RELEASE DATE: 2/22/06

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Mountaineers suffer heartbreaking one point defeat to East Stroudsburg

MANSFIELD – Alicia Espigh scored 17 points, nearly all on three-pointers, and Alison Tagliaferri added 12, but the Mountaineers suffered a heartbreaking loss to East Stroudsburg 70-69 Wednesday at Decker Gymnasium.

Three-point shots were the story of the game as treys kept Mansfield in the game. Unfortunately, it was a late three pointer by East Stroudsburg and a missed three pointer by Mansfield as time expired that decided the game.

East Stroudsburg’s Maryellen Onofre hit a long three point shot at the 11 second mark to give her team their first lead in more than four minutes. The Mountaineers responded by taking the ball down the court and calling a time out with three seconds to go. Becky Ayers, who had nine points in the game, then took the inbound pass, but her three pointer bounced off the rim as time expired.

Mansfield hit 13 of 24 shots from long range while holding East Stroudsburg to 7 of 15 three pointers. Espigh had 15 of her points from beyond the three-point arc while Courtney Brooks and Mallory Hafer scored nine each from that range.

East Stroudsburg jumped out to an early 8-0 lead and extended their lead to as much as 11 at the 9:45 mark of the second half. The Mountaineers rallied from that point, scoring 11 points before the Warriors could answer. Six of those points came off of three pointers by Jessica Uhrich and Tiffany Taylor.

Back-to-back treys by Espigh late in the first half gave the Mountaineers their largest lead of the opening quarter at five, but East Stroudsburg’s Amanda Ault made her own long three-pointer at the buzzer to narrow the halftime lead to two.

The second half was a back-and-forth contest as Mansfield could only extend their lead by as much as five. The Warriors were able to take a one point lead four times in the second half, including the final basket to clinch the game.

Defensively for Mansfield, Brooks was credited with five steals to give the freshman 66 on the season. Uhrich was credited with blocking three shots.

Jaclyn Yandrisevits lead the way for East Stroudsburg, scoring 22 points. Onofre added 18 of her own.

Mansfield falls to 11-15 on the season and 6-5 in the PSAC East. East Stroudsburg improves to 15-11 and 8-3 in the conference. The Warriors are the only conference opponent that Mansfield has not defeated this season.

The loss was particularly gut-wrenching for the Mountaineers as they could have secured a playoff berth in a very competitive PSAC East. Mansfield has missed the playoffs by one game each of the past four years. The Mountaineers can still get into the playoffs with a win at last place Cheyney Saturday.

Newspaper Box Score

East Stroudsburg University vs Mansfield University

2/22/06 5:30 pm at Decker Gymnasium

EAST STROUDSBURG UNIVERSITY 70, MANSFIELD UNIVERSITY 69

EAST STROUDSBURG UNIVERSITY (15-11 (8-3) YANDRISEVITS, Jaclyn 8-14 5-5 22; ONOFRE, Maryellen 7-14 0-0 18; JONES, Amy 5-11 3-3 13; GITTENS, Jasmine 3-10 0-0 6; GALLAGHER, Sheila 2-3 0-0 5; AULT, Amanda 1-1 0-0 3; FOGELSANGER, Monika 1-3 1-2 3. Totals 27-56 9-10 70.

MANSFIELD UNIVERSITY (11-15 (6-5))

ESPIGH, Alicia 5-10 2-2 17; TAGLIAFERRI, Alison 4-5 4-6 12; UHRICH, Jessica 4-13 1-2 10; HAFER, Mallory 3-5 0-0 9; BROOKS, Courtney 3-5 0-0 9; AYERS, Becky 2-6 5-7 9; TAYLOR, Tiffany 1-5 0-0 3; AKINS, Emily 0-2 0-0 0; AKINS, Katie 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 22-53 12-17 69.

East Stroudsburg University...   35   35  -   70

Mansfield University..........       37   32  -   69

3-point goals-East Stroudsburg University 7-15 (ONOFRE, Maryellen 4-9; YANDRISEVITS, Jaclyn 1-1; AULT, Amanda 1-1; GALLAGHER, Sheila 1-1; GITTENS, Jasmine 0-3), Mansfield University 13-24 (ESPIGH, Alicia 5-7; HAFER, Mallory 3-5; BROOKS, Courtney 3-4; UHRICH, Jessica 1-3; TAYLOR, Tiffany 1-3; AYERS, Becky 0-2).

Fouled out--East Stroudsburg University-None, Mansfield University-None. Rebounds-East Stroudsburg University 34 (YANDRISEVITS, Jaclyn 8; JONES, Amy 8), Mansfield University 30 (TAGLIAFERRI, Alison 8). Assists-East Stroudsburg University 11 (GITTENS, Jasmine 3; YANDRISEVITS, Jaclyn 3), Mansfield University 18 (TAGLIAFERRI, Alison 4). Total fouls-East Stroudsburg University 16, Mansfield University 15.

A-473