RELEASE DATE: 2/15/06

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Alison Tagliaferri records 25^th career double-double as Mountaineers win key conference game

MANSFIELD – Senior Alison Tagliaferri recorded her 25^th career double-double and freshman Courtney Brooks had a season-high seven steals as the Mountaineers claimed a key PSAC victory over Bloomsburg 66-51 Wednesday.

With three games to go, the Mountaineers are in a position to secure an elusive playoff berth. The Mansfield women’s basketball team has never been in the PSAC playoffs.

“Obviously this is a big win and one we needed to keep our PSAC playoff hopes alive,” said head coach Ruth Hermansen.

The game was a defensive struggle throughout the first half. Bloomsburg started the game on a 7-0 run, but the Mountaineers battled back and neither team extended their lead by more than seven in the opening period.

Mansfield looked to go to the locker room with a three point halftime lead, but Kait Urban put up a long three pointer at the buzzer to knot the score at 28-28.

“What we did do all game was play well defensively,” Hermansen said. “We knew if we did that, we would start shooting better and go on a run of our own.”

Mansfield’s offense was sparked in the second half when senior Becky Ayers hit her first three pointer at the 10:24 mark and followed that up with another trey less than a minute later. Those six points put the Mountaineers in the lead for good.

After a two pointer by Bloomsburg’s Kirby Johnson, the Mountaineers went on a four minute 12-1 run that would seal the game. Tagliaferri accounted for seven of those points. She finished the game with 19 points and 13 rebounds.

The Mountaineers also recorded their own buzzer-beater as Katie Akins sank a two point shot to end the game.

Following the game, Tagliaferri commented that she was confident her team would take the victory and thought the Mountaineers should have won at Bloomsburg earlier this season. The Mountaineers lost 53-50 to the Huskies Jan. 25.

“Even though the score got close, we never worried about it because we played hard,” Tagliaferri said. “We knew that if we could keep them from scoring, we would win the game.”

The Mountaineer defense did just that, holding Bloomsburg to 28.6 percent shooting and 23 second half points. The Mountaineers also stole the ball 13 times. Brooks was credited with seven steals, giving her 57 on the season, and Tagliaferri had three steals of her own as well as four blocked shots.

Offensively, the Mountaineers shot 40 percent from the floor. In addition to Tagliaferri’s game high 19 points, Ayers and junior Jessica Uhrich also hit double figures with 12 and 10 points respectively.

Leading the way for Bloomsburg was Kelly Burkhart, who had 16 points.

With the win, Mansfield improves to 10-14 overall and 5-4 in the conference. The record marks the most conference wins for a Mansfield team and the first time in school history that the Mountaineers have defeated Millersville, Bloomsburg and West Chester in the same season.

Next up for the Mountaineers is a trip to conference leader Kutztown, followed by a home game against East Stroudsburg. They round out the regular season with a trip to last place Cheyney.

Newspaper Box Score

Bloomsburg University vs Mansfield University

2/15/06 5:30 pm at Decker Gymnasium

At Decker Gymnasium

MANSFIELD UNIVERSITY 66, BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY 51

BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY (6-18 (3-7))

BURKHART, Kelly 4-14 6-8 16; URBAN, Kait 3-9 2-4 10; KAUCZKA, Jamie 1-9 7-10 9; KEGERREIS, Colleen 4-6 0-0 8; JOHNSON, Kirby 3-10 0-0 6; JOYCE, Kelly 1-5 0-0 2; LYONS, Laura 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 16-56 15-22 51.

MANSFIELD UNIVERSITY (10-14 (5-4))

TAGLIAFERRI, Alison 9-17 1-2 19; AYERS, Becky 4-7 2-2 12; UHRICH, Jessica 3-16 4-6 10; TAYLOR, Tiffany 3-9 0-0 6; AKINS, Emily 3-5 0-0 6; ESPIGH, Alicia 2-5 0-0 5; BROOKS, Courtney 0-3 3-4 3; AKINS, Katie 1-1 0-0 2; HAFER, Mallory 1-1 0-0 2; ROSS, Christine 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-65 11-16 66.

Bloomsburg University.........   28   23  -   51

Mansfield University..........      28   38  -   66

3-point goals-Bloomsburg University 4-15 (BURKHART, Kelly 2-7; URBAN, Kait 2-6; JOHNSON, Kirby 0-2), Mansfield University 3-13 (AYERS, Becky 2-2; ESPIGH, Alicia 1-4; TAYLOR, Tiffany 0-4; BROOKS, Courtney 0-1; UHRICH, Jessica 0-2).

Fouled out--Bloomsburg University-KEGERREIS, Colleen; Mansfield University-None. Rebounds-Bloomsburg University 39 (BURKHART, Kelly 8), Mansfield University 45 (TAGLIAFERRI, Alison 13).

Assists-Bloomsburg University 10 (BURKHART, Kelly 3), Mansfield University 15 (AYERS, Becky 3; UHRICH, Jessica 3; BROOKS, Courtney 3). Total fouls-Bloomsburg University 16, Mansfield University 16.

A-211