Beckley Makes History in Scoring 1,000th Career Point in 74-58 Victory at The Rock
Feb. 2, 2008
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. - Shippensburg University women's basketball sophomore forward Lauren Beckley (Fairfield/Fairfield) became the first woman in PSAC history to score 1,000 points as a sophomore, finishing with 23 to lead the Lady Raiders to a 74-58 victory at Slippery Rock Saturday afternoon inside Morrow Field House.
The win was important for Shippensburg (16-5, 4-2 PSAC West) who maintained its hold on third place in the PSAC Western Division, just a half-game behind California (Pa.) and Indiana (Pa.) who are tied for first with a 4-1 record.
Beckley reached the career 1,000-point milestone in just her 49th career game and now has 1,014 for an average of 20.7 points per game. She is the second player in Division II to accomplish the feat this season after sophomore Johannah Leedham of Franklin Pierce did it in her 44th career game on January 26 in a 73-66 loss at Saint Rose.
The historic moment came on her fourth basket of the game, a three-pointer with 3:10 remaining in the first half that was assisted by sophomore guard Michelle Metz (Pottstown/Pottsgrove).
In addition to her 23 points, Beckley also finished with 14 rebounds for her 16th double double in 21 games this season and the 23rd of her career. She currently leads the PSAC in both scoring and rebounding, averaging a double double with 22.2 points and 11.0 rebounds.
Beckley is the 16th Lady Raider to score 1,000 career points and the second-straight to do so in Slippery Rock's Morrow Field House.
On Feb. 17, 2007, senior guard Megan Fogle (Roaring Spring/Eastern York) also recorded her 1,000th career point at Slippery Rock, finishing with four points and five rebounds in a 79-65 victory that secured a PSAC Women's Basketball Championship berth for Shippensburg.
Fogle also reached a career milestone on Saturday as she finished the game 5-of-10 from three-point range en route to 19 points. Her five three-pointers gave her 200 for her career as she became just the second Lady Raider to reach the 200 mark. Tracy Spencer holds the school record after making 246 from 1992-96.
With 19 points, Fogle now has 1,334 in her career and is 66 from passing Vickie Mikesic for 11th on the school's all-time list.
After holding a slim three-point halftime lead, Shippensburg outscored Slippery Rock 42-29 in the second after shooting 50.0 percent from the field and 50.0 percent from behind the arc. A big part of the Lady Raiders came from freshman forward Kasey Gardner (Sharpsville/Sharpsville) who totaled 11 of her 13 points.
Metz finished the game with a career-high nine assists for Shippensburg to go along with six points and four rebounds.
The Lady Raiders outscored The Rock (7-13, 1-4 PSAC West) 20-7 over the first seven minutes of the second half to open a 15-point lead, 52-36, before expanding that lead to as many as 24 with 6:29 to play.
Shippensburg will now have a seven-day layoff before returning to action next Saturday, February 9 at Edinboro. The Lady Raiders handed the Fighting Scots a 72-65 loss at home back on January 19. Game time from McComb Fieldhouse is at 1:00 p.m.
- Lady Raider Basketball -
