RELEASE DATE: 1/30/02

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: MOUNTIE WOMEN FALL TO #4 RANKED BLOOMSBURG 85-50 – ALISON TAGLIAFERRI SCORES A GAME HIGH 22 POINTS

BLOOMSBURG – Freshman Alison Tagliaferri (Linden/Jersey Shore) scored a game high 22 points, but it wouldn’t be enough as the Mansfield University Mountaineers fell to #4 ranked Bloomsburg University 85-50 in a PSAC East contest at Nelson Field House Wednesday night.

The Mountaineers never got untracked in the game, shooting a dismal 25.9% (7-25) in the first half to fall behind 47-20 at halftime.

Mansfield trailed 19-11 with just over 10 minutes left in the first half before Bloomsburg would go on a 28-9 run to take a 27 point lead at intermission shooting 61.3% from the floor.

Alison Tagliaferri was one of the few bright spots for the Mountaineers, connecting on 7-10 shots from the field and 8-11 free throws with seven rebounds. Lynelle Mosley (Media/Penncrest) had 10 points with Jennifer Nichols (East Smithfield/Athens) adding nine. Nichols moved into seventh place on the MU all-time scoring list with 891 points passing Becky Dutko (885, 1994-97).

Karen Yeasted scored 15 points for Bloomsburg.

Mansfield finished the first half the PSAC East slate with a 2-4 mark and fall to 9-11 overall. Bloomsburg improves to 5-0 in the PSAC East and 18-1 overall.

Mansfield travels to West Chester this Saturday.

###

RELEASE DATE: 1/28/02

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: ALISON TAGLIAFERRI NAMED PSAC EAST ROOKIE OF THE WEEK FOR THE THIRD TIME THIS SEASON

  MANSFIELD – Mansfield University freshman sensation Alison Tagliaferri (Linden/Jersey Shore) has been named the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division Rookie of the Week for her outstanding play in the week ending 1/27/02.

  The 6-1 forward averaged 16.7 points and 6.7 rebounds in three games during the week for the Mountaineers. Tagliaferri connected on 63.0% (17-27) of her shots from the field and 84.2% of her free throws (16-19).

  It marks the third time this season Tagliaferri has been selected PSAC East Rookie of the Week. She has also been named PSAC East Player of the Week twice during the year.

  Tagliaferri leads the team, and ranks second in the PSAC East, in scoring averaging 14.6 points per game. She also tops the team in rebounding (6.7 rpg), field goal percentage (49.0%), free throw percentage (78.3%) and blocked shots (25). She ranks among the top 15 in the PSAC in all five categories.

  The daughter of Holly and Thomas Tagliaferri of Linden, Alison in majoring in accounting at Mansfield.

###

RELEASE DATE: 1/21/02

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: TAGLIAFERRI SCORES 19 POINTS TO LEAD MU WOMEN TO 81-63 WIN OVER UDC – MOUNTIES IMPROVE TO 9-8 OVERALL

MANSFIELD – Freshman Alison Tagliaferri (Linden/Jersey Shore) had 19 points to lead Mansfield University to a 81-63 win over the University of the District of Columbia in a non-conference game at Decker Gymnasium Monday night.

Tagliaferri, who was named the PSAC East Player of the Week earlier in the day, had 15 points in the first half to stake Mansfield to a 38-33 lead at intermission.

The Mountaineers never trailed in the game and would increase their lead to 66-47 on a layup by Stephanie Rieser with 5:02 to play.

It was the third straight win for the Mountaineers who improved to 9-8 overall, tripling their win total from last season.

Lynelle Mosley added 14 points with seven assists and six steals while Jessica Pfeiffer scored 12.

The Mountaineers will attempt to become the first MU women’s team to win 10 games in a season since 1990-91 when they travel to Mt. Aloysius College Tuesday night.

