Back in the Big Dance
SELINSGROVE, (Pa.) - The Susquehanna University women's basketball team will play in its ninth NCAA Division III Championship Tournament in program history - the fourth under 12th-year head coach Mark Hribar, but first since 1993 - when it hosts Pennsylvania Athletic Conference runner-up Gwynedd-Mercy College in a first round game this Wednesday, March 3, at 7 p.m. Both teams received at-large bids to the tournament, with Susquehanna seeded fourth in the Mid-Atlantic Region, while Gwynedd-Mercy is fifth.
Tickets will be $5 for adults and $3 for students and will be sold beginning at 6 p.m. Wednesday.
While the 17-9 Crusaders finished as runners-up in the Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth League and lost 82-65 in the MAC semifinals at eventual champion and region top-seed Scranton last Thursday, they went 12-5 over the last two months of the season - including a 6-2 record in February. All of their last four losses were to teams ranked in the Mid-Atlantic Region poll at the time, including two to top-ranked Scranton.
The NCAA Tournament game gives Hribar his second chance to become only the second coach to win 200 games at Susquehanna, as he'll take a 199-103 record (.659) into the game Wednesday. Current Susquehanna Director of Athletics Don Harnum is the only other coach to win 200 games at the school, compiling a 201-153 mark (.568) in his 13 seasons as men's basketball head coach. Hribar is just 1-3 (.250) in NCAA Tournament games, including three-straight losses, and is 10-13 (.435) in all post-seasons games.
Gwynedd-Mercy is 23-4 and in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in the school's 50-year history. The Griffins saw their school-record 18-game win streak end with Saturday's 61-52 loss to Cabrini in the PAC Championship Game. Fourth-year head coach Keith Mondillo has done a great job turning around the Gwynedd-Mercy program from being a perennial cellar-dweller to three-straight conference playoff games and back-to-back PAC title appearances. After going 22-26 in his first two seasons, Mondillo has guided his team to a 43-7 mark the past two seasons. He was a finalist for the Women's Basketball Coaching Association's Division III Coach of the Year in 1997-98, and has been PAC Coach of the Year the past two seasons.
Scouting the Crusaders:
Senior power forward and two-time All-American Kristen Venne (Shillington/Governor Mifflin H.S.) leads Susquehanna and is one of the 10 finalists for the Jostens Trophy as the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Player of the Year. Also a GTE College Division Academic All-District II selection, the 5-9 Venne presently leads the team in both scoring (21.6 ppg) and rebounding (9.3 rpg) - ranking second in the MAC and eighth in Division III in scoring, and fifth in the conference in rebounding. She is also second on the team and third in the MAC in field goal percentage (57.9%, 212 of 366), ranking 19th in the nation. Her 561 points and current scoring average are the second best in a season at Susquehanna (Records: 586 points, Deb Yeasted, 1984-85; 29.8 avg., Lyn Jones, 1980-81). Venne equaled her career high with 29 points, also grabbing 11 rebounds, in the MAC quarterfinal win over Allentown last Tuesday. She followed that by tying for game honors in the Scranton loss, scoring 23 points while hitting double figures for the 40th-straight game and 97th time in 99 career contests at Susquehanna. Venne made the Division III Online Team of the Week five times this season and is the team's WQSU-FM Crusader Player of the Week as she averaged 26.0 points and 11.0 rebounds in the two MAC playoff games, shooting 67.9 percent from the field (19 of 28) and 93.3 percent from the line (14 of 15). She is second in Susquehanna women's history in career scoring (1,911 points) and third in rebounding (881). At present, she is tied for first in MAC modern history (since 1993-94) in career scoring average (19.3 ppg), is third in both field goal percentage (54.7%) and rebounds (8.9 per game), and fourth in free throw percentage (76.9%).
Her 6-2 junior frontcourt mate Karyn Kern (Brodheadsville/Pleasant Valley H.S.) is also a two-time MAC Commonwealth League All-Star, who presently leads Division III in field goal percentage at 66.8 percent (165 of 247). Barring a collapse in the NCAA Tournament, Kern is almost sure to break the MAC single-season record (Current Record: 63.9%, Rebecca Baker, Wilkes, 1995-96, 175 of 274). She had her string of four-straight double-doubles in points and rebounds ended during the loss at Scranton last Thursday, but still has 36 in her career - including 17 points and a game high 13 rebounds in the Allentown win. Also the team leader in blocked shots (1.7 per game) and steals (2.1 per game) - ranking third in the MAC in blocks - she is second on the team and fifth in the conference in scoring (15.9 ppg), ranking second on the squad in rebounding (8.5 per game). Kern is fourth all-time at Susquehanna in career rebounds (718) and sixth in scoring (1,217 points).
