The Cazenovia women’s basketball team fought its way to an impressive 69-56 victory against the Nittany Lions. The victory, the Wildcats first win of the season, moves the squad to 1-10 on the year and 1-2 in NEAC play. Berks falls to 4-8 on the year with its fifth consecutive loss and 2-4 in NEAC play.
The Nittany Lions jumped out to an early lead on the Wildcats after the tip. Berks, who was up 12-13 with just over ten minutes to go in the first half, proceeded to get very cold from the field thanks to the tight Cazenovia defense in the second part of the first stanza. Converting costly Nittanly Lion turnovers to points, the Wildcats went into the locker room holding a 37-27 advantage. The 10-point spread was the first lead that the Wildcats have had at the intermission in 2005-2006.
Never threatened in the second half, the Wildcats cruised to victory over Berks despite a game-high 24-point effort from Berks’ Angie Schauer. Shauer, who did most of her damage from the free-throw line in the second half, went 16-for-18 from the charity-stripe.
Three Wildcats scored in double figures. Ashley Lewis (’07, Whitesboro / Whitesboro HS) scored a team-high and season-high 22 points on the day. Emilie Welch (’09, Hilton / Hilton HS) and Ashley Agresta (’06, Amsterdam / Galway HS) both chipped in with 13 points. For Welch, who is playing her first season as the Wildcat’s power-forward / center, the game was the best of her young career.
The Wildcat’s press and defense forced Berks into shooting just 23 percent from the field and caused 26 turnovers over the course of the game.
The win snaps an 11-game losing streak that extended into the 2004-2005 season for Cazenovia. The Wildcat’s last win was a Tues., Feb. 22, 2005, 58-56 comeback against D’Youville College in Buffalo, N.Y.
In the men’s game that followed, Cazenovia suffered a difficult 74-85 defeat to Berks. With the loss, the Cazenovia men’s squad moves to 3-9 on the season and 2-2 in NEAC play. Berks, who was coming off of a big win over NEAC South Division rival Villa Julie College last week, improves to 5-7 and 4-2 in NEAC play.
The game saw Berks fight back from multiple deficits and survive frequent Cazenovia runs. Cazenovia jumped out in front of the Nittany Lions in the first half as it converted on 48 percent of its first-stanza shots and went 7-for-15 from beyond the three-point line. With the Wildcats up 15-8 with just over 13 minutes to go, the Nittany Lions battled back with a 7-14 run that tied the score at 22 with 7:48 to play in the first half. Cazenovia pulled ahead with another run to close the first period up 44-30.
Berks mounted its second-half comeback, and took a lead it would never relinquish, on a Joe Askew three-pointer from the top of the key with just over 10 minutes to go. Askew, who recorded a career-high 37 points on 15-for-20 shooting, also grabbed seven boards on the night.
Cazenovia was led by Dominic Kominos (’06, Johnson City / Johnson City HS). Kominos finished with 26 points on 10-for-17 shooting and went 6-for-11 from three.
Both Cazenovia teams face Polytechnic University in New York City, N.Y on Sun., Jan 15. The men’s game is slated for 3:00 PM and the women’s game is scheduled for 1:00 PM.
Created On: 1/14/2006 9:09:13 PM