###

RELEASE DATE: 1/21/02

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: ALISON TAGLIAFERRI NAMED PSAC EAST PLAYER OF THE WEEK – FRESHMAN EARNS PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS FOR THE SECOND TIME THIS SEASON

MANSFIELD – Mansfield University freshman Alison Tagliaferri (Linden/Jersey Shore) was named the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) East Player of the Week for her outstanding performance in the week ending 1/20/02. The announcement was made late this afternoon by the PSAC office.

Tagliaferri led the Mountaineers to PSAC East wins over East Stroudsburg and Cheyney during the week by averaging 17.5 points and 14.0 rebounds over that span.

In a 74-71 win over East Stroudsburg, Tagliaferri recorded a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds. She also hit two free throws, grabbed two rebounds and blocked a shot in the final 30 seconds of the game to preserve the victory.

In a 58-51 victory at Cheyney on Saturday, Tagliaferri scored a game high 22 points while pulling down a career best 15 rebounds. She hit 8-10 shots from the field with three blocks.

On the season, the 6-1 forward leads the team in scoring (14.2 ppg) and rebounds (7.4 rpg) and ranks among the conference leaders in both categories as well as blocked shots (24).

It marks the second time this season Tagliaferri has earned PSAC East Player of the Week honors. She has also been named PSAC East Rookie of the Week twice this year.

The daughter of Holly and Thomas Tagliaferri of Linden, Alison is majoring in accounting at Mansfield.

###

RELEASE DATE: 1/19/02

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: MOUNTIE WOMEN HOLD ON FOR 58-55 WIN OVER CHEYNEY – ALISON TAGLIAFERRI HAS A DOUBLE-DOUBLE WITH A GAME HIGH 22 POINTS AND 15 REBOUNDS – MOUNTIES WIN EIGHT GAMES IN A SEASON FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 1990-91

CHEYNEY, PA – Freshman Alison Tagliaferri (Linden/Jersey Shore) recorded a double-double with a game high 22 points and career best 15 rebounds to lead the Mansfield University Mountaineers to a 58-55 win over Cheyney University in a PSAC East women’s contest at Cope Hall Saturday afternoon

Playing without leading scorer Allyson Buss (Narareth/Notre Dame) who suffered a season ending knee injury against East Stroudsburg, the Mountaineers rolled to a 26-14 halftime lead behind Tagliaferri who hit all five of her shots from the field for 11 first half points.

“That was a huge win for us,” said head coach Ruth Henderson. “Losing Allyson (Buss) in our last game was a big blow both physically and emotional for us and we were concerned about how a young team would handle that. It wasn’t easy or pretty, but for the second straight game we did what we need to do in the final minute to win two conference games. We needed someone to step up, and as she has done all season, Alison Tagliaferri answered the call.”

Mansfield held Cheyney to just 5-35 (14.3%) from the field in the first half, but the Mountaineers hurt themselves with 20 first half turnovers caused by a swarming Cheyney defense.

With just under six minutes to play, the Mountaineers looked to be in control of the game when Tagliaferri connected on two free throws for a 51-38 lead.

But Cheyney, who never led in the game,  went on a 12-0 run immediately after Tagliaferri’s free throws to pull to 51-50 with less then a minute to play.

After a Mansfield timeout, Tagliaferri hit a layup with :31 seconds left to put MU up by three and then grab a key rebound after a Cheyney miss and got it to Stephanie Rieser (Barnegat,NJ/Southern Regional) who was fouled and made both free throws for a five point lead.

Gerturde Evans hit a 3-pointer for Cheyney to cut the lead to 55-53 with :17 to play and the Wolves got the ball back on a MU turnover, but a missed 3-pointer and turnover after an offensive rebound forced Cheyney to foul MU’s Lynelle Mosley (Media/Penncrest) who connected on two free throws for a 57-53 lead.

Cheyney hit a jumper with just over 10 second to play to close to 57-55 before fouling MU’s Nicole Katsoff (Lebanon,NJ/North Hunterdon) who hit 1-2 to give MU a 58-55 lead with seven seconds remaining.