Senior small forward Sandy Jenkin (Millersville, Md./Severna Park H.S.) also has had a hot hand of late, averaging 11.3 points in the team's last three games, including 14 in the Allentown win as she went 8 for 8 from the free throw line. Jenkin is third on the team in both scoring (8.3 ppg) and rebounding (4.2 per game).
Sophomore Susan Trella (Allentown/Allentown Central Catholic H.S.) is the team's floor general at point guard. Trella is the team leader and ranks fourth in the MAC in assists (4.4 per game). Not known for her scoring (2.2 ppg), she is also the team's top player at taking charges.
Fellow sophomore Jen Antolick (2.8 ppg) (Bloomsburg/Central Columbia H.S.) has started the last seven games at two-guard and second on the team in three-pointers (13 of 32, 40.6%). She hit two big jumpers in the overtime of the Allentown game last Tuesday.
Junior Lisa Stack (Swoyersville/Wyoming Valley West H.S.) had been the starting off guard for the season's first 18 games before being sidelined with a thigh injury. She now has been providing a spark off the bench, scoring eight points with a trey before fouling out vs. Allentown Tuesday. She is still fourth on the team in scoring (5.9 ppg) and is tied for the second most treys in a season at Susquehanna with 19 of 47 for 40.4 percent (Record: 23 of 64, Kristie Maravalli, 1990-91).
Versatile senior Karrah Henry (Lewistown/Lewistown H.S.) is normally the first player off the bench, usually at one of the wings. Capable of playing any position on the floor, Henry has started 26 games during her career, including four this season, and is fifth on the team in both scoring (4.2 ppg) and rebounding (2.7 per game).
Next to Venne, 6-1 sophomore center Leslie Clementoni (4.0 ppg, 3.1 rpg) (Hughesville/Hughesville H.S.) had the team's best game at Scranton. She came off the bench to score a career high 15 points, including 13 in the second half, while going 6 for 8 from the field and 3 for 3 from the line. She also equaled her career best with six rebounds. Now shooting 48.8 percent from the field (39 of 80), expect to see Clementoni early Wednesday if Kern starts slowly.
Freshman Amy Harrington (4.1 ppg) (Danville/Danville H.S.) also spells Jenkin at small forward and is one of the team's better perimeter shooters inside the three-point arc. Harrington is also the team's top free throw shooter (89.3%, 25 of 28).
Scouting the Griffins:
Gwynedd-Mercy is led by its 1998-99 PAC Player of the Year and three-time All-PAC first-teamer in 6-1 junior center Michelle Costa. Costa has led the Griffins in scoring the past three seasons, averaging 16.3 points per game this season while shooting 51.5 percent (154 of 299) from the field, and 70.4 percent from the line (131 of 186). She is also third on the team in rebounding (6.9 per game). Costa had a team high 16 points and nine rebounds in the PAC Championship loss.
Joining Costa in the frontcourt is 6-0 junior small forward Rachel Pearson, who is an honorable mention all-conference pick and second on the team in scoring (11.6 ppg). Despite her six-foot frame, Pearson is the team's top three-point threat, hitting 34 of 80 (42.5%). She is fourth among the starters in rebounding (4.0 per game).
Five-foot-11 freshman Danielle Tepper is the starting power forward and will have the unenviable position of matching up with Venne. Tepper (6.3 ppg) stepped into the starting lineup in January after junior Wendy Sladek went down with a season-ending knee injury. She leads the team in rebounding (7.9 per game).
The Griffins' backcourt consists of second-team all-conference freshman point guard Gina Maieron (7.5 ppg). She has been among the Division III leaders in assists with a team best 146 this season (5.4 per game). Maieron scored 14 points in Saturday's title game, going 12 for 14 from the free throw line but just 1 for 10 from the field.
Six-foot sophomore Katie Murray rounds out the starters and is a large two-guard who also earned All-PAC honorable mention honors. Murray is third among the starters in scoring (8.8 ppg) and second in rebounding (7.0 per game) and is often counted on to shut down the opposing team's top player defensively.
Off the bench, 5-8 freshman swingplayer Mary Anne Wade is the top reserve, ranking third on the team in scoring (10.7 ppg) while hitting 24 of 81 three-point attempts (29.6%). She is nearly automatic at the free throw line (81.1%, 60 of 74).
Next Up:
The winner of Wednesday's game will play at Mid-Atlantic Region top seed and MAC champion Scranton in a second round game on Saturday, March 6. Under the direction of legendary 19th-year head coach Mike Strong (455-103, .815), Scranton won the conference title Saturday with an 81-60 rout of Elizabethtown, improving to 25-2 in the process. The Lady Royals have won 18-straight against Susquehanna, including all 16 vs. Hribar, and are 19-1 all-time vs. the Crusaders.
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