Ladies set to host Edinboro

What: Edinboro Fighting Scots @ Kutztown Golden Bears
When: Saturday, January 10, 2009 @ 1 p.m.
Where: Keystone Hall on the campus of Kutztown University

The KU women’s basketball team will play host to Edinboro on Saturday in what will be the team’s first home PSAC Crossover game of the 2008-09 campaign. The Golden Bears are 9-2 this season, which includes a 2-1 record against PSAC West teams. KU kicked the season off with a 66-51 victory over Slippery Rock as part of November’s Kutztown Classic and this past weekend split against two western division foes, falling 98-59 to Gannon before taking care of Clarion 87-69.

Meanwhile, Edinboro comes into town at 7-4 and is fresh off a weekend sweep of PSAC East contenders Mansfield and Bloomsburg. The Fighting Scots beat MU 88-65 on Saturday before crushing BU 77-55 on Sunday. Edinboro, coached by Stan Swank, went 17-10 last season, including 6-6 in the PSAC West.

In last season’s only meeting between the teams, Edinboro snuck out of Keystone Hall with a 48-46 victory in what was a solid defensive game by both teams. The score was 18-17 at the half in favor of Edinboro, which used 23 points from Samantha Reimer to carry them to the eventual 2 point victory. Melissa McQuade was the high scorer among returning players for KU, notching 8 points.

The Golden Bears will be looking to prove that their 9-2 early-season record is no fluke. With their nine wins coming against a less than impressive cast of opponents for the most part (SRU, Pitt-Johnstown, USP, Lincoln, Columbia Union x2, PSU-Berks, Chestnut Hill, Clarion), the Golden Bears need to get a few strong games in against top PSAC teams before divisional play begins next week.

Speaking of which, following tomorrow’s home PSAC West crossover contest with Lock Haven at 1 p.m., the Golden Bears will head to East Stroudsburg on Wednesday to open up PSAC East play against the Warriors. That game is set for 6 p.m.

Probable Starters:
Edinboro:
F- # 22 – Kelsey Conklin
F- # 32 – Renee Brown
F- # 14 – Micki Cerchiaro
G- # 33 – Samantha Reimer
G- # 20 – Casey Heller
Kutztown:
C- # 33 – Chauntelle Schroeder
F- # 23 – Melissa McQuade
F- # 32 – Katie Dovey
G- # 11 – Rachel Wisemiller
G- # 13 – Meredith Starr

Scouting Report:
The Golden Bears are led by superstar sophomore forward Melissa McQuade, who is undoubtedly one of the PSAC’s finest players. McQuade is averaging 17.2 points and 8.9 rebounds this season, which are team bests. Her 31 steals, 50% three-point percentage, and 56.3% field goal percentage are team best and her 43 assists are second best.

Junior Rachel Wisemiller [Pictured at top of story] will start at the 2 or 3 position and will be relied on for her three point shooting ability. Wisemiller has made 40% of her 80 three point attempts this season and is second on the team in scoring, averaging 15.2 PPG. Junior center Chauntelle Schroeder didn’t see much action her first two seasons at KU before jumping into a starting role this season, but has answered the call by averaging 9.5 points and 6.3 rebounds a game. Sophomore point guard Meredith Starr has struggled as of late, but is still one of the PSAC’s best in terms of assist/turnover ratio. Her 62 dimes this season put her on pace to break the school’s single-season record.

Senior guard Lara Dellegrotti or junior forward Katie Dovey will man the other starting spot, but both should see significant action regardless. Dellegrotti has been a starter since arriving at KU, but has been plagued by injuries and is working her way back into the lineup as she tries to get back to 100% health. She averages 12 points per game when she plays, has 26 assists, and is one of the team’s best shooters. Dovey has done a fine job replacing Dellegrotti in the starting lineup and could get the nod this weekend. She has scored just under 6 points and grabbed just above 4 rebounds a game. [Update: It was confirmed this week by Coach Malouf that Dovey will start in place of Dellegrotti once again this weekend.]