Tagliaferri blocked a shot by Cheyney’s Whitney Wall before a desperation 3-pointer at the buzzed fell short.

Jessica Pfeiffer (Erie/Seneca) had 10 points for the Mountaineers with Lynelle Mosley (Media/Penncrest) adding nine points with six assists. Cheyney was led by Tonya Slayton with 16 points.

With the win, the vastly improved Mountaineers go to 8-8 on the season and 2-2 in the PSAC East. It marks the first time since the 1990-91 team won 10 games that Mansfield has won eight games in the season.

The Mountaineers will host the University of the District of Columbia this Monday starting at 5 p.m. in Decker Gymnasium.

###

RELEASE DATE: 1/16/02

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- MANSFIELD UNIVERSITY WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TEAM WINS FIRST PSAC EAST GAME OVER EAST STROUDSBURG

MANSFIELD -- Alison Tagliaferri (Linden/Jersey Shore) played 27 minutes, but it was the last 30 seconds that mattered the most as Mansfield held on to take their first PSAC East win of the season with a 74-71 decision over East Stroudsburg at Decker Gymnasium tonight.

Tagliaferri hit two free throws to extend the Mounties lead to the 74-71 final with seven seconds left to play. The free throws redeemed her from missing the front-end opportunity on a one and one foul four seconds earlier. In the last 30 seconds of the game Tagliaferri grabbed two critical rebounds and blocked a Tiffany Barnes jumper that would have given East Stroudsburg the lead.

After Tagliaferri’s two free throw’s, Stephanie Rieser (Barnegat, NJ/Southern Regional) blocked a Heather Wolfe three-point attempt with three seconds remaining, a shot which would have forced overtime. Jennifer Nichols rebound sealed the win with one second remaining.

The Mounties went into halftime with a one-point lead and the margin between teams never went over three until Allyson Buss’ (Nazareth/Notre Dame) two free throws put the Mounties up by five with 9:31 left to play. The Mounties’ lead would increase to 10, the largest lead of the game, on a Tagliaferri jumper with 6:28 remaining.

Lynelle Mosley (Media/Penncrest) scored a game high 19 points, Buss added 14 before leaving the game with a leg injury with 2:48 remaining. Tagliaferri had 13 points and 13 rebounds. Eleven of Tagliaferri’s 13 points came in the second half.

For East Stroudsburg Tiffany Barnes had a double double with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Vanessa Kraft added 16 points and eight rebounds. Megan Ross also hit double digits with 11 points.

Mansfield improves to 7-8 overall and 1-2 in PSAC East play, while East Stroudsburg falls to 5-9 overall and 1-1 in the PSAC. Mansfield will travel to PSAC East foe Cheyney this weekend, tip off is slated for 1 p.m.

-2002-

RELEASE DATE: 1/14/02

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: MU’S ALISON TAGLIAFERRI NAMED PSAC EAST ROOKIE OF THE WEEK – FRESHMAN AVERAGES 12.7 POINTS AND 7.1 REBOUNDS OVER THREE GAME STRETCH

MANSFIELD – Mansfield University freshman Alison Tagliaferri (Linden/Jersey Shore) has been named the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division Rookie of the Week for her outstanding performance for the week ending 1/13/02.

Tagliaferri, a 6-1 forward, scored in double figures in all three games during the week, averaging 12.7 points per game. She also averaged 7.1 rebounds per game over the three game stretch along with six blocked shots, four assists and three steals.

For the season, Tagliaferri is second on the team in scoring (13.7 ppg) and first in rebounds (6.5 rpg) and blocked shots (20).

It marks the second time this season Tagliaferri has been awarded PSAC East Rookie of the Week honors. She was also named the PSAC East Player of the Week for the first week of the season.

