Gardner Receives Sixth PSAC Western Division Rookie of the Week Award

Feb. 25, 2008

SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. - Shippensburg University women's basketball freshman forward Kasey Gardner (Sharpsville/Sharpsville) was named PSAC Western Division Rookie of the Week for the sixth time on Monday, tying her with Kayla Smith of California (Pa.) for the most selections this season.

Gardner and Smith are the top two candidates for PSAC Western Division Rookie of the Year honors, an award that the Lady Raiders have won four times in the eight previous seasons under head coach Kristy Trn '93-'94M.

With one more award to be handed out next Monday, Gardner and Smith have combined to win 12 of the 13 rookie of the week awards this season. The only other player to have received the honor was Lacey Claar of Indiana (Pa.) who received the award back on February 4.

Gardner averaged 10.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists in two games last week. She was second on the team in rebounds while shooting 58.3 percent from the floor (7-for-12), including 75.0 percent from three-point range (3-for-4).

In a match-up of the top two freshmen in the PSAC at California (Pa.) on Wednesday, Gardner finished with eight points, six rebounds and five assists while Smith was limited to just six points and three points on 3-of-11 shooting.

In a 62-44 victory over Slippery Rock on Saturday, Gardner had 12 points and seven rebounds while hitting four of five field goal attempts and going 2-for-2 from behind the arc.

Gardner is currently third on the team in scoring and second in rebounding and ranks 16th in the PSAC in scoring and 10th in three-point percentage.

The Lady Raiders close out the regular-season on Wednesday when they host No. 9-ranked IUP at Heiges Field House beginning at 6:00 p.m., on Senior Night were the Crimson Hawks will be looking to avenge an 88-75 loss to Shippensburg back on January 30 when they were ranked at No. 5 in the USA Today/ESPN Division II Top 25 Coaches' Poll.

- Lady Raider Basketball -