Freshmen forwards Brittany Le Van, Hannah Mertz, and Brittany Greaves are expected to see limited action off the bench. Junior guard Vivian Melvin and freshman guard Vanina Bonanno, who made her debut against Gannon on Saturday, will spell the backcourt for time.

Edinboro is led by junior guard Samantha Reimer, who paces the team with 21.9 PPG and 46 assists. Her 179 shots, including 68 threes, and 58 turnovers show that she isn’t afraid to try and make plays, so KU will need to try and frustrate her with its stingy defense. Meanwhile, two other Fighting Scots are averaging double figures in scoring this season, with junior forward Kelsey Conklin managing 19.7 a game and freshman forward Renee Brown contributing 13.2 a game. The other two starters are expected to be freshman forward Micki Cerchiaro (9.5 PPG) and junior guard Casey Heller (4.5 PPG). Conklin leads the team with 8.5 rebounds a game and 30 steals, while Brown paces the way with 12 blocks.

Prediction:
It’s still a bit too early to know how PSAC teams are going to match up, but Edinboro made a big statement this past weekend when they smoked Bloomsburg and Mansfield. The Golden Bears disappointed against the West’s top team in Gannon on Saturday, but did bounce back strong with a thrashing of Clarion on Sunday.

I expect KU to come out strong this weekend against an extremely talented Edinboro squad. The Golden Bears have the firepower to win this game if they shoot well and I believe they will carry the momentum from Sunday into this game, keeping it close throughout. In the end, KU will slip by thanks to a Rachel Wisemiller last second three pointer.

Edinboro 58
Kutztown 60

A look ahead: 2008-09 Women's Basketball

Here is an early look at the roster head coach Janet Malouf has assembled for the 2008-09 Women’s Basketball season.

Returning from last season:

Lara Dellegrotti – Senior Point Guard

Dellegrotti will enter her senior season as the favorite to run the point. Arguably the team’s best shooter, Dellegrotti was a team-best 41% shooter from beyond the arc and her pinpoint accuracy from long range will be counted on again in her final season. It is likely she will also see some time at shooting guard when Meredith Starr is in the game. The senior point guard has suffered through a few injuries during her KU career, but still managed to appear in 23 of the team’s 27 games last season and started in 19 of those contests. Expect her to improve her 6.6 PPG from 2007-08, which is well below her capabilities. Coach Malouf traditionally preaches a pass-first mentality to her point guards, which leaves a majority of Dellegrotti’s shots to come from long range. Of Dellegrotti’s 136 shots last season, 76 were three-pointers, 31 of which were good.

Rachel Wisemiller - Junior Shooting Guard

Wisemiller was the closest thing to the team’s “sixth man” last season, and that should make her a front runner for a spot in the starting lineup in 2008-09. Wisemiller was fourth on the team in scoring last year despite starting just three games. Arguably the team’s most efficient shooter, the junior averaged 6.8 PPG, while averaging just over 19 minutes of action a game. Her 43% shooting percentage was second to just Mercedes Van Wagner among regulars. Watch for Wisemiller to break out as one of the team’s go-to scorers in 2008-09.

Vivian Melvin – Junior Shooting Guard

Entering her third season at KU, Melvin has had quite the up-and-down career. The junior started all 26 of the team’s games her freshman year, but got the starting nod just 12 times last season after falling out of favor a bit with Coach Malouf. Melvin’s strength is to make explosive plays by driving to the net, but that strength has also been her downfall as more-and-more of her possessions have turned into turnovers. Melvin actually turned the ball over 16 less times last season, but in about 100 less minutes of action. Melvin still has a chance to make an impact in what is becoming a crowded backcourt, but she will need to turn down the turnovers and make smarter plays when she gets possession of the ball. Furthermore, she was just 3-of-21 from long range and saw a drastic drop in steals. Melvin should be better in her third year, but she will need to improve in several areas to get back her starting job.

