead.
Fornari commented on the
bench, “That was probably the key
to our game. I have a ton of
confidence in my younger group."
She added, “Everyone contributed
and that’s what we wanted.”
In the highly competitive first
half, Phillips stepped up big for the
Lions. She continually took the ball
up strong, getting fouled often or
converting with strong post moves.
She finished with ten first half
points in limited action due to foul
trouble. Nestor, too, seemed to score
at will, driving hard to the basket for
her points. She added 12 points
despite the physieal defense of the
Panthers’ guards. Jen O’Lare added
seven despite also fighting foul
trouble.
Pitt-Bradford was led by AMCC
All-Conference players Mandy
Lindsay and Lora Figley, who scored
eight and five respectively. Megan
Miller also gave the Panthers a lift
with seven points.
Behrend and Pitt-Bradford shot
nearly identical as the Lions went 12-
23 from the field compared to the
Panthers’ 11-23. What the Lions
lacked in long-range shooting, they
made up for from the foul line with
11-14.
sixteen points and grabbed
seven rebounds. Bovaird
scored twelve and handed
out seven assists against
only one turnover. Brian
Emick scored ten, grabbed
a team-high ten boards, and
dished five assists.
At halftime, the 1999
AMCC All-Conference
Awards were announced.
The men finished the
regular season at 18-7
overall, and 8-2 in
conference. Many
individuals on the team
were recognized for their
contributions to Behrend’s
outstanding season.
Chris Hughes was named
Conference Co-Newcomer
of the Year and was named to the All-
Conference Second Team. Jason
Paloskey was also named to the
Second Team. Andy Lawrence was
named to the All-Conference First
Team. Brock Bovaird was named
Conference Player of the Year in
Sports
Carrie Nestor dishes the ball down low. The Nestor to Phillips connection was the key to the Lady
Lions'AMCC title photo by Jason Blake
To open the second hall'. Pitt-
Bradford’s Miller hit a three-pointer
and Figley knocked down two free
throws to knot the game at 35. But
on the next Lions’ possession, Lisa
Sanders drilled a three to give
Behrend a 38-35 lead, a lead they
would not relinquish. Jaqeueline
Jackson then entered the contest,
scoring two and pulling down two of
her four offensive rebounds. The
spark from Nestor and Phillips led the
Lions on an 8-2 run to give the
Behrend women the game's biggest
lead of 10. 50-40, with 10:56
remaining in the game.
Pitt-Bradford’s starting point guard
Shawn Blake responded with five
points in the Panthers’ 7-0 run to get
for
Brock Bovaird was named the
AMCC Player of the Year
photo by Jason Blake
addition to his First Team honors.
Behrend Coach Dave Niland was
named Conference Coach of the Year.
Thursday, March 4, 1999 - The Behrend College Beacon - page
them back in the contest. The run took
only 90 seconds, giving the Lions an
idea of the quick striking ability of
their rivals. But Behrend answered
the call with a 7-0 run of their own,
including baskets from O’Lare,
Nestor and a stunning pass from
Tiffany Buck to Phillips to build the
lead back to 10.
Phillips then picked up her fourth
foul, allowing Pitt-Bradford to inch
closer with free-throws. Again, the
Panthers cut the lead to three points
with only 3:49 remaining at 57-54 and
again the Lady Lions would clutch up
behind two free-throws from Nestor
and one from Phillips. The score
would stay at 60-54 for the next two
and a hall' minutes. Buck forced a
1999 AMCC All-Conference Awards
Men’s Basketball
First Team Second Team
Brock Bovaird Behrend Jason Paloskey
Chris Jacklich Pitt-Bradford Matt Barnes
Jason Trout Pitt-Greensburg Chris Horne
Andy Lawrence Behrend Rod Gallagher
Damian Hall Laßoche Chris Hughes
Player of the Year
Brock Bovaird Behrend
Co-Newcomer of the Year
Chris Jacklich Pitt-Bradford
Chris Hughes Behrend
Coach of the Year
Dave Niland Behrend
Women’s Basketball
First team
Mandy Lindsay Pitt-Bradford
Kristy Hiben Laßoche
Lora Figley Pitt-Bradford
Amy Sehmuck Pitt-Greensburg
Shannon RexrodeFrostburg
Newcomer of the Year
Erin Phillips Behrend
Coach of the Year
Roz Fornari Behrend
Al Mielcarek Lake Erie
jumpball with 47 seconds remaining
to give the Lions possession. On Pitt-
Bradford’s next possession, O’Lare
took a charge, keeping Behrend’s lead
at six with only 34 ticks left.
The Panthers' Blake cut the lead to
four at :19. Behrend's Phillips was
then fouled and hit one free throw,
then hustled back on defense to steal
the ball with just ten seconds left to
seal the deal and the AMCC
championship for the Behrend Lady
Lions.
AMCC Champs continued on
page 12
Second team
Carrie Nestor
Brianne Krebs
Jen O'Lare
Natalie Nuzzo
Erin Phillips
Player of the Year
Shannon Rexrode
Behrend
Pitt-Bradford
Pitt-Greensburg
Laßoche
Behrend
Behrend
Pitt-Greensburg
Behrend
Pitt-Bradford
Behrend