Sacred Heart Travells to Face Columbia Tuesday Night
11/27/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 27, 2006
Sacred Heart vs. Columbia Game Notes in PDF Format
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Sacred Heart Pioneers (2-3, 0-0 NEC) vs. Columbia Lions (1-5, 0-0 Ivy League)
Game #6 - Tuesday, November 28, 2006 - 7:00 pm - New York, N.Y. - Levien Gymnasium (2,700)
The Storyline... The Pioneers will wrap-up a three game road trip through the Ivy League Tuesday night traveling down to New York City to face the Columbia Lions. The series between the two schools has stayed true to the idea of "home court advantage" with the home team winning each time the Pioneers and Lions have met since 2001-02. Sacred Heart got back in the win column last time out, using a career-high 22 points from backup point guard Khalia Cain to lead the way to a 72-66 win at Yale. The Lions are looking to snap a five-game losing streak Tuesday night after dropping a 76-37 decision to Hartford on Sunday.
Series... Sacred Heart leads the all-time series, 3-2. The two teams have alternated wins since the 2001-02 season with home team earning the victory each time. SHU posted a 96-65 win over the Lions last season in the William H. Pitt Center. The Pioneers have never won in Levien Gymnasium, losing, 69-59, in 2004 and 73-69 in 2002. This is the sixth-straight season the Pioneers and Lions have faced on the hardwood.
The Coaches... Ed Swanson (SHU `89) enters his 17th season as head coach at his alma mater. Swanson posts a 258-195 record in his career at Sacred Heart. His teams have a 132-76 record since joining the Division I ranks in 1999-00. Swanson is the program's longest tenured coach and is the all-time leader in coaching wins, (258) and winning percentage (.570). He also earned his first ever NEC Brenda Reilly Coach of the Year award after guiding SHU to a then school record 21 wins in 2003-04. Paul Nixon (Vanderbilt `93) is in his second season at the helm of the Columbia women's basketball program. Nixon has a 7-26 (.212) record in his two years as the head coach of the Lions and overall.
Last Time Out... Sophomore Khalia Cain scored a career-high 22 points knocking down 14-of-17 at the free throw line as the Pioneers hung on for a 72-66 win at Yale Saturday afternoon. Senior Amanda Pape and sophomore Kaitlin Sowinski each added 16 in the win. The Pioneers built up an 11-point lead half way through the first half but Yale used some full court pressure to cut the lead to four. SHU led 33-30 at the half but the Bulldogs tied the game on their first possession of the second half, as Jamie Van Horne converted a three-point play. Sowinski fueled a Pioneer 8-0 run with three lay-ups that gave the SHU the lead back, 41-33, into the first media timeout of the half. Out of the stoppage, Pape pushed it to a 13-0 run with a pair of steals and fast break lay-ups, the last a three-point play that gave Sacred Heart a 46-33 lead with 15:57 on the clock. The Sacred Heart lead peaked at 14, 60-46, with 8:36 to go when Yale started clawing their way back on the strength of senior Erica Davis's 14 second half points. Davis got the lead under 10 and then got the Bulldogs to four, 65-61, with a lay-up with 3:23 on the clock. Cain bounced it back to five with a free throw but Yale got to within three twice in the final minute before Pape and Cain iced the game at the free throw line. Cain, getting her first career, played a career-high 37 minutes in pouring in her game-high 22. She added two steals and an assist. Sowinski hit eight-of-10 from the field and picked up her first career double double with 12 rebounds to go with her 16 points.
Pioneers vs. the Ivy League... The Pioneers are 17-12 all-time versus the teams from the Ivy League. Sacred Heart has faced every teams in the league with the exception of the University of Pennsylvania. SHU has faced in state rival Yale the most of any school, holding an 9-3 series lead including eight-straight wins after Saturday's 72-66 win. The Pioneers hold a 3-2 lead over Columbia and a 2-0 lead over Princeton. The Pioneers lost, 70-63 at Brown last Tuesday that evened that series at 3-3. SHU has faced Cornell and Dartmouth each just once, losing both games.
Scouting the Lions... The Columbia Lions have dropped five-straight after posting a 75-69 win over Loyola at home in the season-opener. The Lions are coming off a 76-37 loss at home on Sunday to the University of Hartford. Senior Megan Griffith has led the team in scoring in the early going, averaging 10.2 points per game. She has passed out a team best 26 assists and made 10 steals on the year. Freshmen Danielle Browne and Chelsea Frazier are averaging 8.8 and 8.7 points each with Frazier leading the team in rebounding at 6.7 per game. The Lions finished 6-21 last season and were picked to finish seventh in the Ivy League Preseason Media Poll.
Last Meeting with Columbia... Sacred Heart's Amanda Pape and Kerri Burke scored 25 and 20 points, respectively, as the Pioneer offense exploded in the second half to run away with a 96-65 win over visiting Columbia University on January 9, 2006. SHU's 96 points were the highest point total since a double overtime win at Monmouth in 2004, 99-94, and the most in regulation since a 95-75 win over Columbia in 2001. The Pioneers led by 10 at the break, 47-37, but used a 21-0 run to break open the game early in the second half. SHU finished with four players in double figures led by Pape's 25. Jasmine Walker tallied 18 and finished with 12 off the glass. Nicolle Rubino scored 10 in the win with six boards, three steals and three assists. Columbia got 15 points from Michele Gage and 14 from Megan Griffith.
Streaks, Trends, Milestones, Notes... Senior point guard Kerri Burke did not play in a game for the first time Saturday afternoon since her freshman season. Burke had started every game at point guard the last two seasons. She is currently battling a back injury.
Sophomore Khalia Cain made her first start at the point on Saturday and gave the Pioneers a lift with some career numbers. Cain played a career-high 37 minutes while leading all scorers with 22 points, also a career mark. She went to the free throw line 17 times in the game and hit 14. Her previous career marks coming into Saturday were 23 minutes (vs. FDU 2/20/06), six points (vs. Wagner 1/7/06), four free throws (vs. Wagner 1/7/06) and four free throw attempts (2x last vs. Wagner 1/7/06).
Sophomore center Kaitlin Sowinski turned in her first career double double in the win over Yale. Sowinski scored 16 points, hitting eight of 10 from the field while grabbing a career-high 12 rebounds.
Senior Amanda Pape tied her career high with eight assists in the win. She previously passed out eight helpers on March 5th, 2005 in the first round of the NEC Tournament against Mount St. Mary's. She currently leads the team with 21 assists this year.
Pape played all 40 minutes of Saturday's win, the first time she has done that this season and the 16th time of her career she has played every minute of a game. She finished with a season-high 16 points in the win.
Junior Lisa Moray finished with a career-high five assists. Her previous high of four came against La Salle two games ago.
Saturday marked the first game this season the Pioneers broke the 70 point mark. SHU scored 70 or more 15 times last season.
Pioneers Ink Four in Early Signing Period... Sacred Heart University women's basketball head coach Ed Swanson announced today that four student athletes have signed National Letters-of-Intent during the early signing period. Guards Maggie Cosgrove (Andover, MA / Andover H.S.) and Alisa Apo (Freehold, NJ / St. John Vianney H.S.) and forwards Lindsey Greenlee (Cedarburg, WI / Cedarburg H.S.) and Maureen Reilly (Cherry Hill, NJ / Paul VI H.S.) have signed letters and will join the Pioneers in the fall of 2007. "With this incoming class we feel we have filled our needs with a solid group of talented athletes," stated Swanson. "They each fit the mold of what we look for in a complete student-athlete."