The daughter of Holly and Thomas Tagliaferri of Linden, Alison is an accounting major at Mansfield.

###

RELEASE DATE: 1/13/02

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: MOUNTIE WOMEN FALL AT SLIPPERY ROCK 84-54 – ALISON TAGLIAFERRI LEADS MU WITH 14 POINTS

SLIPPERY ROCK – Slippery Rock went on a 21-4 run over the first six minutes of the game on their way to a 84-54 win over Mansfield University in a PSAC crossover contest at Morrow Field House Sunday afternoon.

The Mountaineers started the game off by hitting on just 2 of 13 shots from the field over the first ten minutes of the game to trail 29-5 midway through the first half and never recovered.

Mansfield turned the ball over just 14 times while forcing 18 Slippery Rock turnovers but the Mountaineers were out rebounded by a 48-25 margin.

While the Mountaineers struggled from the field, Slippery Rock was red-hot in the first half hitting 51.6% of their shots including 5-7 3-point attempts.

Freshman Alison Tagliaferri (Linden/Jersey Shore) continued her steady play with a team high 14 points for the Mountaineers with Jessica Pfeiffer (Erie/Seneca) adding eight points.

Jackie Altenweg led four Slippery Rock starters in double figures with 27 points.

Mansfield falls to 6-8 while Slippery Rock improves to 8-6.

Mansfield will host East Stroudsburg in a PSAC East contest Wednesday night.

###

RELEASE DATE: 1/12/02

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 25-8 RUN OVER FINAL SIX MINUTES LIFTS EDINBORO TO 77-57 WIN OVER MOUNTAINEER WOMEN – JESSICA PFEIFFER SCORES A SEASON HIGH 18 POINTS FOR MU

EDINBORO – Edinboro broke open a tight game with a 25-8 run over the final six minutes of the game in a 77-57 win over Mansfield University in a PSAC crossover contest at McCombs Field House Saturday afternoon.

The Mountaineer, behind Allyson Buss (Nazareth/Notre Dame) who scored 10 of her 15 points in first half, led most of the first half trailed 31-30 at intermission.

Mansfield regained the lead in the second and went up 36-31 on a layup by Jessica Pfeiffer (Erie/Seneca) with 17:08 to play and kept the lead until a 3-pointer by Edinboro’s Suzanne Petruska with 11:19 left gave Edinboro a 41-41 advantage.

The Mountaineers trailed 52-49 when Alison Tagliaferri (Linden/Jersey Shore) hit a free throw with 6:09 to play, but Edinboro caught fire down the stretch hitting 9-11 shots from the field and 8-10 from the free throw line for a 25-8 run over the final 5:45 to seal the victory.

Pfeiffer connected on 8-11 shots from the field to lead the Mountaineers with a season high 18 points and also pulled down a career high eight rebounds. Allyson Buss added 15 points with Alison Tagliaferri scoring 14 points and pulling down 11 rebounds.

Mansfield was victimized by a season high 33 turnovers while that Edinboro turned into 33 points. The Mountaineers held a 37-28 rebounding edge.

Wendy Wiggins scored a game high 21 points to lead Edinboro.

Mansfield falls to 6-7 overall while Edinboro improves to 8-5. The Mountaineers travel to Slippery Rock for a PSAC crossover contest Sunday afternoon.

###

RELEASE DATE: 01/09/02

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: MOUNTIES DROP 56-55 HEARTBREAKER TO WEST CHESTER -- ALLYSON BUSS TOPS MU WITH 15 POINTS

MANSFIELD -- Amy Buda put back an offensive rebound with 10.7 to play to lift West Chester to a 56-55 win over Mansfield University in a PSAC East contest Wednesday night at Decker Gymnasium.

Mansfield trailed by as many as nine points midway through the first half before rallying to cut the score to 28-26 at halftime.

