Shippensburg Ends Season in PSAC Quarterfinals With 79-65 Loss at California (Pa.)
Feb. 27, 2007
SHIPPENSBURG,
Pa. - Kim Nowakowski totaled 25 points and 14
rebounds, both game-highs, to lead California (Pa.) to a 79-65 victory over
Shippensburg in
the quarterfinals of the 2007 PSAC Women’s Basketball Championship Tuesday
night at Hamer Hall.
The Lady Raiders (17-11) finish the season with a five-game improvement over
last season after making their 12th appearance in the conference tournament
in the last 13 years.
With 19 points and nine rebounds, freshman forward Lauren Beckley (Fairfield/Fairfield) finishes the season with 548 points, surpassing Sara McKinney of California
(Pa.) for the all-time freshman scoring record in PSAC history. McKinney scored
537 for the Vulcans during the 2000-01 season.
Beckley also set a new Shippensburg freshman scoring record by averaging 19.6
points per game, surpassing the previous record held by Stacey Cunningham who
averaged 16.3 points during the 1980-81 season.
The difference in tonight’s contest came in the first half when the Vulcans
(20-8), ranked seventh in the NCAA East Region, closed the half with a 12-1
run over the final 2:49 to turn a five-point margin into a 16-point advantage
at halftime, 42-26.
California (Pa.) scored 16 of their 42 points in the paint and 14 off of 16
Shippensburg turnovers. Nowakowski scored 17 of her 25 points in the half to
go along with seven rebounds.
After trailing by as many as 24 in the second half, the Lady Raiders cut the
deficit to 12 points at 72-60, but the Vulcans made 5-of-6 free throw attempts
and added a Brooque Williams lay-up in the final 2:19 to preserve the victory.
In addition to its 19 turnovers tonight, Shippensburg made 22-of-54 attempts
from the floor for 40.7-percent while making only 16-of-25 free throw attempts
for 64.0-percent.
While the loss ended the Lady Raiders’ season, it also ended the careers
of senior center Shanna Oaddams (Willngboro, N.J./Willingboro) and
senior guard
Samantha Ramus (New Cumberland/Trinity). With eight points
and three rebounds in 23 foul-plagued minutes, Oaddams finished the season
averaging 13.8 points
and 8.0 rebounds.
In 111 career games, Oaddams totaled 1,453 points and 969 rebounds to rank
ninth on the school’s career scoring list and second in career rebounding.
Meanwhile, Ramus, who transferred to Shippensburg from West Virginia Wesleyan
prior to the 2004-05 season, appeared in all 82 of the team’s games during
the last three years, averaging 4.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.9 assists. She
will be remembered most for becoming just the second player in program history
to total a triple double when she had 13 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists
in a 74-57 victory at Seton Hill on Dec. 17, 2005.
As for next season, the Lady Raiders will return one senior, two juniors and
seven sophomores. The team’s lone senior will be guard Megan
Fogle (Wrightsville/Eastern York) who with 11 points against California (Pa.), will enter the season with
1,039 career points and ranked 14th on the school’s career list.
Also returning will be red-shirt sophomore Jenny Cunningham (McVeytown/Lewistown) who was a two-time PSAC Western Division Rookie of the Week this season. She
started 14 of the team’s 27 games this year while totaling 12 points
and eight rebounds in tonight’s loss at California (Pa.).
The Vulcans will face the Eastern Division’s top-seed in East Stroudsburg
on Friday in the semifinals at Millersville.
- Lady Raider Basketball -
