Ladies look to 'Mountie' a comeback

What: Kutztown Golden Bears @ Mansfield University
When: Wednesday, February 13, 2008 @ 5:30 p.m.
Where: Decker Gymnasium on the campus of Mansfield University

The KU women’s basketball team will head to Mansfield this Wednesday for a game that certainly has playoff implications for both squads. The Mounties sit at 1-6 and are bringing up the rear in the PSAC East, while the Golden Bears are just one game ahead of them at 2-5. A KU loss would all but extinguish their playoff hopes, as they would need a lot of help from the divisions other teams if they hoped to sneak back in. Kutztown is 9-13 overall this season.

The Golden Bears are coming off Saturday’s 67-65 home loss against West Chester. It was their third straight loss and fifth of their last six games. KU led in the late stages of each of their last three games, but mistakes down the stretch allowed their opponents to take charge and steal the wins. The Golden Bears divisional wins have been over Mansfield and Bloomsburg, while losses were to West Chester (twice), Cheyney, Millersville, and East Stroudsburg.

The Mountaineers head into Wednesday’s affair coming off a game in which they were manhandled by division-leading Millersville by a score of 62-39. Mansfield is 6-16 overall this season and has lost 8 of its last 9 games.

These teams last met on Jan. 16 at Keystone Hall. The Golden Bears came away with the 59-51 win, but the Mounties led for much of the day. KU trailed by 8 at the half, but quickly erased that deficit in the second half thanks in part to an 18 point, 13 rebound day from Mercedes Van Wagner. The Golden Bears turned the ball over just 9 times in that game, but a 33 percent shooting day allowed the Mounties to keep it close.

Probable Starters:
Mansfield:
C- #35 – Merissa Gaeta
F- #24 – Emily Akins
F- #25 – Alicia Espigh
G- #34 – Clarissa Correll
G- #10 – Jeanette Meacham

Kutztown:
C- # 53 – Mercedes Van Wagner
F- # 23 – Melissa McQuade
F- # 15 – Rachel Weidensaul
G- # 13 – Meredith Starr
G- # 5 – Lara Dellegrotti

Scouting Report:

Much like KU, Mansfield does not showcase one or two superstars and often has a different leading scorer from game to game. With that being said, the focal point of the Golden Bears game plan will be focusing in on Alicia Espigh and Clarissa Correll, both double digit scorers. Correll is a machine in the steals and assists category, while Espigh averages just under 14 points a game and is a 48 percent shooter. Jeanette Meacham (9.5 PPG) and Courtney Brooks (8.9 PPG) should not be overlooked. Brooks returned to action on Saturday against Millersville after missing 9 straight games.

The Golden Bears have had there problems shooting the ball this season, but looked much better against West Chester. If KU shoots how they did against the Golden Rams, they should roll over the Mounties. If they struggle with the shooting game, it will be a crapshoot similar to the first meeting. The Golden Bears must focus on continuing to move the ball around on offense in order to find ways to get the ball inside to top scorers McQuade and Van Wagner. Van Wagner is ten times the player when she gets the ball on the block rather than when she is forced to make a play from the top of the key. McQuade can shoot from anywhere, but coach Malouf must find more ways to take advantage of her exceptional ability to maneuver in the lane, especially in the second half.

Prediction: The Golden Bears will win this game. They took care of business against the Mounties at home earlier this season and they know they are the superior team in this case. KU should have won their last three games and late game implosions were the only thing that is keeping them from a 5-2 record as opposed to 2-5. There is no reason to believe this team cannot recover and make the PSAC playoffs. It will start Wednesday with a pounding of the struggling Lady Mounties.

Kutztown 450
Mansfield 12

Haha! You thought I was serious. As nice as that would be, here is the real prediction:

Kutztown 71
Mansfield 54