2008 Woodie Awards
Women's basketball still in playoff hunt
By Randy Klins
Rocket Staff Writer
Issue date: 2/17/06 Section: Sports
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However, SRU destroyed a couple different types of Eagles this week in its bid for a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference playoff berth.
The Rock easily handled the Clarion Golden Eagles, 74-41, on Wednesday, and shot down the Lock Haven Bald Eagles, 58-39, on Saturday at Morrow Field House.
SRU (13-12 overall, 5-5 PSAC West) not only earned a season sweep over both teams, but the victories put the Rock in sole possession of fourth place in the PSAC West. SRU now controls its own destiny for the final playoff spot in the division with two games remaining.
To clinch that final playoff spot, the Rock must win one of its final two games, or hope for losses by Lock Haven (15-8, 4-6) and Clarion (12-12, 3-6) before the regular season ends.
Although the wins were important, senior point guard Amber McFeely understands that there's still work to be done.
"Yeah, it (the win) was very big," McFeely said. "But really we haven't accomplished anything yet."
Kristen Bonner opened the game with a basket before Clarion countered with a bucket of its own. The Rock went on a 17-4 run to take a 19-6 lead midway through the first half.
Holding a 14-point halftime lead, the Rock used a 22-2 run to open the second half and take an insurmountable 34-point lead with 8:14 on the clock.
Led by a 20-point performance from junior forward Amanda Chojnacki, SRU shot 53 and 50 percent in both halves and never trailed in the game.
While the Rock was extremely effective shooting the ball, the team put on a clinic defensively.
The Rock's top-ranked defense held Clarion to 28 percent from the field, including 19 percent in the second half.
The Golden Eagles didn't score until seven and a half minutes had gone by in the second half.
"Our defense has been our strength the whole entire season," McFeely said. "We are ranked high on defense in the conference and we take pride in that. To be able to hold teams to as little as we are holding them to is an honor and something to be proud of."
McFeely scored nine points and seven assists and Bonner scored eight points. In addition to those regular contributors, sophomore forward Amanda Kaufman dropped nine points off the bench. In all, the Rock's bench had 21 points against Clarion.
"It is great knowing that we can count on the bench for all that (scoring)," McFeely said. "Our whole team is a threat."
Over the weekend, SRU dropped Lock Haven in much of the same fashion as Clarion.
The Rock took an early 12-0 lead and never looked back.
In the first 20 minutes, the Rock held a comfortable lead the entire way and took a 27-11 lead at the break.
The Rock then exploded at the beginning of the second half, going on a 21-6 run to open up a commanding, 48-17 lead.
The Bald Eagles tightened up the game in the final minutes, but the damage had already been done.
Sophomore forward Kelly Ann Staudinger led the way for SRU with 10 points. Sophomore guard Angela Greaser and Chojnacki both had nine points.
SRU travels to Shippensburg's rubber gym floor on Saturday to try and clinch its first PSAC playoff birth since 2002.
The Rock hasn't won at Ship's gym in a few years, so McFeely said the game is not going to be an easy one.
"It's an extremely hard place to win at," McFeely said. "We must win there. Coach Heilman has never won there and neither have we (this team)."
"The fact that it's a hard gym to play in doesn't make a difference," she said. "The character of a team is decided when things aren't going well."