Katie Dovey – Junior forward

A rebounding specialist, Dovey is going to be a player to watch in 2008-09. She has seen a slight increase in her minutes over her first two seasons at KU and, with the departures of forwards Mercedes Van Wagner, Molly Brown, Claire Sitarz, and Lisi Reyna, will be expected to contribute in an even larger role in the front court this season. She plays an aggressive game and is one of those players that you can tell is giving you 110% on every possession. Her 3.3 rebounds per game might not seem like much, but it was fourth best on the team last season.

Chauntelle Schroeder – Junior Center

With Van Wagner, Brown, and Sitarz out of the picture, the only remaining center from last season’s roster is the one they call “Canada”. Schroeder will be pressed hard by freshman Hannah Mertz for playing time, but the junior’s experience should give her the leg up on the starting job. That said, coach Malouf loves to start freshmen and that could be bad news for Schroeder. The junior proved she can make an impact last season when she was arguably the team’s best player on a per-minute basis. In 83 minutes of action, Schroeder scored an impressive 47 points, hauled in 30 rebounds, and shot 50% from the floor. In one game (against PSAC East powerhouse Millersville) she scored 13 points in just eight minutes of work. Where she loses favor with Malouf is in the turnover and personal foul department. Is she erratic? Yes. But, does she get the job done in the lane? Absolutely. Think Trish Dudeck, but bigger. The starting center job should be Schroeder’s to lose.

Meredith Starr – Sophomore Point Guard

I’ll admit I was a bit hard on Starr last season, but darn it, I wanted her to score on every possession so I could dig into my arsenal of “Starr” jokes. Anyways, the sophomore point guard appeared in all 27 of KU’s games, starting 22, which might seem like a ton, especially for a point guard, but that is nothing new for a Janet Malouf team. Starr played just over 25 minutes a game in her rookie season, second on the team to only Van Wagner. She proved last season that she is best utilized as a pass-first point guard. She shot just 25% from the field, but managed to dish out 69 assists. Her 60 turnovers and 43 personal fouls were a bit high and something she will improve on with experience. It is expected that Starr will see plenty of playing time at point guard in her sophomore season.

Melissa McQuade – Sophomore Forward

Someone please explain to me how McQuade [Pictured] was not the PSAC East Rookie of the Year last season? I don’t get it. Compared to the winner, West Chester’s Megan Stewart, McQuade played over 100 more minutes, scored 80 more points, hauled in over 100 more rebounds, had a better shooting percentage, hit more three pointers, and led her team in scoring. Stewart beat her in steals and assists. Big deal. Okay, now that you’re convinced McQuade is the best second year player in the PSAC East, I can begin.
McQuade will enter her sophomore season as the starting power forward and is the favorite to lead the team in both scoring and rebounding. She shot just over 40% in her rookie year, averaging 9.9 PPG, a number that is expected to improve in 2008-09. Think you can stop her inside game? No big deal. McQuade hit 32 three pointers last season and managed to shoot 34% from beyond the arc. The team plays better when the ball is in her hands and coach Malouf should be doing everything in her power to revolve the offense around her best player. McQuade has ‘First Team All-PSAC East’ written all over her and there’s no reason to expect anything less.

Newcomers this season:

Vanina Bonanno (Guard) – Vanina Bonanno. That’s fun to say. Brought in from New Jersey, Bonanno is a proven contributor (15 pts/5 rebs per game her senior season) and likely will see minutes in the backcourt this season. As put by Bergen County, New Jersey’s The Record on March 25th, 2007 following her junior year: “Bonanno is a sharpshooter who averaged 12 points per game and can score from the perimeter or drive to the basket.”

Linzie Stahl (Guard) – Stahl will work from the 2 and 3 position. She won several defensive awards during her high school career, but will need to work off some rust after missing a majority of her senior season with a torn ACL.

Cecily Scavicchio (Guard) – A high school shooting guard, Scavicchio impressed Coach Malouf earlier this fall and will be on the roster. [Pictured to the right - www.rizzoproduction.com]

Brittany LeVan (Forward) – A 1,000-point scoring center in high school, LeVan will spend her college career playing the 3 and 4 spot. Plus, I’m a fan of anyone who names her pets Diamond, Strawberry, and Champagne.

