SELINSGROVE, Pa. — With just four games left in the 2000-2001 season, the Susquehanna University men’s and women’s basketball teams will close out the year with four Commonwealth Conference games in an effort to qualify for the conference playoffs which begin on February 21.
While the women’s team needs just one victory to secure its 11th trip to the league playoffs in head coach Mark Hribar’s 14 seasons on the Crusader bench, the men’s squad is tied for last place in the standings but is still mathematically alive for a postseason spot entering the week.
Both teams face challenging schedules this week as the women head to Lebanon Valley on Tuesday night to face the Dutchwomen (10-9, 3-7 Commonwealth) and the men battle the Dutchmen (10-10, 5-5 Commonwealth) on Wednesday evening. Susquehanna’s women posted a 69-61 win over Lebanon Valley on January 9, while the men’s team fell to the Dutchmen by a score of 78-62 on January 10.
On Saturday, the Blue Jays of Elizabethtown fly into Houts Gymnasium for doubleheader action on Pepsi Day. The Jays posted a doubleheader sweep of the Crusaders in Elizabethtown on January 13.
The Elizabethtown women are 13-4 overall (7-3 Commonwealth) and in the midst of a rare two-game losing streak while the men’s team is enjoying its best season in 36 years with a record of 16-4 (7-3 Commonwealth).
THE MEN’S REPORT
Susquehanna suffered its worst loss in 33 years on Tuesday night as hot-shooting Moravian nailed 13 three-pointers en route to a 95-55 victory in Bethlehem. Two nights later, NAIA Division II Mount Aloysius sent the Crusaders to their fifth straight loss with a 102-100 overtime decision. However, Susquehanna got back in the win column on Saturday afternoon with a spirited 91-78 home victory over Lycoming.
The Starters
SG Mike Witcoskie (Senior, Annville, Pa./Palmyra H.S.) — Witcoskie surpassed the 20-point mark for the third time this season when he scored a team-high 24 points at Mount Aloysius, including five three-pointers. Witcoskie added 16 points and three three-pointers against Lycoming to boost his season total to a career-high 51 threes. He has hit at least one three-pointer in 17 of 20 games this year and made two or more in 11 games.
PG Nick Griffiths (Freshman, Shamokin, Pa./Shamokin Area H.S.) — Griffiths flirted with a triple-double against Lycoming as he scored 12 points, pulled seven rebounds and dished off a career-high eight assists. Griffiths has recorded six or more assists in a game five times this season and has hit 25 of his last 28 free throws (89.3 percent).
PF Brad Rausch (Senior, Middletown, N.J./Middletown South H.S.) — Rausch recorded back-to-back 18-point efforts against Mt. Aloysius (with 10 rebounds) and Lycoming. Rausch also set team season highs for free throws attempted and made when he went 10-for-12 against Lycoming. Rausch’s double-double against Mt. Aloysius was his first of the year and his third game of double-digit boards this season.
SF Corey Green (Junior, Roselle, N.J./Roselle Catholic H.S.) — Green broke loose for 27 points and 10 rebounds in the Crusaders’ win over Lycoming, hitting 9-of-18 shots from the field and 4-for-7 from three-point range. It was Green’s sixth double-double of the season and his second straight after 14 points and 10 boards at Mt. Aloysius. As he has all season, Green leads the team in scoring (16.0 ppg) and rebounding (7.2 rpg).
C Zigmas Kaknevicius (Sophomore, Bethpage, N.Y./Long Island Lutheran H.S.) — One of the few bright spots in Tuesday’s 40-point loss at Moravian was nine points, seven rebounds and four blocked shots from Kaknevicius. He added five points and six boards against Lycoming and is second on the team with 5.9 rebounds per game. Kaknevicius has also accounted for 20 of the Crusaders’ 53 blocked shots this season.
Off the Bench
Sophomore guard Tim Hurd (Montvale, N.J./Pascack Hills H.S.) enjoyed another outstanding week as the Crusaders’ sixth man, matching his career high with 14 points in 32 minutes at Mt. Aloysius. He added 11 points and four rebounds against Lycoming, including an alley-oop dunk in the second half. Freshman guard Lafayette Melton (Greenbelt, Md./Eleanor Roosevelt H.S.) tied for team scoring honors at Moravian with nine points and added a career-high six rebounds.
THE WOMEN’S REPORT
After a thrilling 78-75 victory at Moravian that featured a career-high 16 points from point guard Susan Trella, the Crusaders stumbled at home on Saturday with a 74-51 loss to Lycoming, shooting just 27.4 percent from the field and allowing the Warriors to hit 64.5 percent in the first half. It was just the second home loss of the season for the Crusaders.
The Starters
SG Alison Ream (Sophomore, Mifflintown, Pa./Juniata H.S.) — Ream enjoyed a solid week with nine points and five rebounds at Moravian and eight points against Lycoming. Ream is second on the team and third in the conference in assists with 3.1 per game, and she has dished off four or more assists in a game seven times in 20 games this season. The team’s leading free-throw shooter at 80.5 percent, Ream has made 10 of her last 11 attempts.
PG Susan Trella (Senior, Allentown, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic H.S.) — Trella scored 14 of her career-high 16 points in the second half, including 3-for-4 from three-point range, in the Crusaders’ win at Moravian. She added seven points against Lycoming to boost her scoring average from 3.2 to 4.1 points per game. Trella is shooting 47.8 percent (11-for-23) from three-point range, including 6-for-9 over the last six games.
PF Leslie Clementoni (Senior, Hughesville, Pa./Hughesville H.S.) — Despite failing to reach double figures in five straight games due to a lingering knee injury and illness, Clementoni continues to rank third on the team in scoring at 8.6 points per game. She ranks second on the team in free-throw attempts with 68 and is shooting 61.8 percent at the line.
SF Amy Harrington (Junior, Danville, Pa./Danville H.S.) — Harrington broke into double figures for the 11th time this season with 11 points, including three three-pointers, at Moravian. She is just one three shy of tying her own school record of 38 set last season, and she has made at least one three in 11 consecutive games and 19 of 20 games this season.
C Karyn Kern (Senior, Brodheadsville, Pa./Pleasant Valley H.S.) — Kern became the first player in Susquehanna women’s basketball history to grab 1,000 career rebounds when she pulled her eighth at Moravian. In the same game, Kern became the Susquehanna career leader when she broke the previous mark of 996 set from 1991-95 by Megan Lytle. Her 15 rebounds against Lycoming mark the fourth time this season that she has pulled 15 or more boards in a game, while her 12 points put her in double figures for the 17th time this year.
Off the Bench
Sophomore forward Kait Gillis (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Trinity H.S.) had hit 10 of her last 12 field-goal attempts — including six straight — over the last four games before missing all four of her shots against Lycoming. Sophomore forward Emily Kurtz (St. Marys, Pa./St. Marys H.S.) scored eight points in 17 minutes at Moravian and has made at least one three-pointer in six of the last eight games. Freshman center Courtney Sokol (Falmouth, Mass./Falmouth H.S.) set a career high with eight points at Moravian and blocked five shots — all late in the first half. She averages one blocked shot every 13:51 of playing time.
