The Behrend beacon. (Erie, Pa.) 1998-current, February 06, 2009, Image 11

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    Friday, February 6, 2009
Lady Lions demolish
continued from front page.
able to force 27 turnovers in the
first half alone.
This amazing feat was a key
factor in helping them to snatch
their 49-4 lead as of halftime.
Sophomore Rachel Richardson
RITA WERYHA/CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Senior Naalie Engel goes up for a lqup.
Managing Editor Connor Starch.
It seemed like so long ago I
was shaking hands on the riskiest
bet of my life to date. It was a
warm fall day, I was confident in
my predicting abilities, and it
seemed like nothing could go
wrong.
Months later, it is a cold
February night. I've had a few bad
weeks, some unexpected things
have gotten the best of me, and
now all that's left is the taste of
defeat .
As is clear by the results of our
first round of "Beat The Experts,"
Connor Sattely is the superior
sports fan. He is more enthusias
tic, better informed, and has better
instincts overall. Which is why,
as a woman of my word, I am
crafting a 500-word ode to his
Athlete Spotlight: Adam Kaiser
was a big factor in the beginning
of the game as she scored all ten
of her points during the first half.
Also adcling points in the first
half of play was junior Christine
Krankota with seven and seven
rebounds.
In the second half the Blue and
True Domination
fanhood
We didn't make our bets with
money. Not food or chores.
Instead, we tried to come up with
the most humiliating thing we
could think of. Attending all of
our classes in a tutu? Singing on
the lawn in front of the Reed
Union Building? None of our
ideas could stand up to this.
Writing a full article celebrating
the glory of our opponent.
We shook on it, and I'll admit I
hesitated. I should have listened
to that gut feeling. But then
again, if I were better at listening
to that gut feeling, someone else
would be composing this article
about me.
Connor's knowledge of the
sports realm is devastating. Not
SPORTS
White saw a total of ten players
score. Sophomore Natalie Engel
led all scorers with 18 points fol
lowed by Nowacinski with 16 in
the win over the Hawks.
Sophomore Amy Oldach recorded
a game high eight steals and six
assists while Krankota recorded a
double-double with 11 points and
ten rebounds.
"It was a great defensive game,"
said freshman Courtney Bricher.
While talking to Bricher, as
well as sophomore Kelly
Nowacinski, it was clear that the
players could not have been hap
pier with their latest game per
formance.
"It felt good going into half
time only allowing them to score
four points," said Bricher and
Nowacinski.
Prior to Wednesday's game the
team had a 9-9 record overall and
a standing of 7-5 in the AMCC
rankings.
Hoping to improve their status
the team set out for victory and in
the end managed to conduct the
game with an impressive victory,
proving that some Hawks just
aren't meant to soar.
Not only was the game an
impressive win, but Bricher and
Nowacinski believe that
Wednesdays game gave them a
By Rachel Reeves
edtorin-chief and mediocre spans fan
only does he have a broad under
standing of current news and sta
tistics, especially concerning
football, but he knows his histo
, Qut and ba4wards,
Never before have I heard anyone
speak so fluently about things
that happened decades before their
own birth. But Connor can hold
his own with the oldest sports bar
patron.
This year, he picked a winning
team on a personal level. Since
he was six years old, Connor has
been a Steelers fan. Everyone in
this country is painfully aware of
the fact that last week, Steelers
fans were the happiest people on
earth. As the summer began
Connor was making ridiculous
predictions about quarterback rat-
Growing up in Erie, less than
five minutes away, Behrend jun
ior Adam Kaiser attended
Cathedral Prep High School
where he was a three sport ath
lete.
Besides playing basketball, he
also was on the cross country and
track team. Kaiser earned a total
of ten letters throughout his high
school career, four in both cross
country and track and field and
two in basketball.
He won the Three Sport
Athlete award two years in a row
and the Athlete of the Year in his
Lnior and senior
Hilbert Hawks 88-16
much needed confidence boost
After coming off of a disap
pointing loss to Pitt-Greensburg
40-69, the team came back with a
vengeance, and the two players
agree that the Wednesday night
win was greatly needed.
"It gave some of the underclass
men confidence and experience
they needed to help them in post
play," said Bricher and
Nowacinski.
It is this new burst of confi
dence that the Lady Lions will
rely upon as they round out their
conference season.
On a final note, Bricher and
Nowacinski stated that their latest
win was an especially important
one in helping them prepare for
their next court showdown.