Brittany Greaves (Forward/Center) – There is playing time to be had in the front court. Greaves can shoot the ball from the perimeter and has experience playing the three position, but will play four or five for the Golden Bears.

Hannah Mertz (Center) – Another Jersey girl, Mertz played both the four and five position in high school and will be expected to make a contribution to the KU frontcourt as a freshman. At 6’1”, she will battle Schroeder for the starting center job this fall.

Subtractions:

Center Mercedes Van Wagner (Graduation)
Guard/Forward Rachel Weidensaul (Graduation)
Center Molly Brown (Graduation)
Center Claire Sitarz (Personal)
Forward Lisi Reyna (Personal)
Guard Britt Percich (transfer – DIII York College)


More and more and more to come…

Mansfield no match for Van Wagner, Golden Bears

Kutztown Golden Bears 63
Mansfield Mountaineers 49

Recap: The Golden Bears erased a three game losing streak by taking care of business in Mansfield on Wednesday evening. KU allowed the Mounties to keep the game close early on, leading by only two at the half, but the ladies pulled away early in the second frame fueled by a 9-0 run. Four Golden Bears scored in double figures with Melissa McQuade leading the way with 13. Lara Dellegrotti and Katie Dovey (pictured) added 12, while Mercedes Van Wagner scored 11.

Telling Stat: The Golden Bears were on fire, outshooting the Mounties by 20 percent on the evening. KU shot 47 percent from the floor, while Mansfield hit just 27 percent of their shots. That margin was the clear difference in the game. Also of note was a 2-of-9 shooting day from MU’s leading scorer, Alicia Espigh. The PSAC leader in three pointers made was held without an attempt from beyond the arc and scored just 8 points, four of which came from the free throw line.

Key moment: As mentioned, this game was tight throughout the first 22 minutes, but KU was able to pull ahead early in the second half. Up two points with 17:55 to play, KU recorded a 9-0 run which was fueled by a Dellegrotti three pointer, back to back buckets by McQuade and Dovey, and a three point play by Van Wagner.

Most Valuable Golden Bear: For the second time in as many tries this season, Van Wagner notched a double-double against the Mountaineers. Last evening, the senior scored 11 points and hauled in a game-high 14 boards. She was 4-of-6 from the floor, 3-of-3 from the charity stripe, and had 4 blocks. As mentioned in my preview for this game, Van Wagner should be relied on if KU hopes to climb back into the playoff race. She certainly did the job last night against the Mounties.

Least Valuable Golden Bear: I hate to give out this award following a win, but there is always someone who had a rough day. Last evening it was freshman Meredith Starr, who has struggled during divisional play. Starr was 0-of-3 from the floor, recording 0 points, 1 assist, and 1 turnover in 14 minutes of work. The freshman has now failed to hit a field goal in three straight games, shooting 0-of-12 from the floor for a total of 3 points. In that time, coach Malouf has allowed her a mind-blowing average playing time of 25 minutes per game.

Impact: The game was a must win for KU and they certainly came through. The Golden Bears are now 3-5 in the PSAC East, which is still not quite enough to put them in one of the top 4 playoff spots. They have Bloomsburg next before taking on Millersville, Cheyney, and East Stroudsburg. Bloomsburg should be an easy win, while Millersville won’t be an easy task. Fortunately for KU, they get to play CU and ESU, the two teams just ahead of them for the final playoff spot, in the season’s final two games. Wins in both, and possibly one, of those games would send them to the postseason.

Another collapse overshadows 1,000 for Benz

West Chester Golden Rams 67
Kutztown Golden Bears 65

Recap: The Golden Bears blew another game that they lead throughout the day, allowing their opponent to erase a second half deficit for the third straight contest. The collapse put a damper on the performance of Mercedes Van Wagner who led all scorers with 24 points, which included the 1,000 point of her career. KU, who led by as many as 10 in the first half, went with a different look for much of the game, with Katie Dovey, Rachel Wisemiller, and Vivian Melvin replacing Mercedes Van Wagner, Rachel Weidensaul, and Lara Dellegrotti in the starting lineup. Van Wagner saw regular minutes, while Dellegrotti played just 10 minutes and leading-scorer Weidensaul sat out the entire first half before playing over half of the second. The removal of the three stars from the starting lineup was reportedly due to late arrival at the arena.

