SELINSGROVE, Pa. — Susquehanna University junior center and tri-captain Leslie Clementoni (Hughesville/Hughesville H.S.) is a first-team MAC Commonwealth Conference Women's Basketball All-Star, while senior guard and co-captain Rob Makarewicz (Sugarloaf/Hazleton Area H.S.) is a second-team MAC Commonwealth Men's All-Star.
The duo were the lone All-Stars for the Crusader women's and men's basketball teams which both finished with 13-11 final records, with each just missing the MAC playoffs. The women went 7-7 and were fifth in MAC Commonwealth play for 13th-year head coach Mark Hribar, while the men were 6-8 and tied for fourth in the conference under 11th-year coach Frank Marcinek — missing the playoffs by virtue of a tie-breaker.
The 6-1 Clementoni earned first-team All-Star honors after starting the season as a reserve center, and then replacing three-time MAC Commonwealth All-Star and 6-2 senior Karyn Kern (Brodheadsville/Pleasant Valley H.S.) when she went down with a season-ending knee injury in the fifth game. Clementoni went on to lead the team in scoring (15.7 ppg), rebounding (8.6 per game) and field goal percentage (49.6%, 137 of 276), tying for its leads in steals (37/1.5 per game) and blocked shots (12/0.5 per game) while ranking second in free throw percentage (76.7%, 102 of 133). She ranked second in the Commonwealth Conference in rebounding, fourth in scoring, and fifth in both field goal and free throw percentage. Along the way, she scored in double figures in each of the team's final 22 games, posting nine double-doubles (points, rebounds) over that span. Her late season surge earned her MAC Commonwealth Conference Player of the Week in back-to-back weeks (1-31, 2-7), as well as the team's WQSU-FM Crusader Women's Basketball Player of the Week in four of the final five weeks.
"Leslie has made herself into not only one of the best players in our program, but one of the best in our conference. Everything she's earned has come through all her tireless work and I'm so proud of her," said Hribar.
Clementoni is a journalism major and the daughter of Sue Rhodes of Hughesville, and Ron Clementoni, also of Hughesville.
The 6-2 Makarewicz led the team in scoring this season at 17.8 points per game, finishing fourth in the MAC Commonwealth Conference, while scoring in double figures in 22 of the team's 24 games. He also led the team in free throw shooting at 84.4 percent (92 of 109) and steals with 45 (1.9 per game) – ranking third in the conference in free throw accuracy and tied for third in steals. He was also second on the team in three-point field goals with 46 of 138 (33.3%), ranking fifth in the Commonwealth Conference in three-pointers per game (1.9).
Makarewicz became the 27th player in program history to surpass 1,000 career points – finishing 27th all-time with 1,007 after scoring a career high 33 points while hitting a career best seven three-pointers (out of 12 attempts) in his final game at Albright on February 19. The effort earned him a spot on the d3hoops.com national Team of the Week, as well as Columbus Multimedia Mid-Atlantic Region Player of the Week. He also made the MAC Honor Roll. Also MAC Commonwealth Conference Player of the Week on January 11, he was the team's WQSU-FM Crusader Player of the Week three times this season.
Makarewicz was also a second-team All-Star as a sophomore in 1997-98.
"Robbie is a great kid and he deserves everything he has achieved," said Marcinek. "He's certainly been a winner in our program throughout his career and gave us everything he had right to the end."
Makarewicz is an accounting major and the son of Robert and Agnes Makarewicz of Sugarloaf.