"It was a good win to get with
Altoona coming up on Saturday.
It helped to get us focused and
back on track," said Bricher and
Nowacinski.
The Behrend Lions face off
against their fellow Penn Staters
this Saturday, Feb. 7 at I p.m.
The game will be an AMCC face
off to determine which branch
campus has all the right moves.
So get out there and root your fel
low Lady Lions on to victory.
rcrsos7qvpsu.edu
ings, defense rankings, and
records that would be broken.
Months later it turns out these
statements were not simply
blowin hot air (like he usually
does) but alzkad-on forecast of the
season to come.
One of the major reasons
Connor is so much better than
me at sports casting is that he
knows how to leave his heart out
of the equation. I am a die-hard
Packers fan, and! found it impos
sible to cast my lots against them
even though the entire world
knew they didn't stand a chance.
Connor, unlike me, knew when
to put his pride aside and pick the
opposing team.
Connor's instinct blows mine
out of the water. In many cases he
Kaiser started developing his
basketball skills in third grade
when he first started playing the
sport. As he was growing up, he
also played baseball.
Now, Kaiser is leading the
Behrend Lions basketball team
with two goals in mind.
"Our goals for the rest of the
season are to win the AMCCs and
make it to the NCAA tourna
ment," said Kaiser.
Kaiser, an accounting major,
said that his proudest moment
playing for Behind was winning
the AMCCs last year. The
Junior Adam Kaiser dribbles down the court
Sophomore Kelly Nowaeinski sprints down the court (hibblin; the boll
could spot an upset a mile away.
There were many instances in
which we in the newsroom were
mocking him ruthlessly about a
odd pick or two. But, seven days
later, he would sail into the office
on the wings of victory, laughing
the last laugh.
I have my share of excuses. I
live with three other women,
which means that precious hours
I could have spent watching
Sports Center were instead spent
on an 8-hour marathon of John
and Kate Plus Eight. My living
environment was not saturated
with sports infonnation, and all I
knew I had to research myself. I
wish I could tell you how many
afternoons I lost the remote battle
and watched the latest Disney
By Christine Newby
spoils editor
censos64psu.edu
Behind Lions hope to repeat this
year as AMCC champs.
The Lions have won seven of
their last eight games. According
to the Behrend website, last week
Kaiser led the Blue and White to
two important AMCC victories
to move into a first place tie with
Penn State Altoona. Kaiser aver
aged 20 ppg in the two road vic
tories going 10-for-21 from
behind the arc. Kaiser is averag
ing 13.3 ppg on the year and 3.22
three-pointers a game.
In the must win game against
Hilbert on Wednesday night,
The Behrend Beacon I 11
RITA WERYHA/CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Editor-in-chief Rachel Reeves
Channel movie instead of the
Patriots-Jets game.
However, close only counts in
hand grenades and horseshoes, and
excuses don't count for anything
at all. I take full responsibility
for the choice I ma± and they
way I perlbrmed. The truth was. I
didn't stand a chance. It came out
closer than anyone thought. and
even I am proud to have stood up
so well to such a champion.
Connor was an honorable oppo
nent, and I am privileged to have
watched him work, learn a few
things, and even lose to his
prowess.
Bottom line: Connor Sattelv is a
better sports kin than Rachel
Reeves
Kaiser hit five three-pointers in
just the first halt alone zuid had 16
points going into the locker room
at halftime. Finishing. the game
with 21 points and going 6-16r-11
in the three point range, the
Behrend Lions defeated Hilbert
81-59.
According to the Behrend web
site, the Behrend Lions are ranked
fourth in the nation in scoring
defense limiting their opponents
to 58.7 ppg and ranked ninth in
free-throw percentage at 77.4 per
cent.
The Penn State men's basket
ball team is coached by head
coach Dave Niland who is in his
fifteenth season at the position.
"Coach has helped me with hall
handling, more than anything."
said Kaiser. "1 struggled with hall
handling and he helped me a lot.
He also helped me with defense.**
With five crucial regular season
games left against AMCC oppo
nents, the Behrend Lions stand
with an overall record of 14-6 and
an AMCC record of 10-3.
"We are doing well this year."
said Kaiser. "We have a hit it
young gu)s on the to iii \\ ho
have gotten better eAery game. -
The Behrend Lions play Penn
State Altoona in a huge AMCC
game on Saturday in the Junker