Telling Stat: The Golden Rams stole the ball 15 times, which accounting for a majority of the Golden Bears’ 22 turnovers. KU didn’t do an awful job protecting the ball, but the aggressiveness and speed of the Golden Rams allowed them to make the big plays when it counted most.

Key play: With KU up by one point with 28 seconds to play, WCU’s Natalie Winters missed a three pointer that was rebounded by Meredith Starr. This should have significantly improved KU’s chance of winning the game, but the freshman didn’t know what to do with the ball and couldn’t find a teammate to dish the ball to. Megan Stewart stepped in, ripped the ball out of her hands, and laid the ball in for an easy bucket, which gave the Rams the lead and, in turn, the win.

Most Valuable Golden Bear: Van Wagner was the star of the day, but how about rarely-used sophomore Chauntelle Schroeder. She stepped into the game with Melissa McQuade in foul trouble and made her presence felt in only 2 minutes of work. Schroeder was 2-of-3 from the floor for 5 points, hauled in 3 rebounds, and recorded a steal.

Least Valuable Golden Bear: Vivian Melvin has had her problems throughout the past few weeks, but Saturday was certainly one of her worst efforts. The sophomore was 1-of-6 from the floor, notching just two points in an astounding 33 minutes of work. Melvin turned the ball over 7 times, but did help the KU cause with 2 steals and 4 assists.

Impact: This loss is probably more devastating mentally than actually. Kutztown is certainly still in the PSAC playoff race, but I’m not sure how the players can continue to bounce back after falling apart down the stretch game after game. If the Golden Bears can manage to win 3-4 of their final 6 games, they should be playoff bound. Currently they sit at 2-5, one-and-one-half game back of East Stroudsburg (3-3) for the fourth and final PSAC East playoff spot.

Wait…Cheyney beat who?

What: Women’s Basketball Action: Cheyney Wolves vs. Kutztown Golden Bears
When: Saturday February 2, 2008
Where: Kutztown’s Keystone Hall

The Cheyney Lady Wolves are in town this weekend. Typically that means and easy win for Kutztown, but that is far from the case in 2008.

Despite a 1-9 start to what seemed like the same old dismal season, the Wolves have now won four of eight games and are sitting at 2-3 in the division, one-half game behind KU for the fourth and final PSAC playoff spot. One of their two wins was over perennial Eastern conference powerhouse West Chester, who was fresh off a 68-56 shellacking of KU. On Wednesday they fell to division-leading Millersville by just 5 points.

The win over WCU proves that Cheyney is for real this year and will be no pushover for the Golden Bears. This, of course, is despite the fact that KU has beat them 29 straight times. KU won last seasons matchups by scores of 73-64 and 64-53.

Cheyney is led by senior guard Danielle Jones and sophomore forward Stephanie ‘is this safe to say on the air’ Orgi. Jones leads the team in scoring with 10.1 PPG and is an 85% free throw shooter. Orji is the inside presence for the Wolves, averaging 7.7 PPG, while leading the team in steals (50), and blocks (20).

Other likely starters for Cheyney include senior forward Lillian Penn (7.8 PPG), sophomore forward Angel Stephens (47.3 FG%, 7.6 RPG), and senior guard Ashley Blake (36 assists).

Cheyney has won games by making strides in the paint. The Wolves lead the PSAC in conference play in steals and offensive rebounding. KU will need to counter with a big day from senior center Mercedes Van Wagner if they hope to make it 30 straight wins.

Van Wagner has been inconsistent this season, but is generally a forced to be reckoned with when divisional play kicks off. With that said, following back-to-back double doubles against Mansfield and West Chester, she has been held to 3-of-14 shooting for a total of 10 points and 7 rebounds in the last two games. Without a bounce back by Van Wagner, KU will have issues in the paint.