The Mountaineers would take a 37-36 lead on two free throws by Allyson Buss (Nazarath/Notre Dame) with just over 15 minutes to play and held a lead that never got more than seven points until Buda hit the winning bucket off a missed shot by Kiera Manlove.

Mansfield had one chance to win the game in the final seconds but Lynelle Mosley's (Media/Penncrest)

3-pointer attempt fell short as time expired.

The Mountaineers committed a season high 31 turnovers, but forced 25 by West Chester.

Allyson Buss led the Mountaineers with 15 points  with Stephanie Rieser (Barnegat,NJ/Southern Regional) adding 11. Freshman Alison Tagliaferri (Linden/Jersey Shore) had 10 points and a game high eight rebounds.

Kiera Manlove had a game high 20 for West Chester.

Mansfield falls to 6-6 overall and 0-2 in the PSAC East. West Chester improves to 7-5 and 1-0 in the PSAC East.

###

RELEASE DATE: 1/06/02

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: MOUNTIE WOMEN FALL TO IUP 96-79 – LYNELLE MOSLEY TOPS MOUNTIES WITH 20 POINTS

MANSFIELD – Jacqui Martin hit 13-15 of her attempts from the field for a game high 32 points to lead IUP to a 96-79 win over Mansfield University in a PSAC crossover contest Sunday afternoon at Decker Gymnasium.

IUP connected on a blistering 55.4% of their shots from the field and out rebounded the Mountaineers 44-33.

Lynelle Mosley (Media/Penncrest) led the Mountaineers with 20 points while freshman Alison Tagliaferri (Linden/Jersey Shore) scored 18 points and pulled down a game high eight rebounds. Allyson Buss (Nazareth/Notre Dame) added 16.

Mansfield falls to 6-5 overall while IUP improved to 7-5.

RELEASE DATE: 1/05/02

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: MOUNTIE WOMEN SUFFER 80-49 SETBACK AGAINST PSAC WEST RIVAL CALIFORNIA – LYNELLE MOSLEY SCORES A GAME HIGH 18

MANSFIELD – The Mansfield University women’s basketball team could not overcome a cold shooting performance and a balanced offensive attack by California University in suffering a 80-49 setback in a PSAC crossover contest at Decker Gymnasium Saturday afternoon.

After trailing early, the Mountaineers came back to tie the game at 25-25 on a jumper by Lynelle Mosley (Media/Penncrest) with 6:28 to play in the first half.

But California would rally with a 19-4 run to take a 44-29 halftime advantage and never looked back.

Mansfield hit just one of its first 10 shots in the second half and connected on just 33.3% of its attempts from the field for the game. The Mountaineers were also out rebounded 43-23.

California, which shot 54.8% from the field, had five players in double figures led by 6-9 Susie Gyarfas with 15 points.

Junior point guard Lynelle Mosley scored a game high 18 points for the Mountaineers with freshman Alison Tagliaferri (Linden/Jersey Shore) adding 10.

The Mountaineers fall to 6-4 overall while California improves to 10-2.

Mansfield will host IUP Sunday afternoon at Decker Gymnasium starting at 1 p.m.

###

RELEASE DATE: 1/2/02

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: MANSFIELD UNIVERSITY TO HONOR R.B. WALTER AND NTSD DURING MU-CALIFORNIA DOUBLEHEADER THIS SATURDAY – ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SALUTES SPIRIT OF NATION BY MAKING AMERICAN FLAG FROM HANDPRINTS OF STUDENTS AND STAFF

MANSFIELD – Mansfield University and the Mountaineer men’s and women basketball programs will salute the Northern Tioga School District and especially  R.B. Walter Elementary School during this Saturday’s doubleheader with California University.

To honor the spirit of the American people following the events of Sept. 11, the students and staff of R.B. Walter School constructed a huge U.S. flag made up entirely of their handprints.

The flag will hang from the balcony of Decker Gymnasium during the games while R.B. Walter students and staff will be the guest of Mansfield University for the doubleheader.

