— BASKETBALL

Sammarco earns AMCC accolades

PITTSBURGH– Mount Aloysius junior Lindsy Sammarco was named the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Player of the Week for women's basketball.

Sammarco recorded 27 points, three rebounds and three steals as the Lady Mounties defeated Waynesburg, 65-64, in a key nonconference match-up.  

She is currently ranked second in the conference in points per game (19.7), 12th in steals (2.3) and tied for seventh in field goals made (1.7).

Sammarco is a 2010 graduate of Bishop Carroll, and was also recently named to the all-touranment team at the Muhlenberg College Tournament.

Staten leads WVU past VMI

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Juwan Staten scored 18 points to lead seven West Virginia players in double figures as the Mountaineers broke a two-game losing streak by defeating Virginia Military Institute 94-69 Wednesday night.

The victory by the Mountaineers (2-3) was the 42nd in their last 43 home games against nonconference opponents.

Staten, a guard who sat out a year after transferring from Dayton, led all scorers with 18 points, but he got plenty of help. Senior center Deniz Kilicli and Aaric Murray, another transfer (LaSalle), finished with 13 points apiece. Reserve guard Gary Browne and Keaton Miles each added 11 off the bench. Freshman Eron Harris and Terry Henderson scored 10 apiece.

Staten’s and Miles’ scoring totals were their West Virginia highs. Staten also had seven rebounds and three assists, and Miles had four steals and two blocks.



Duquesne edges Appalachian St.

BOONE, N.C. – Jerry Jones scored a career-high 22 points and Quevyn Winters hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 31 seconds left as Duquesne evaded an Appalachian State comeback attempt for a 73-72, nonconference win Wednesday night.

The Dukes (3-3) led 47-33 at halftime, but the Mountaineers (1-5) opened the second half on an 18-4 run to tie the game 51-all on Nathan Healy’s 3-pointer with 11:08 to play.

The teams exchanged the lead nine times over the final 11 minutes, with Winters’ 3-ball proving the decisive blow. Jones hit two free throws with 15 seconds left before Jay Canty made a layup to set the final score.

Jones netted his points on 8-of-10 shooting, including 3 of 5 from beyond the arc, and also had three steals.



St. Francis rolls past Kent State

KENT, Ohio – The St. Francis University women’s basketball team cruised to nonconference road win Wednesday against Kent State, 81-67.

Alli Williams continued to lead the Red Flash (4-1) offense as the junior poured in 26 points to guide SFU past the Golden Flashes (0-6). The Red Flash limited Kent State to just one 3-pointer (1 of 10) in the game and connected on nine of their own. Nikkia Gibbs dropped in 18 points for SFU. Kent State got 16 points off the bench from Amber Dunlap, but the Golden Flashes lost the rebounding battle to SFU, 40-38.

“It is the first game back from the Thanksgiving layoff, so being off for eight days kind of threw off our intensity in the first half,” women’s basketball coach Joe Haigh said. “We struggled a little bit and then we had foul trouble on top of that. Kelly Doogan was a great spark off the bench and she has been practicing well the last couple days, having her come in and hit a couple big shots when we needed them that really stands out to me.”

St. Francis broke the game open in the second half after Kent State cut the lead to three on a Melanne Stubbs layup. Haigh followed with a timeout and the Red Flash responded with an 18-4 run over the next 4:27. Shene Fleming powered the run with six points, and with her strong play inside SFU hit three 3-pointers during the run. The run converted a 3-point advantage for SFU into a 64-47 lead for the Flash with 10:09 remaining. The run changed the game as SFU eventually pushed the lead to as many as 20 before removing a majority of the starters and getting the game to its final margin.

St. Francis returns to action Saturday at DeGol Arena against St. Joseph’s, with tipoff set for 1 p.m.