Sacred Heart Women's Hoop Romp Over Lafayette, 92-59
11/25/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 25, 2003
FAIRFIELD, CT (November 25, 2003) - The Sacred Heart University women's basketball team never trailed Tuesday evening as they pounded Lafayette College, 92-59, to open the season at 2-0, a feat they have not accomplished since the 1996-97 season. The Pioneers forced 32 turnovers, converting those into 37 points while also outscoring the Leopards 18-0 on the fast break.
Freshman Amanda Pape (Stamford, CT) turned in one of the top-performances by a freshman in a Pioneer uniform. Pape scored 23 points, many coming off the break, while making five steals and handing out four assists. Her 23 points where the highest point total for a freshman since SHU joined the ranks of Division I in 1999-2000. The previous high was Brooke Kelly's 21 vs. Virginia Commonwealth in 1999.
The Pioneers got out of the gates early, building a 12-point lead halfway through the first half. SHU never let up, forcing the Leopards into 18 first half turnovers with stifling full court pressure. Sacred Heart closed the first half on 11-4 run to take a 49-28 lead into the break. Pape netted 16 of her game-high 23 in the period on seven-of-nine shooting.
The second half proved more of the same for the Pioneers as they built their lead to 26 as Pape made her first two shots of the half. SHU closed the game on a 14-8 run that produced the final tally of 92-59. The Leopards struggled to match SHU offensively, as the Pioneers shot 51.6% (33-64) from the field, 50.0% (8-16) from three and 72.0% (18-25) from the free throw line. Coach Swanson used 12 players in the win, with 11 finding the scoring column on the stat sheet.
Sacred Heart wasn't shy about sharing the wealth, as the Pioneers recorded 23 assists on the evening led by freshman Kerri Burke (Saugus, MA) who had five helpers against just one turnover. Burke also finished with nine points and two rebounds. Fellow freshman Mary Rush (Waterbury, CT) had a strong showing after being limited to just five minutes in the season opener. Rush hit on three-of-four from downtown and a perfect four-of-four from the charity stripe to finish with 15 points. She also picked up three boards and a steal in 15 minutes of action.
Senior Kate Maher (Waterford, Ireland) filled out the stat sheet with an impressive line that included eight points, a career-high 12 rebounds, five steals and four assists. Fellow senior Ashley Kohl (Palmyra, PA) scored 13 points while hitting three-of-five from behind the arc. Freshman Jasmine Walker (Amityville, NY) scored six points, grabbed seven rebounds and made three steals. Junior Colleen Duggan (Newington, CT) recorded three of the Pioneers six blocks on the evening. Duggan recorded a school record seven swats against Lafayette a year ago. In her first action of the season, junior Allie Bagnell (Newtown, PA) scored a point at the free throw line and had two assists as she continues to battle back from off season knee surgery.
For Lafayette, guard Katie Kokolus scored 21 points on eight-of-13 shooting with four rebounds and a game-high six steals. Senior forward Colleen Fitzpatrick netted 11 to go with five rebounds. As a team, the Leopards shot 41.5% (22-53) from the field and just 27.3% (3-11) from behind the arc. Lafayette was outscored 42-20 in the paint while the SHU bench put up 37 to their 15 points.
The Pioneers are next in action this Friday and Saturday as they travel to the University of Maryland for the Terrapin Classic Tournament. Sacred Heart will play host Maryland on Friday afternoon at 3:30 pm and either Louisiana-Lafayette or Maryland-Eastern Shore on Saturday.
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