A free throw shoot out will be held between classes of R.B Walter during halftime of the women’s game. Mansfield University President Dr. John Halstead will recognize the students and staff of R.B. Walter during the halftime of the men’s game.

The women’s game is set for 1 p.m. with the men tipping off at 3 p.m.

###

RELEASE DATE: 12/23/01

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: ALLYSON BUSS NAMED PSAC EAST PLAYER OF THE WEEK – ALISON TAGLIAFERRI SELECTED PSAC EAST ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

MANSFIELD – Junior shooting guard Allyson Buss (Nazareth/Notre Dame) was named the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division Co-Player of the Week and Alison Tagliaferri (Linden/Jersey Shore) was selected PSAC East Rookie of the Week for their outstanding play in the week ending 12/21/01.

Buss led the Mountaineers to a 2-1 mark during the week including a 79-66 win over #6 ranked Shippensburg. Buss scored in double figures in all three games including a career high 24 in a win over Lycoming. In the Mountaineers first ever win over a national ranked team against Shippensburg, Buss scored a team high 17 points with eight assists. She connected on 17-30 (56.7%) of her field goal attempts over that span. For the season, Buss leads the Mountaineers, and ranks among the conference leaders, in scoring averaging 15.2 points per game and tops all guards in the conference in shooting percentage hitting 54.7% of her shots from the field.

The daughter of Ralph and Maryetta Buss of Nazareth, Allyson is majoring in elementary education at Mansfield.

Tagliaferri, who was named PSAC East Player of the Week the first week of the season, becomes the first player in school history to earn PSAC East Player and Rookie of the Week during the same season.

Tagliaferri scored in double figures in all three games during the week, averaging 14.7 points along with 8.0 rebounds per game over that span. In addition, recorded five assists, four blocks and four steals during the week. For the season, Tagliaferri is averaging 14.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per game while leading the team in blocked shots with 12.

The daughter of Holly and Thomas Tagliaferri of Linden, Alison is majoring in accounting at Mansfield.

It marks the first time in school history Mansfield has swept the PSAC East Player and Rookie of the Week honors twice in a season. Tagliaferri and freshman Stephanie Rieser were selected PSAC East Player and Rookie of the Week in the first week of the season.

The Mountaineers are off to one of their best starts in school history with a 6-3 mark.

###

RELEASE DATE: 12/19/01

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: MOUNTIE WOMEN STUN #6 RANKED SHIPPENSBURG 79-66 – ALLYSON BUSS SCORES 17 AND JEN NICHOLS RECORDS DOUBLE-DOUBLE IN BIGGEST WIN IN SCHOOL HISTORY

MANSFIELD – Junior Allyson Buss (Nazareth/NotreDame) scored 17 points and senior Jennifer Nichols (East Smithfield/Athens) had a double-double to lead the Mansfield University women’s basketball team to a stunning 79-66 win over #6 ranked Shippensburg in a PSAC East-West crossover contest Wednesday evening.

The Mountaineers built a 33-28 halftime lead behind nine points each from Lynelle Mosley (Media/Penncrest) and Alison Tagliaferri (Liden/Jersey Shore) and would increase the lead to 50-38 on a 3-pointer by Nichols with 14:15 left to play. 

Shippensburg – which came into the game undefeated at 5-0 and made the NCAA Division II Final Four last season – rallied to take a 56-54 on four straight free throws with 8:44 remaining.

Buss dished out a game high eight assists along with her 17 points while Jennifer Nichols scored 15 points and pulled down a career and game high 14 rebounds. Alison Tagliaferri also had 15 points to go along with nine rebounds and three blocks. Lynelle Mosley added 13.

Mansfield limited Shippensburg to 31.9% shooting from the field. They had come into the game ranked second in the nation in shooting percentage at 51.1%

The Mountaineers – who have already doubled their win total from last season – improved to 6-3 overall while Shippensburg falls to 5-1.