KU will lean heavily on senior guard Rachel Weidnesaul. She has been on a tear as of late, scoring at least 20 points in three straight games. She currently leads the PSAC East in inter-divisional play scoring.

Joining Van Wagner on the list of players who need a big rebound game is freshman forward Melissa McQuade. The rookie has had her share of consistency issues, but when she is in the zone, she is hard to stop. Following 4 straight double-digit scoring days, McQuade has stumbled to a combined 11 points over the last 3 games.

Freshman guard Meredith Starr and junior guard Lara Dellegrotti will fill out KU’s starting lineup. Starr has done a respectable job handling the ball and filling the role of an assist-happy point guard. Dellegrotti has had another injury-plagued season, but can light up the scoreboard when she gets opportunities to shoot.

Key off the bench will be playmaker Vivian Melvin and consistent contributor Rachel Wisemiller. Coach Janet Malouf will also look to either Claire Sitarz or Molly Brown to relieve Van Wagner at center, while Katie Dovey and Lisi Reyna could also see some work at small/power forward.

In summary, KU will need to be sharp, especially early on, against a rejuvenated and confident Cheyney team. A loss here could be devastating to the Lady Bears playoff chances, where as a win would push them to 3-2 and into the driver’s seat for a chance to play in March.

Prediction:

Kutztown is coming off a solid win against a poor Bloomsburg team and will come out sharp, frustrating a confident, but less talented Cheyney team. KU’s stifling defense will force too many poor shots by the Wolves and KU will sneak away with a 7 point win.

Kutztown 61, Cheyney 54.

Sitarz, Dovey shine in Clay Rating System

I’ve been developing my own rating system for basketball players and I’ve spent quite a bit of time applying it to the KU women’s teams from the last few years. It does rival the Hollinger Player Index, but my formula takes a few more things into consideration. Unfortunately for me, stats like plus/minus are not available for division II basketball, so my progress will be limited.

With that said, I’ve developed a formula that focuses on per-minute production. The big pro to such a method is that it places players who play significant minutes on an even playing field with those who play in limited action. The obvious con here, however, is that a player who comes out and grabs 3 boards and scores 6 points in 5 minutes of mop up work will have a significantly inflated score. The only cure for that is to manually weed out the players who rarely play in key situations. If you’ve seen a few games, this is easy to do.

Here are the ratings for the 2007-08 Lady Bears as of January 30, 2008.

1. Weidensaul 33.3
2. Sitarz 30.3
3. McQuade 29.6
4. Van Wagner 26.3
5. Dovey 26.0
6. Wisemiller 22.7
7. Dellegrotti 19.6
8. Melvin 16.2
9. Schroeder 14.6
10. Reyna 14.0
11. Starr 12.0
12. Brown 7.8
13. Percich 5.1
14. Petriello -9.9

The only two players I would consider to have inflated ratings would be Schroeder and Petriello. Schroeder has seen little action and Petriello is no longer on the team.

If you’ve seen a few games, you are probably not surprised to see names like Weidensaul and McQuade at the top of this list. However, names such as Sitarz (pictured)and Dovey might be shocking. Neither of them sees significant action, but both make quite an impact when they do. Sitarz has scored, rebounded, and caused problems for opposing offenses in the lane. Dovey might be the most fearless player on the KU roster and is an absolute machine on the boards.

So, now you’re probably thinking: Are you saying Sitarz should be seeing more minutes than everyone except Weidensaul? Not necessarily. As coach Malouf was quick to point out when we discussed this type of formula, it fails to take into consideration intangibles such as hustle, discipline, consistency, awareness, etc. Sure the production is there, but this formula is not perfect. Watching a team practice or play a game every day might be enough to evaluate talent for some. This rating system is meant to be used as a tool to help support what you might already know and maybe bring to light something you may have been missing.

What does the formula mean to me? Well, the reason I even decided to formulate it was because I noticed the impact Sitarz and Dovey were making despite limited work. In my opinion, both need to see more action. Van Wagner and McQuade block them from significant minutes, but it can’t hurt to give them extra rest when you have playmakers riding the bench.

As you might imagine, there will be plenty more on this topic later. Comment below.